Posted by DLW on November 30, 2000, at 15:41:38
In reply to Re: Poll on ect, posted by Peter S on November 29, 2000, at 21:20:14
> Thanks for all the feedback- definitely food for thought and it is obviously something that should be approached with caution. I was especially sorry to hear about your experience DLW.
>
> I have heard though of many cases where people with extreme psychotic depressions who did not respond to anything else only came out of it through the use of ECT.
> I'm not sure that banning a procedure that may be life saving for some patients is a good idea. ECT seems barbaric and risky but the fact is we are still in the dark ages in many ways about our knowledge about depression. If it really is a matter of life and death and there is a chance that it will work then why not? The main issue it seems is to evaluate all the risks and balance these against the potential gains. Maybe there should be clear guidelines about when and when not to use ECT.
I think that there are many options before chosing ECT and that they all should be investigated first. I have seen one person who was so depressed that she could not get out of bed or recognize her children and the 30 treatments that she had seemed to help.I understand that they are now doing research with magnetic stimulation that is more effective than ECT without the side effects.
There are so many avenues that one can pursue both with medication and alternative therapies that ECT should be a last resort.
I have to admit, when I had the ECT I thought it was the last resort.
Peace
poster:DLW
thread:48920
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/49695.html