Within a couple weeks after electro-shock treatments , arriving home at my parents house , having been released into their custody, with great difficulty I convinced my dad to verbally fill in the gaps in my memory where I knew uncomfortably , that stuff was missing concerning my previous history and yet did not know what it was. This is understandable: as a doctor, you want your patient to have the best treatment for their condition, and finding the words to describe ECT and its adverse effects is hard. I noticed one particular damaged patient asking for help, suggestions, and assistance during the NIMH Its fairly acceptable to admit to taking antidepressants these days, less so ECT. I had been fully compliant and never refused anything, fully cooperative, responsible, never late and never a no-show. They made good money off of me, since they kept their numbers up at the clinics. This was initially more obvious to others than to me; it took some months for me to feel myself, but the severity of my depression reduced within weeks. She only had to pay $650 a month for rent, electricity is cheaper there, ect. I not only have long term memory loss, but i have cognitive impairments and brain damage. Our conversation helped . She did submit and paid a vicious price for that act, compliance., My sister suffered and is permanently impaired from this treatment!! There is good evidence that it works and is safe, although medication is usually needed to maintain long-term remission. To avoid family awkwardness, my brothers had tactfully omitted naming where I am located. Try calling your local SPCA. However, peer-reviewed research published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry concludes "the high risk of permanent memory loss and the small mortality risk means that its use should be immediately suspended". Reminders and reassurance can go a long way. Id like to reiterate thanks to Lauren Tenney for her tireless work and a big In Solidarity hug to all you who have survived and to all those who have not and to those that love us still . The worse the illness, the better it seems to work, and it can be miraculous. In the 12 post-ECT years I have difficulty forming memories. I havent been able to work, and my husband has been responsible for almost everything in our household including the care for my daughter. At the last ECT treatment given, the nurse told me there was no reason to continue the ECT treatments because they were not working and were causing more harm than good.. She did not understand why the psychiatrist insisted on continuing ECT treatments and said they were nothing but torture. What do neuropsychs suggest? The treatment involves delivering electric currents to the brain in order to induce a. The risks are just too bad. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. They even tried to claim that I was delusional that I had a masters degree, that I had used special accommodations, that I had gone to degree mills, that I was borderline retarded, anything they could do to completely demolish my accomplishments so that they could continue to uphold their bogus claims. Credit: Michigan Medicine Christina often struggled to get through the average day. After several (or only one) of these treatments, the patient experiences headaches, nausea, loss of memory, disorientation and emotional instability, and other symptoms. Just the sound of defeating silence and a blank space in response. Unfortunately, when published, the reporter presented our information accurately but combined it with misinformation provided by so-called experts and disproportionate negative examples of the treatment. She might have recovered if her brain hadnt been damaged by the ECTs. I do not remember much about the 1980s or 1990s. (modern), Until we have another better treatment that works rapidly, I think there will be a place for ECT., ecently I spoke with someone who had, in the past, been given a large number of. This and Murphy are both examples of psychiatric oppression which should not require ultra-sophisticated socio-political analyses for regular people to grasp their destructive nature. She was given lots of ECT and hospitalized for a long time. In total, I have had around 70 individual treatments. Suffolk at that point was split into two different trusts. You dont get support, you dont get listened to. It wasnt possible that I had anything wrong with my brain. If you look at the multiple roles of women in society, they are pretty much exhausted a lot of the time far more than men I suspect. We have all seen patients who are barely communicating transformed by even one or two treatments: eating and talking, and freed of the burden of suffering. I had 30 rounds of ect for severe depression at 21 years old. It should be banned not lowered in class., I know firsthand that shock treatment is. And LOL! While you may be aware of the hazards (heart attacks, brain bleeds, memory loss), what you probably dont know about is what happens to them as people who you interact with. That terrible portrayal in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest has a lot to answer for, and it probably does pop into peoples minds, even though its far from the truth. Perhaps neither treatment is better or worse, just different. Its cruel., Because my niece went through ECT and it caused her permanent brain damage. It wiped out the majority of my autobiographical memories, and caused severe short term memory problems, apathy, eye movement disorder, spontaneous seizures, headaches, nightmares, ptsd. But the Royal College of Psychiatrists said ECT offers "life-saving treatment" and should continue in severe cases. "For many, it can be a life-saving treatment," he said. Like most people, I take it for granted that I am living and functioning, partaking in daily activities with the ability to work productively. (It is noteworthy that ECT is seldom administered to young men. Very rarely, people may experience prolonged seizures. I am so surprised it is still used at all, let alone anyone considering extending its use., I have suffered significant damage from weekly ECT treatments for 6 months! (I love my dog dearly but my health would be just as important). peer respites, peer support, non-medical holistic whole body approaches, to name a few.) Both had spoken out strongly against the ECT. Psychiatrists have incredible power. Thats why Ive signed this petition!, Patients, myself included are not given full disclosure upon obtaining consent. That would put an end to shock as treatment. Those of you who know me well know that Im not a shopper of things or of my work. I can't remember graduating high school or my sister's sweet sixteen. Without it, Im not sure I would have recovered to be with family or train as a psychiatrist. Which they denied, and then said I must now, at age 39, have very suddenly have developed a severe personality disorder, that I had had, rather undetected, never before known about, since adolescence, and surely it was my Jewish upbringing that was at fault. Still Active, just FYI). It shows such decency and humanity. The research also found a 47-fold difference between the trusts with the highest and lowest usage rates per capita. I had memory problems, trouble sleeping. But an SWLStG spokeswoman said: "Electroconvulsive therapy is an evidence-based, NICE-approved treatment to be used under specific circumstances and can have benefits for certain patients, particularly for people with severe depression who have not responded to other forms of treatment. At those crazy anti-ECTers!! "When I woke up I had a horrible headache and that has never gone away. "My big passion was walking, I did it every day, but since the shock therapy I don't have the drive to do it and that's really upsetting for me. I had over 70 of these horrible treatments within a two year span. I have notes stuck all over my walls to remind me what to do. For the record, AFTER my ECT, I complained that there seemed to be something wrong with my brain. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Quite the reverse. Season 1. Theyve seen movies or testimonials about brain damage, electricity, and high relapse rates. Please make a principled stand against it., Ive seen the devastation that shock can cause. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. It is utter unscientific rubbish that should be banned. "It got to the point where I even baptised my feet in the toilet.". Something was put in my mouth before they anaesthetised me. Above them there is no justice. The sixth, seventh, and eighth most common words used in the comments submitted through the petition were damage, barbaric and torture. We must continue the fight to make sure that the FDA hears the people who will be adversely affected by the proposed rule if it becomes an order. i know this is kind of typical of these situations, i just feel so lost. They have been hollowed out somehow as people, the connections in their brains fried with electricity so that they are no longer complete persons. The research criticises a British review of the evidence conducted in 2003 for ignoring the lack of data. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. I survived that . When doctors cant help, they use whatever extreme methods might be available regardless of the harm that is done. The ECT method is also condemned because it has multiple side effects. I heard about this one from a friend. So I would have to try and describe [something] and then often by the end of the sentence, Id forgotten what I was trying to say.. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to My idea was to learn this cool thing called email, and have email pals. She has PTSD and memory loss from these treatments. What? ECT is a simple procedure, but many precautionary measures must be taken before the pulse of electricity can be given to produce the seizure. A friend I made the first time I was in the hospital, after that doctor made me sick, got that ETC, Before the ECT she would hang out with all of us, was cool, and remind the staff and everyone else every half hour of so I hate this F***ing hospital. The results are horrific., In 1999, a family member who was 76 years old committed suicide 3 days after ECT treatment and while on 5 different psych meds. My Great-Aunt was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was seventeen. A bit of selective memory themselves. However, the risk of death is minimal. For more information about me or Struck by Living, check out the Struck by Living website. A Gannett Company. I have lost 35+ yrs of memory, 27 IQ pts, am unable to make new memories, numb, like a zombie. Sounds dramatic Im assuming, but I am far from!, I had ECT several years ago and have had noticeable cognitive problems since and ECT does not reduce suicide risk., ECT treatments caused a huge change in my life. Please do not believe such nonsense. Than they have already done! Recently I spoke with someone who had, in the past, been given a large number of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments. With ECT, Ive defied suicide, living 14 lucky years beyond my attempts of 2001. I have constant memory loss, says Luff, who previously worked as a care home manager. FDA is not putting consumers before the financial interests of the ECT device manufacturers and American Psychiatric Association. ECT saved my father's life and my parents' marriage. 