Not yet. See my last post. Your treatment plan isn't working. Many problems can look like depression. I think you need a new treatment plan before you go there. You seem desperate. Be calm and start over. Tell your doctor treatment isn't working and seek the best specialists for hormone therapy. Hormones being off can make you feel crazy. I know.

I had several rounds of it and while it didn't work for me I would still recommend it for someone who has already tried many of the meds out there as overall it has a very high success rate. It's safe and painless although you might experience some memory loss.

Thanks Heidi. How did you pay for it?

I would be very careful about this decision. I had it done over 10 years ago after several nervous breakdowns. When I opted for it they did a brief interwiew with me while I was inpatient which is where I had my first treatment done. The rest were done as out patient. After the first time I woke up ( they put you to sleep) and felt absolutely terrible and I didn't want to do anymore. But they told me would take 15 to 20 visits to get results. But what happened after that is I have no memory of it except for the first treatment. My family tells me they drove me to 15 more treatments at the hospital I became a zombie at that time and could nolonger advacate for myself and apparently just went through the motions after the first time. In the end it was devestating. The ECT triggered severe chronic insomnia and pain issues throughout my body and I was bed ridden for 2 years afterwards. The pain eventually went away but the insomnia is still horrible it has never gone away. It is very debilitating and I suffer with it to this day. I tried everywhere to get answers to what happened to me but I could find no one to help me. One doctor only told me that I was a bad candidate for ECT and probably what I had really needed to do was get out of the abusive situation that I was in at the time and that would have solved alot of my problems. To late now unfortunately. Remember that ECT messes with your brain and it can make permanent changes in your brain that can not be fixed later on. I have never met anyone that has had ECT but I have heard of other people that have had positive results. Also I have read that ECT is only temporary and eventually your mental healh issues will return after a period of time. Think about this very carefully before you commit I myself do not advise it. My insurance covered the cost. I didn't have to pay anything. Also I still have memory loss to this day

Thank you for the information. Have you been able to work since then?

I have seen its results positively in someone I know. Although, I do not feel it worked for me. Make certain you explore other options.

No before the ECT I was hospitalized several times but afterwards. I always got some what better and rallyed myself to go back to work for awhile. But the ECt destoryed my ability to overcome and restore my health no matter how hard I tried. I am on permantly disability now and nolonger live a normal life. I blame the negative effects of having Done ECt for destroying my life and my ability to work.I have truly never recovered from it

I am so sorry.

My aunt had it. Total 180 in her personality but she has long and short term memory loss. I had it and at first, it wasn't working. So they stopped after about 2 weeks. I had short term memory loss but nothing that lasted, as far as I can tell. It took a few months but I felt it work. It seemed to help my meds work better, more efficiently. Essentialy, it's a last ditch effort for treatment resistant patents or those who have been through years of drugs with no results. It tries to reboot the brain, like you would to a computer. Does it always work? No. Did it for me? yes and I was finally able to work again after 6 month from the last treatment. I felt more normal than I had in a decade. Better than any drug could get me. Is it dangerous? Only someone who does the treatment on patients can tell you what the risk vs reward is. And nothing is certain. Also, I found that I had bad headaches immediately after each treatment, which they said was normal. They never lasted more than a day at most, and I think most only lasted a few hours. Tylenol helped. I can say it helped me and it helped my aunt. There are others who undergoes maintenance ect. They get the same treatment periodically if it is the most effective and drugs don't help. I hope this helps. Good luck either way you go.