Bipolar Disorder Support Group

Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.

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HannaHana 05/03/2012

I know there are a few of you out there who have had it. Since ECT my memory is shot. No big surprise, but I signed consent for losing "up to several months prior to treatment"....and I've lost big things from 10 years ago.

It's been a couple of months and I have a lot of trouble retaining new information. I called my ECT pdoc today and told him how bad it is. He suggested that I get psychological testing for memory, referred by my regular pdoc...and said that it's not a side effect of ECT (the "can't retain new info" issue). He said that memory loss varies in patients, but it "shouldn't" have caused that severe of memory loss.

But it did. I had a freakishly good memory and ability to retain information before ECT, and now my brain is practically useless.

Anyone else have ECT and have these issues? Does it ever come back? Please be completely honest and don't dance around my feelings.

Autumn111269 05/03/2012

Six years ago I had many ECT's that seemed to wipe my memory as far as five years back. I just had 8 ECT's in April of this year. My memory doesn't seem to be as good as it once was, but the treatments really work for me. I would not have survived the depression without them, nothing else was working. I wish you the best and hope your memory gets better!!

HannaHana 05/03/2012

@ Perx- I'm absolutely sure that this girl does not think that other people love her. She probably thinks that you were manic when you offered her a 1 way ticket to Australia to be your "sex slave". Good luck with that.

@ wizzfizz- I had about 30 treatments, bilateral, and I only stopped the maintenance ECT in the middle of February...so I've had the most "state-of-the-art" treatment as far as ECT goes. I was told that I had seizures that lasted roughly a minute. I'm not a vegetable, so I guess that since the 50's and 60's when it was a new form of treatment, it IS less traumatic to the brain.

@ Autumn- It took at least 15 treatments to start realizing that I had lost some memory, and about 30 to realize that the memory loss went back up to 10 years ago. I don't want to discourage you from doing what you think is in your best interest....just know that I have yet to talk with someone who has had ECT and doesn't regret it.

Autumn111269 05/03/2012

Hey Hanna. Thanks for your response. I don't know, I guess there are downfalls to everything. But when I had ECT six years ago I spent two years having them off and on. Many series were 30 treatments in a series. I do hate some of the memory loss. but if they had not worked, I would not have done them again last month. Last month I was really in bad shape and after trying everything else, my pdoc offered them again and I jumped on them. I feel so much better now and I am so thankful for those treatments. Even if I had lost years of memory, which I didn't, it would have been worth it to get rid of that feeling that I had. But I know everyone feels differently about them and we all have to make that choice for ourselves. Now you have met someone who feels blessed for ECT's. Have a good one!!!

HannaHana 05/03/2012

Thanks Autumn. There's a first for everything. I'm glad that the treatments work for you....and they must be proven to work in a good amount of people for it to even be an option.

I can only speak from my own experience.

deleted_user 05/04/2012

I haven't had it done yet.

My sisterinlaw had it done several times until she admitted to her pdoc that she was hoping to die when she was put out to sleep.

She has never had much of a memory prior to this anyways.

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