Electroconvulsive Therapy

I work at a VA hospital, and they do ECT all the time. They use it for pt's that have been unresponsive to Meds, and have chronic depression. I've seen it help patient's for sure.

I'm trying to keep an open mind but the picture that keeps popping up in my head is shock treatment similar to the type administered in the movie Ghost Busters

"Ghost Busters" - the definitive guide to cutting edge psychiatric interventions.

I am an RN who has been hospitalized many times with treatment resistant depression. At one point, ECT was suggested as a possibility. If I had needed it, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I have seen the positive results of ECT many times when I have been in hospital. I did see ECT done while I was in Nursing School and have no fears about the procedure. If depression gets that bad again, it is a treatment I would definitely consider.

Okay....this may be in bad taste and I apologize but I have to ask....

Have you ever witnessed an incident where the patient's hair on their head stood straight up after administering ECT which I will affectionately refer to as shock treatment?

"Ghost Busters" - the definitive guide to cutting edge psychiatric interventions.

ALOL!!!!

I have had 3 courses of ECT as an inpatient, for depression, and currently have it every 2 weeks as an outpatient (Maintenance ECT). I think ECT has saved my life as my depression is very treatment resistant. Currently my procedure goes like this: arrive at the hospital at 6am...get obs done, make my way to the day patient room/lounge and doze a bit. Assemble with the 3 other ECT patients in the waiting area by 7am. I get called in some time between 7am and 7.45am (each person only takes 15 minutes)..lie on the bed...get jelco in...nurses attach electrodes..BP cuff etc. I get put to sleep and wake up in the recovery area not long after. Can sometimes wake up a bit disorientated but usually pretty good. Stay in recovery until fully awake and obs fine. Go back to lounge and have breakfast. Get picked up at 1pm and go back to my parent's house for the night. The worst aspect is the muscle soreness the next day...jaw, neck, back, legs . But by the following day I am fine...

So, nothing terribly barbaric as far as I'm aware

There may be philosophical and geographical differences. I work for a large, well-known and well-respected teaching hospital here in the US where it is done everyday for lots of clients (still as a "treatment of last resort," as you note -- but these are individuals who have been referred to us from quite a large area/region, not just local people). There are strict guidelines in the US about which psychiatrists are authorized to administer ECT (there are requirements above and beyond just being a practicing psychiatrist), and a lot of psychiatrists and facilities either object to the treatment on principle or just don't want to mess with the additional requirements/standards. So, most inpatient psych facilities in the US don't offer it, and the people for whom it's an appropriate treatment get referred to the limited number of places that do.

Is it possible that that's your situation as well, that you don't see it simply because it's being done somewhere else? Or do you think it's just not being used as much there as in the US?

It's much the same in the UK, with ECT clinics in a limited number of places. And I think this is why ECT is not performed as much as it was 15-20 years ago, when guidelines were not as stringent and any psyche nurse could assist.

(Mind you, my patient catchment population is only about 27,000......)

hmmmnn.........Interesting....

what are the long term side-effects?

You stated you had muscle soreness such as in the jaw, neck, back, legs.

That concerns me. Have you researched the long term effects?

Also, have you considered chiropractic care? Chiropractic care is not just for a sore back here and there. Now this, I did research

As a psych major, I was never in support of medication, devices, etc.. to alleviate a mental problem. My professors didn't speak on it as being the preferred method of treatment either. My finding is that it was an easy fix to solve a problem and that patients were misdiagnosed, labeled as such, etc...

Here's an example: A hyper kid may be labeled as hyperactive and told by doctors that the solution to his problem is Ritalin whereas if you take a look why he hyperactive, you will see that he is A student and is hyper because he is not challenged in his classes, bored, etc...

I just think that meds and devices are thrown around to frequently to "solve" a problem . Maybe when I become a nurse I may have a different view but I don't know

jenin,

some things that have helped me with depression are sunlight, avoiding isolation, prayer, keeping my mind occupied by staying busy, etc...

And I was "chronically depressed"

ECT may be working for you and if so hey, I won't knock it. Gritting my teeth as I say that.

I'm concerned about the long term effects.

Starting Over....I have no doubt that I would be dead without medication, at the very least . At the moment I am sure that ECT helps me to function day to day, in combination with meds. Over the last 10 years I have lost my career as a physiotherapist of 9 years standing...depression has also cost me a potential nursing career and I am currently functioning as a part time pharmacy assistant with my current treatment regime. Severe depression also triggered anorexia nervosa and due to depression/anorexia I have had around 14 IP psych admissions with a total admission length well over a year .

Since starting ECT I have become more functional and am now also a healthy weight. I do still struggle with depression..meds/ECT are not a cure for me, I know, and now accept that. I am angry at what depression has cost me however. For me, *sunlight, avoiding isolation, prayer, keeping my mind occupied by staying busy, etc...* is unlikely to cut it.

One of the most difficult things about ECT is the fact that people judge me for it. It is my decision ultimately..yes?

some things that have helped me with depression are sunlight, avoiding isolation, prayer, keeping my mind occupied by staying busy, etc...

And I was "chronically depressed"

StartingOver

These things are very helpful measures against mild to moderate depression and chronic dysthymia, but when someone has a severe depression they are either not possible or counterproductive. Staying busy is not an option for someone experiencing psycho-motor retardation. The company of others is painful for someone who feels drenched in shame and unworthy of any attention. A person who believes he is already dead and heading for Hell will not be reassured by prayer.

As you say, maybe when you become a nurse you'll have a different view.