ElectroConvulsiveTherepy (ECT) Any expirience?

[vistacruiser]

If you have had any ECT expirience, good or bad, either first hand or with someone close to you, would you please share thoughts on the treatment.

My mother, 79 and widowed, became suicidal, briefly, after 2-3 months of dealing with anxiety/depression. She has been prescribed several different drugs over that time since the first breakdown. She has now been inpatient for almost two weeks with no sign of improvement. She's very scared, anxious and somewhat paranoid.
Prior to this she had never shown any issues mentally and was quite independent.

Her psych is recommending ECT. He says the drugs have not helped, and this could bring her back quickly.
She is not in favor and my family and I need to reassure her.

Thanks for reading.

[iamlowsound]

I thought they stopped doing that back in the 70s.

lowsound

[Linas]

I would say do some serious research before you do that. And i also thought that they stopped doing this in the 70's. No experience, but i wish your mom the best of luck, my grandma is in a similar situation, but ECT is not an option my family has been offered or considered for her.

[MJ5150]

A friend of my wifes is going through it right now. She had some issues with a previous surgery and reactions to medications that basically left her as an invalid.

There is some improvement in her condition after a few months of the ECT, but it is a serious roller coaster with her now. For a few days after the ECT, she does real good, almost great. But it's almost like it "wears off", and the few days befor her next treatment are absoutely terrible.

-Mike

[coreyfyfe]

It's still around but very rare. AFAIK it's only used in extreme cases where drugs aren't effective, but most of what I know about it is from classes I've taken on the subject of the brain/drugs/disorders/etc. Definitely do some research on the subject. In most of the cases I've read it seems to be fairly helpful at restoring balance where drugs fail.

[arbitrary]

I know its MASSIVELY different than what it used to be: shorter bursts and not as strong; not punitive like media painted it. But apparently EMDR is a bunch of hooey; change is always funny.

[froovs]

you hear plenty of horror stories, but one of my closest firend's mother has a servere bipolar/depressive illness, and when she becomes completely unhinged and dangerous to herself every few years, she goes up the road for a few weeks or so and the ECT is the mainstay of her treatment

seems to work for her

cheers
froovs

[flipper_gv]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

I thought they stopped doing that back in the 70s.

lowsound

nah, they still use it for extreme cases of depression. It sure is extreme for a treatment, but it's her last chance. There's nothing after that. And like others said, it sure isn't the same thing than 30 years ago.

[Barkless Dog]

Lou Reeds parents used it on him as a teen because they thought he was a homosexual and his interest in rock music.

http://www.nndb.com/people/391/000024319/

a family with whom he soon found himself at odds, as they were unable to accept his unconventional attitudes and sexually ambiguous behavior. During his teen years, they went so far as to have him confined in a mental hospital, where he was forced to endure electro-shock treatments and drug therapy as a means to ward off any nascent homosexual tendencies;

[vistacruiser]

Thanks to all, your comments have been helpful.

[jazzbo]

See PM.

[hubcaps]

As a student, I did a rotation where they did ECT. The change was pretty dramatic. One patient was almost catatonic. The person wouldn't say a word to anyone and pretty much didn't move. after ECT the patient was more active and conversational. I'm not sure about the long term affects. The side effects are minimal, most of the risk is from sedation/anesthesia. ECT is becoming more commonly used. it is administered in a more controlled fashion compared to the old days.