1) Frozen Fruit. But he said to hang on. The most common are short-term to permanent memory loss and other cognitive difficulties, headaches, toothache and muscle aches, nausea, cardiac arrhythmias, and similar cardiovascular problems. About half were from survivors who told their stories and used some pretty good data in a lot of places. 1000 carbon copies from Pdicks I mean Pdocs? Mankind is forced to take. No one can predict the future. This is literally the last chance to ask your networks, friends, and loved ones to have your voice counted in this round of our fight with the FDA to not down-classify the shock device for any reason, and to have them hold hearings on the shock device. is life-threatening and you need a rapid improvement to save your life; is either causing you immense suffering or is likely to get worse, so that a rapid improvement is needed; has not responded to other treatments, such as medication and psychological therapy. It is a brutal and unnecessary treatment, because patients will feel better eventually without any ECT. Count me in. Sorry I'm in Alberta. If I want to be bleak, I can talk about how ECT ruined my life, how it stole my memories of my ex-fiance (and nearly everything else about my life), to such a degree that I don't even remember what she looks like or how we met or our first date or even the circumstances under which she left me. But it sure made a lot of money for the doctor. I had no trouble in the class. Yes, ECT is always described as a last treatment option. And one of the biggest of those crimes is administering shock to the vulnerable and distressed and suffering, usually, as you say, after poisoning them into a state of toxic drug insanity ECT erased the memories of most of my life away. You get a short general anaesthetic so that you are completely unaware of the seizure, which is, in any case, almost imperceptible due to a muscle relaxant. ECT has no relevance to treatment-resistance, since this term has no real meaning, but rather, it is given when the patient is a nuisance to the institution. His last work for NAMI was as a Human Rights worker. Leave it to psychiatry to promote brain damage as a mental health benefit.. One member recounted that during Thanksgiving 2013, he was in a locked psychiatric ward eating an anemic slab of turkey. 3 months subscription | 45.00. Drs must not be allowed to do any harm. I must say that if meds didn't ultimately work for me, and I was afraid they wouldn't, my next consideration would have been ECT. They all cited just one article that said, Safe and Effective, and that one article was very carefully debunked by all the survivor comments. It is inhumane and not Medicine! "On the basis of the clinical trial data, ECT should not be used for depressed individuals.". Had neuro testing 6 months after ect and my iq dropped 50 points, was a former honor student in high school. Stock up for those summer smoothies! But the experience itself was, for me, very easy. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. These NUMB and insensitive The appliances are great and you can tell the builders paid close attention to detail in the apartments. Ect ruined my life. A self-loathing person who finds something missing in themselves may rely on their partner to fill that gap. At least 1,600 patients were given ECT in the UK and Ireland in 2017, according to psychiatrists. After explaining to Mr. Ryan my inability to input all of the comments we received through the petition, and howdocuments from my own comments were not successfully uploaded, he agreed to accept these documents in print form. Each one of those 1000 comments were individually composed and relatively unique. ECT has proven dangers, honor them instead on minimizing them., I am an ECT Survivor (23 Shocks) and would never wish it upon vulnerable people because Ive never been the same nor did ECT work! The editor encouraged me to shop my article to other news agencies. I sometimes ask myself whether meds are any better. Real talk. Its only recently that I remembered that I am able to go out and buy things. 12 to 16-ounce bags of frozen fruit. A former teacher diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression - along with OCD, bipolar disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) - she was unable to work. Some argue that ECT only works temporarily, the high relapse rate invalidating the procedure. He says: ECT has such a high risk of brain damage that it should be very carefully monitored and regulated. I was saying youve done something to my head, [but] me and my family were being told there was nothing wrong with me. Agreed. Description. ), Ive had numerous ECT treatments because I was deemed treatment resistant and now have to live with severe memory loss and cognitive impairment., I am signing this petition because I am still recovering from shock treatment that was done to me over forty years ago., Im signing because I know the horror of this disabling procedure., Three people we have known have been traumatized and damaged by this procedure, a woman who can no longer read because she cant remember the previous page, a father who can no longer think, remember or function enough to work and a 17 yr old who blames his parents for not protecting him when he was shocked with his parents consent., Im an electroshock survivour and have experienced the harm caused by it, as well as the