ECT and memory loss

[JonathanClouse]

I have been a psych patient for many years now. I've been through just about every med for depression and just recently stopped ECT tx's. I've been doing much better now and would like to go back to school to obtain a Ph.D. Not sure what field, but would eventually study whether there is any correlation between headaches after ECT treatments and memory loss.

Just curious as to what anyone here has noticed. Finally, thank you all for your hard work. If it wasn't for the nurses who have helped me in the past, I wouldn't be where I'm at today.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I've seen short periods of memory loss...well, more like memory fuzziness...in patients post-ECT. It usually resolves within a couple of days. I've personally not known of anyone who has suffered lasting memory loss as a result of ECT. Then again, I don't work specifically in the ECT unit, so I only encounter the odd ECT patient here and there.

[elkpark]

What I have seen is people experiencing retrograde amnesia for events immediately prior to the ECT treatment (like, what happened between when they awoke that morning and when they returned to the unit from the treatmnt), but have not encountered people who felt they were having any more significant memory difficulties. Also in my experience, headaches are not uncommon as a side effect of the treatments, but I haven't seen any specific connection between headaches and memory difficulties.

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

I can speak to this from personal experience. I've had ECT in the past. The last series I had was about 12 years ago. I had a headache & mild nausea after every treatment which usually lasted only 4-5 hours. I had very minimal memory loss which was also temporary. It was usually regarding what I had done the evening before & the morning of the treatment. After a day or 2, all the memories returned.

I have a friend who had 2 treatments a few years ago & claims he's lost all memories of his life before the treatments. However, he frequently talks about the day he got married & the day his daughter was born. Since his daughter is out of high school, I find it interesting he can remember the day she was born when he claims he has no long term memory.