Posted by sarah1980 on September 20, 2003, at 3:12:31
In reply to Re: Electroconvulsive therapy - Ruth » SLS, posted by ginger C on September 19, 2003, at 16:13:17
I underwent about 10 sesssions of ECT at Stanford by very good doctors. It didn't help me at all. However, it did hurt me. After ECT I couldn't remember the names of the streets of my city, I couldn't remember people's names, I couldn't remember many people's faces, I couldn't remember much of the past few years, I forgot how to spell common words. They said it would all go away in 6 months. It has been 2 years now and I have relearned quite a bit but I still can't remember a lot of things in my life. It was embarassing having people come up to me that were my friends and not remembering events that we shared or sometimes even their names.
Also, I can't think as deeply as I used to. I feel asthough my IQ has dropped perhaps 15-25 points. It was high to begin with so no one is very sympathetic and in the past I had wished it was lower, but still when it was taken away without my consent I missed it terribly. I also felt afterward that I didn't know who I was, that I had lost much of my identity. I have also heard of this happening to many other people, though the doctors told me it was rare.
I understand that this treatment is effective for something like 90% of people that have tried everything else without relief. So I wouldn't suggest that it should never me undertaken as a treatment. However, I would undergo this treatment with great caution and as a last resort.
poster:sarah1980
thread:1046
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/261873.html