lies to cover it up., I absolutely disagree that ECT is safe in any way. Theyve done everything they possibly could ever since to attempt to discredit me and prove that what I have done couldnt possibly be real. Now 27 years old, Im scared about my future as its been over 5 years and Im still left with severe disabilities from it. How the human soul accept this? The study's lead author, Dr Read, a professor of clinical psychology, describes previous research justifying the use of ECT in the UK and around the world as "the lowest quality of any I have seen in my 40-year career". Truth, I can also answer that question. and our Electroconvulsive Therapy There is NEVER a need for rapid response, never a need to zap a persons brain and expect the person to presto chango be undepressed. TMS aka rTMS for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive type of brain stimulation treatment. Life was worth living. Side effects include memory loss and numerous neurological abnormalities. Its not just one-way though; clinicians who dismiss or minimise adverse effects too glibly dont help either, and each provokes the other. ECT doctors view this as an improvement but actually it indicates severe and disabling brain injury. They look very high end. And even many of the protesters suddenly, quite illogical stop responding and become silent. Recovery is possible and even to be expected foe those who have experienced mental health challenges, unfortunately shock treatment reduces the likelihood that an individual can recover while it permanently alters their personality., As survivor of this barbaric procedure, I cannot say I support this petition, no, I urge anyone who cares about their fellow human beings to sign. All her medical training was gone. For the record, I am alive. The patient is first given anaesthetic and muscle relaxants before putting in a mouth guard to stop them from biting their own tongue. As the years go by I now have a form of amnesia due to the shock therapy, please make them STOP!. The reason? !, Among the people I know who have undergone ECT is my mother. But it would be electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in 2016 and 2017 that would ultimately set the 47-year-old on a path toward remission and back on the stage. One of the pioneers of research into subjective memory impairment were Squire and Chace who published a series of studies in the 1970s demonstrating the adverse effect of bilateral ECT on subjective assessment of memory. I can no longer take care of myself & finding a reason to push forward is uprooted by simply looking in the mirror, and no longer knowing the soulless fragment of a man I no longer know. Do not let arbitrary dates dictate the down-classification of the shock device! From feeling entirely hopeless about the future, my mood lifted with each session. I was told it would simply make my brain reset itself and in a short time I would be fine It is just a lobotomy really. Scared to eat anything for fear of more nausea. No surprise there. Of course this earned me a mental health label because thats the way it works, right? Grandma says the shocks cured her hallucinations, but her brain may have been too fried to produce any or she may have not been able to tell people. Another group member survived a horrific suicide attempt, and with ECT, has completely rebounded to care for her three young children. No, it was all a matter of luck. our lives are very much intertwined and i can't just up and leave. It can not be. people seem to be oblivious to the fact that those who speak out have a noble cause and a humanistic agenda- to protect people from being brain injured, disabled, and driven to suicide bc of their losses, trauma, and despair. After ECT, i feel that my personality was wiped out. As a doctor and psychiatrist, I know that all treatments will have potential unwanted effects, and it would be wrong to say that such problems are not possible. ECT was an horrific procedure with catastrophic results. I also had no bug problems, and hardly ever heard my neighbors. I measured at 78 which is almost borderline retardation. As you've said, ECT involves electricity to the brain, it's an inexact science. Is electroconvulsive therapy ever right for children? I had been told by expert shrinks that I was completely incapable of sitting in a room full of people due to my severe personality disorder. Wow, I found that this was entirely untrue! I used to be known as a pretty smart person - safe to say Im dumb as a rock. I have known several people who have had ECT and desperately regret it. I was in a behavioral center for 4 weeks and received treatment 3 x week. Id been left so damaged that I didnt know how to count money out. I suffer mentally, physically and emotionally from the damages caused by ECTs. It is also functioning in everyday life that is effected. Read about our approach to external linking. I was exaggerating, they said, Faking it. Each time I complained, they said, You think about yourself too much, you are self-absorbed. They even said Id been faking my eating disorder for attention! I had very impaired memory, emotional reasoning and cognition for many years afterward Like 14 years now. I felt hopeless and useless. A Life Erased. ..its hard to say anything to him because he ordered the ECT .he says 25 percent of his patients are stuck in a depressionhmmm he must suck as a doctor !! Paula Bolton, MS, CNP, ANP-BC, reports that after having ECT, many patients share responses like, "I feel like myself again" or "I'm getting my life back.".
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