Mental Health I want perspectives on ECT for my Mum.

[onechance]

Short and sweet. My Mum has severe depression, she's had it before, many times and got out somehow.
Now her, her psychiatrist (reasonable guy) and my Dad are seriously discussing ECT.
I live interstate so there's no way for me to truly gauge how bad it is.

My opinion: I'm very very against it because I worry that she will get severe permanent memory loss.
-ECT is better than suicide.
-I worry that it will turn into continuous ECT, effectively causing permanent memory impairment.

My experience
I've had ECT- I had "minor memory loss"- the ECT period is scary blurry, plus a few months before and after are less blurry. All good now.
-There is no such thing as "minor" memory loss.
-I had to drop out of uni and my degree took two years longer to complete.
-It may have helped me.
-I'm awesome now and manage my mood with a minor antidepressant that possibly does nothing, and regular exercise.
-I worry that despite knowing exactly what severe depression is like, I have a "just snap out of it" "positive thinking" "try harder" attitude these days, because that's what works for me.

What I want from you:
-Has ECT helped you or a friend?
-Memory loss horror stories, I don't even know if forgetting who your family is or your kids birth decades ago is a thing?
-Minor side effects?
-Experience of continuous ECT and did it change your relationship with the person?
-Am I being selfish?
-How should I approach talking to them about it?
-Is my attitude incorrect?
-How can I help her?

 

[herbavore]

I was always firmly against the idea of ECT, seeing it as torture. I have a very good friend that in desperation after many many years of chronic, debilitating depression did ask to try it and claimed that it initially did her some good (which to her mind helped her survive the suicidal state she was in). So because of her I have had to soften my completely dogmatic stance (always a good thing but sometimes very hard to do8)).

I guess my advice is to talk to your mother about your experience and your fears. I still believe this should only be done when a person requests it his or herself. Is she convinced it will help her or is she just so desperate that at this point she will try anything?

I don't blame you for being scared. Can you talk to your father and the psychiatrist about your fears about it?

 

[JessFR]

My Mom got nearly 30 ECT's for her depression and is strongly against them. They fucked her memory, and any help to her depression was temporary.

In doing my own research on the subject regarding my own depression, I came to largely agree with her assessment. I don't deny that there's evidence that ECT can be effective against depression, I do however have grave concerns given that the memory side effects can often be permanent, and most evidence I've seen suggest the positive effects on depression wear off.

If it's ECT or suicide, ECT it is. But in my opinion it should be an option of absolute last resort.

As for what happened with my Mom, not long after her ECT's had spectacularly failed to provide lasting relief from depression, the at the time new SNRI antidepressants like Effexor and later Cymbalta came out, and for her Effexor was like a miracle pill for her. Stopped her depression and after menopause she got off the meds and has been depression free since. So the ECT's fucked her memory of those years, and permanently distorted her sense of time, and all for nothing.

Like her I developed depression as mental illness runs in my family and like her I suffered a lot of abuse early in life. And like her I went through a bunch of antidepressants that were ineffective until they finally took my suggestion to try me on an SNRI, Cymbalta in my case. And while I wouldn't call my depression cured, it is much MUCH more manageable now.

So yeah, my opinion on this, I'm not saying under absolutely no circumstances have ECT, I've been institutionalized in a mental hospital and I've seen people who felt they had benefited from it (although they were only speaking shortly after having received it, for all I know their depression may have ultimately returned while their side effects remained in the long run), but I will say I don't think you should trust a word the psychiatrists say if what they tell you is that ECT is unlikely to cause permanent memory loss, or that ECT doesn't have a very very realistic chance of having only temporary benefit. They said exactly the same thing to my mother and it was bullshit. They still say it today and it's still bullshit. Undertaking ECT I firmly believe as I said, should be an option only of last resort. After every class of medication has been tried, given a fair chance, and failed, and the talk therapies failed. Then, if still suicidal, consider ECT. Better poor memory and sense of time than being stuck in the living hell of depression or dead.

 

[SixBuckets]

I know a couple of people who've had good results from it, but I'm not close friends with any of them, so I couldn't tell you about the particulars like memory loss or personality changes. The literature says they're not that common.

I was an ECT candidate when I was first diagnosed as my depression didn't respond to most treatments, but my psychiatrist ended up ruling it out because I'm not great with needles and he thought the fear of injections and the short term memory loss would be a really traumatising combination.

 

[cj]

My phychward roommate was having the treatment administered the last time I was hospitalized. It looked pretty damn brutal. They would come and make him put on a diaper before the procedure. Then they would haul him out and bring him back awhile later a complete mess. He would curl up in the fetal position and moan the rest of the day. He seemed better but still really out of it the day after the treatments. I didn't get to see the final outcome but just based on what I saw I wouldn't have it done unless it was my last option and the depression was just unbearable.