ECT Part II

[Woolybluecurl]

Hi Everyone....I appreciate all the support, encouragement and good wishes I received yesterday. However, I talked to my doctor last night and for the umpteenth time, she discouraged me from doing the ECT....her daughter had 12 weeks of it and it was awful. She put me on Buspar last week and we've been slowly increasing the dosage and she wants to see if it will make a difference. She is also going to find a psychiatrist for a second opinion (she thinks I'm on the wrong meds based on my GeneSight map). I've been under such stress about this.....I honestly don't know what I'm doing. I've read some good things, but a whole lot of negative things about ECT....and you know what? I'M JUST REALLY SCARED. My husband is usually wanting me to try whatever will help, but with this he's been on the fence like me. But this morning his feeling is "no." So I'm going to cancel for now....my brain just doesn't work like it used to and making decisions (especially BIG ones) is so difficult. I hope I'm making the right choice....

Thanks again for caring!

[gajh]

I am glad you were able to make a decision. ECT will always be an option for you in the future if you change your mind. I think it would be a really good idea to go to a psychiatrist. Hopefully the GeneSite results will be a great help. Thank you for this update. Please keep us posted. I care.

[Woolybluecurl in reply to gajh]

Thank you....I'm currently seeing a psychiatrist, but will try to get a second opinion on the meds he/she might think would work better for me

[gajh in reply to Woolybluecurl]

Oh you are seeing a psychiatrist. Yes a second opinion would be good.

[jbjacksoncfc]

first & foremost: good for you! You are taking amazing steps by exploring and considering options and treatments possibilities and by seeking input from multiple sources of professional reliable providers. Please try to be sure that your *own* voice and opinions and feelings are *also* heard and considered. While working through this decision-making situation, please also bear in mind the *reasons* for people's opinions and recommendations, and whether those reasons are relevant to *your* situation. what i mean is, you stated that your doctor discouraged you from doing ect because "her daughter had 12 weeks of it and it was awful". If that is your doctor's only or primary reason for their opinion, that may not be what's best for *you* and I would encourage you to discuss more in-depth how it might or might not be different. Best wishes for finding the right option for *you*!

[Woolybluecurl]

Thanks for your thoughts....yes, it's difficult to hear my own voice when all I'm hearing is the voice of professionals (but I've also been reading anecdotal accounts of people's own experiences). Everything in me says not to do it....but I don't imagine anybody is excited about the prospect of ECT. We are just animals, after all, and our senses tell us that shooting electricity into the brain just isn't right!

[jbjacksoncfc]

"Everything in me says not to do it" -- this right here is *so* important! you have many many treatment options available to try to find what works for you. there is nearly zero chance that this one (ECT) is the 'only' or best treatment that will work for you, given that you feel this way. trust yourself

[fauxartist]

I'd follow your doctor's advice, they sound like they are attentive and care about your well-being enough to keep working with you on a solution. Even though we shoud always be our own advocate, we usually are not medical professionals, so sometimes it works out to let them handle the course of treatment, as they seem to be willing to go the extra mile. They used to think pre-frontal lobotomies were the cure..... and that didn't work out so well...so I would listen to your doctor's advice about the ECT.

[CLB1125]

Im so happy to hear your husband is helping you make these decisions. Having someone to support you is a wonderful thing. Good luck with everything

[RLSSCARER]

Hi sorry to hear your considering ECT, i sit on the fence when it comes to ECT mostly because it can be a solution to addiction, including withdrawal from psychiatric medications, psychiatric side effect and withdrawal can be serious, ECT maybe beneficial for this reason, I've seen how ECT works on people who are suffering encephalitis, encephalitis can cause confusion and psychosis for months, many people suffer each year, like a seasonal flu bit it happens in their brain, essential oils, food grade essential oils like Basil, thyme, nutmeg, frankincense, orogano, i add a drop to tea and have had clear results, i have other people who normally get ill each year with reoccurring confusion psychosis, stay out of hospital and remain well, my suggestion is to increase iron levels, Moringa is a cheap nutritional product packed full of vitamins minerals.