I would appreciate it if you could share the specifics of your experience. Did/does your husband suffer with anxiety at all? If so, did the ECT have any impact on it?
My ex mainly suffers from severe, treatment resistant depression that when at its worst results in violent outbursts. Anxiety is an issue for him, though typically not extremely severe.
I definitely think ECT should be a last resort, but when all else has been tried and you still are having strong, dangerous (to yourself and/or others) symptoms it is definitely something to be considered. When I was pregnant with my daughter my doctor and I established a plan of action should my symptoms become so severe that I or my baby was in danger. I insisted that I did not want to be on medication that would be harmful to my baby and that I wanted to avoid inpatient hospitalization if at all possible. So it was agreed that if my symptoms became out of control my husband would consent and my physician would facilitate a course of ECT which is not dangerous to an unborn child. Fortunately this was never necessary. I experienced some significant depressive symptoms but nothing that we couldn't control without resorting to the extremes of ECT.
Typically when a person and their physician(s) decide to undergo a course of ECT you are looking at receiving several treatments per week until you've completed approximately 9-12 treatments. Obviously this can vary significantly from person to person. It is important to realize that it is not a one treatment type of scenario.
My ex experienced a great deal of anxiety surrounding the treatments. In his case it was the anesthesia in particular that frightened him. We learned that most people experience anxiety surrounding the treatment but the specific fear generally varies from person to person. When the doctors see how you respond to the treatment (both physically and emotionally) they are able to adjust the medication they give your during the procedure. Through this, they were able to medicate my ex to significantly reduce his anxiety during the procedure. Also, he did experience headaches after the treatment but they adjusted his medication for that as well and this was alleviated. After a treatment he would sleep most of the day but be fine the next day.
As I said, these are a course of treatments. The short-term memory loss does not typically begin with the first treatment. But as you get into the course you begin to experience it. Again, the severity of this varies from person to person but for my ex toward the mid to end of the course his memory loss was significant. This included walking into a room and then standing there in a daze completely confused as to what he had gone in there for and/or how to do that activity. For example, after a shower he planned to shave. He picked up his razor but then stood there looking at it and unsure of what his intent was. I had to gently remind him that he was going to shave and then he proceeded with that activity. During his first course of ECT, he truly forgot that one set of his grandparents had passed away several years prior. I had to explain to him that they were dead and for him it was like experiencing the loss for the first time again. During the course of ECT you are not allowed to drive at all and this continues for one to two weeks after the course has ended (I don't recall the exact time frame).
In time this short term memory loss dissipates. For my ex he does still experience some minor memory problems but it truly is difficult to know what may be related to the ECT and was is just the way he is. Even prior to the ECT he never had the best memory.
Even if the ECT is successful for a person there is always a chance that they will require maintenance treatments. However, this is not necessarily true of every patient. Again, with every patient being different, the need for maintenance treatments can vary from every few weeks to every few months, once a year or never. The key is that when and if you start to experience an increase in symptoms, you get in for a maintenance treatment as soon as possible. This will allow you to only need one to two treatments and therefore the side effects are non-existent or very minimal. If you wait too long and your symptoms are again significant you will likely be facing another full course of ECT (that same 9-12 treatments).
The natural question is having experienced ECT and all that it encompasses, would he do it again. Absolutely. In fact, he has done so. He has had a time when he let his symptoms get too severe and required another full course of treatment. He has also had a time when he began to experience an increase in symptoms, got in quickly and only required two treatments. When this was the case he did not experience any of the memory loss side effects. At this time he does not require maintenance ECT and it has been several years since his last treatment. Once he was no longer experiencing the depression symptoms he worked with his doctor to find a different medication regime that would keep the symptoms under control. So far this has been successful.
I know that many people have very strong opinions about ECT. Many people are adamantly opposed to this treatment. Prior to my ex needing it I too thought it was a barbaric practice that was no longer used. But having been involved with and directly effected by my ex's need I no longer feel this way. I can say with all confidence that had my ex not consented to the ECT he absolutely would not be alive today. He was was in so much emotional pain and felt so hopeless and helpless that he was determined to kill himself. He had already attempted suicide by cop but fortunately they used their tasers instead of their guns. In the height of his symptoms he also became a danger to myself and our daughter. ECT is not for everyone but for those who truly need it, it can be a miracle.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions. If there is anything else specific that you would like to know, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer based on our experience.
Thread 'What do you think about the phrase 'trauma doesn't define you"?'
