ECT

Electroconvulsive therapy. ECT. ECT is used to treat depression when medications and other forms of therapy haven't worked. It's not the first form of therapy that's normally tried. It's also used to treat bipolar mania and some other mental illnesses. During an ECT, an electrical energy device sends electric pulses to the brain. This causes a brief seizure, lasting from 30 seconds to two minutes. It's done under general anesthesia. You are not awake and do not feel the treatment. Medication is also used to paralyze the muscles that usually move with seizures. They don't really know how ECT works, just that it does. There are theories. One is an ECT is like rebooting a computer. Turning it off and turning it on again. They also theorize that the seizure makes new pathways for thinking to lessen the detrimental thinking that accompanies severe depression. Suicidality is supposed to lessen a whole lot.

I started ECT on Monday, September 24th 2018. Right now I receive a treatment Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Right now the seizure inducing nodes are only placed on my right lobe, and the seizure takes place only on that side of my brain. This is less intensive as a whole brain seizure to start out with. We'll see as I go along if they continue that route, or do a whole brain seizure. I've had three treatments as of today, Saturday the 29th of September. Next week will be MWF as well.

I've tolerated it as well as can be expected. I've had extreme muscle stiffness and soreness after the first treatment, from the muscles contracting during the seizure. But that has subsided as the week has gone on. I've been nauseous each time and have taken Zofran to help with that. I don't believe I've had any memory loss yet, but short term memory loss is a side effect from the ECT.

The normal series of ECTs is 8-10. Some people are more, some are less. It just depends on how your progressing and if you're having severe side effects. It's a treatment by treatment kind of thing.

I haven't noticed much of a difference yet. It's still early in my series though. I do feel more hopeful than I have in years, so there is that. I'm entertaining the idea of a future and what that looks like for me. I am willing to let the ECT run its series and see how that helps me. I am hopeful this will continue to work and I'll continue to see improvement. It's pretty draining on the body, but if it helps my depression it will all be more than worth it.