ECT

[nicetry]

Had my twelfth ECT yday. Doc said sometimes the effects come on over time .... 🤔 and she wants me to come weekly. I dunno that I feel any different, if anything I fell into deep depressions after treatments. Also the ketamine has made my head feel funny, even today.

[Aliinception16]

You should trust your doctor .

[phoenix2020 in reply to Aliinception16]

No they shouldn't some doctors do NOT have the well being of their patient in mind only money and will harm the patient. This person needs to trust themselves and find another doctor that won't push them to do HARMFUL treatments more often as that will just cause HARM.

[All_alone]

A I was hoping you'd feel a difference. May I ask, have you seen maybe just a hint of relief after the depression lifts between the treatments. Or has the depression gotten worse and does not lift? Where do you think your at compared to what you and the doctor discussed prior to beginning ect.?

Discuss your concerns with the dr and take someone with you that could help with the concerns if you haven't already. A second opinion?

No need to answer unless you care to and I apologize for putting a lot of questions out there. I know I find it hard to think thru things and by no means do I want to cause you more stress.

My questions are just food for thought.

Big hugs for you!

[nicetry in reply to All_alone]

My husband says he sees a difference, but it’s subtle. I asked the doc & he said the changes can take some time to show up.

[All_alone in reply to nicetry]

I'm glad you have your husband for support and he is seeing a difference.

[Agora1]

nicetry, with your doctor wanting to see you every week, is that

for ECT or therapy? xx

[nicetry in reply to Agora1]

For ECT & ketamine.

[Agora1 in reply to nicetry]

nicetry, that's true in that it can take time before it starts to turn

things around. Others will probably notice before you do.

My best to you with your treatment. xx

[nicetry in reply to Agora1]

Thank you Agora1. I have a treatment tomorrow morning & am DREADING it but trying my best to understand that to reach the truly positive outcome I must work through the not-so-positives.

[Agora1 in reply to nicetry]

nicetry, good luck with your next treatment. It is very normal that some

people get a headache from it. On the day of treatment, try to make it a

low key day after that. We're here to support you. xx

[phoenix2020]

Tell your doctor about this stuff and if they keep pushing you to do this then find a diffrent one. This doctor sounds like they don't have your best intrest in mind.

[Hidden]

I want to hear more about the ketamine therapy. Makes your head feel funny? Pass it over here! Sounds like a party to me. I'd tell doc no more ECT if you're not feeling it. That can permanently mess you up.

[nicetry in reply to Hidden]

It’s a really strange feeling. I don’t happen to like it — gives me a headache — but some people do.

[susanjo613]

I had ECT and ketamine injections as well. I had a series of ECT and didn’t feel any improvement. They pushed for me to continue the ECT as well (once a week for 4 months then once a month for maintenance) but I opted to discontinue. I don’t regret it because I honestly did not feel any difference. The ketamine injections didn’t work either unfortunately. I’m back to different med trials.

[nicetry in reply to susanjo613]

That’s exactly what the doc is pushing me to do!

[Poodie]

Unfortunately we can not trust everybody. Maybe your doc does have your best interests at heart but if I were you, I’d get a second opinion. I would also do some more research on ECT myself.

Give yourself some time to think and make a decision re her recommendation and time to evaluate how much it has helped you thus far. What’s the rush ? Doesn’t it often take time to feel the benefit of ECT ? I really do not know much about the subject.

Look out for yourself if you possibly can. Be informed. It will be worth it and you will gain confidence in making decisions along with your doc to take care of yourself in the future.

Good luck.

[nicetry in reply to Poodie]

Thanks Poodie. The doc performing the ECT is not my “regular” psychiatrist — I’m seeing her (my regular doc) tomorrow so we can discuss this whole thing and she can evaluate how much ECT has helped if at all. I’ll let you know what she says.

[LiveandLetLive42]

Thinking about you!!

[susanjo613]

I think following the treatment regimen as prescribed is standard protocol. How many ketamine injections have you gotten? I got 8 and supposedly if you are going to respond positively then you will see it by the 4th treatment. It’s sooooo frustrating....waiting and trying different treatment approaches. Keep me posted on how you are doing.

[nicetry in reply to susanjo613]

I’ve had 10 ketamine treatments. And yes, it is terribly frustrating.

[wiz145]

My experience with ECT was not great, lost short term memory, IQ dropped by more than 20 points. I would not recommend it to anybody. I would try everything else, but I see you have had 12 treatments. Trans Cranial Magnetic Stimulation is fairly new, and there is also the fisher wallace machine. With TMS, they take a scan and can see what part of the brain is not working, up to par. Look up TMS, before and after images on google. I hope this helps, and good luck.

[nicetry in reply to wiz145]

I had TMS before ECT. It didn’t do much of anything unfortunately. I’ve noticed memory loss already from ECT & hope it doesn’t get worse. No clue about my IQ — I’m afraid to check lol.

[LiveandLetLive42]

Heyyyy how's the ECT going??

[nicetry in reply to LiveandLetLive42]

Well I’ve had 12 sessions, 10 of them with ketamine added. I feel very strange. Not certain it’s doing anything but my husband says I’m different.

[LiveandLetLive42 in reply to nicetry]

Well that's good that he notices. I heard you can feel very loopy on ketamine. Being a prior addict, I could never do that. I'd enjoy it too much lol. But, I am really happy for you that it's working. I've been thinking about ya.

[nicetry in reply to LiveandLetLive42]

Thanks so much!

[tiredswedge]

ECT is an extremely difficult procedure to go through, in so many different ways. The fact that you have been going to every treatment, and to the TMS treatments before that, goes to show how strong and determined you are. Its so easy to throw up your hands and give in to the illness. But it sounds like you are willing to do whatever it takes to get better and you should be proud of yourself for that. Keep it up and give that wonderful husband of yours a big hug!

[nicetry in reply to tiredswedge]

Thanks. This is just what I needed at this moment — for some reason I fell into a panic attack about 10 mins ago, crying and crying and crying ... anxious about tomorrow’s treatment & just wanting it to be over. I feel really tired and drained.

[tiredswedge in reply to nicetry]

I know, I've been there, as have so many of us. Who knew raw emotions can be more draining than a marathon? You will get through this next treatment, talk to your regular psychiatrist and have a clearer plan of attack. Keep your eyes on the prize!