Here is a reader question from Patricia on the topic of bipolar disorder and ECT.
Hi Julie,
This is off topic. Has anyone had any experiences , good or not so good with Electroshock therapy?
One of my friends tried it and it was a ten day hospital stay and entirely covered by insurance and the best
news is so far she seems so so much better than before. We’ll see how she does.
But what I read about ECT is that its very much safer because of lower currents, and the positions
of electrodes on the head and because the patient is given muscle relaxers so no bones are broken anymore.
(OK, I know One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, but some people need a better treatment than drugs. Drugs
do not work for about 50% it seems or even 60% of bipolar spectrum disorder patients do NOT get better on drugs at all) Patricia
Hello Patricia,
Many people think that ECT is Electroshock Therapy- it’s actually Electroconvulsant Therapy. There is no shock involved.
I had ECT in 2010. My depression had been so severe for so long, I knew I had to try the procedure. It has a huge success rate for major depression. Some statistics say up to 70% of people benefit.
Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. If It had worked, I would keep doing it.
The procedure is VERY intense and the memory loss is BAD. But, I would rather have memory loss than go through such terrible depression.
Here is a link to my blog on ECT that I did for BP Magazine.
Most of the information is in the comments section. Most of your questions are answered in the comments section.
Julie
PS: I do recommend ECT to people who are suffering, but wow, you have to really be ready for the change in your life while it’s happening. It’s not something to be taken lightly.
Here is another amazing thing. ECT did NOT help my depression at all. But I have not had any psychosis since the treatment. Interesting.
