161–170 of 176 posts
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The headaches and muscle pain are temporary. But the memory loss is severe and while not truly hindering, definitely life altering. Years are just blurred together. Some things and people just aren’t there and it’s really hard for me to remember on my own. It more changes the relationship you have with your memory.
If you wouldn't mind me asking, when and what specific type of ECT did you undertake?
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Ketamine’s effects on depression are not caused by the hallucinations or psychedelic effects. I can’t speak to other hallucinogens but I would imagine the situation is the same there. The day after an acid trip isn’t a new neurochemical environment because of the powerful hallucinations the day before, it is something else. > My own experience with psychedelics tells me no: once you become familiar with the effects t…
> The day after an acid trip isn’t a new neurochemical environment because of the powerful hallucinations the day before, it is something else What is a "new neurochemical environment" exactly? I've had many acid comedowns, and they have all been affected by how the high was - emotionally, mentally, and physically. What do you mean by "its something else"?
I had ECT and it was absolutely life changing. Only thing that ever worked for me. Mild headaches with each treatment and my memories of the time of my treatment is fuzzy. But I think we probably should be investigating why it works so well.
1. You are under general anesthesia 2. The dosage of electricity is very low when compared to how it was done before. 3. The electrical currents are far more focused
Stuff like personality changes or loss of creativity is no longer a risk factor. Risks tend to be those associated with general anesthesia and mild memory loss around the treatment.
I had over 2 rounds of 15 treatments over a 6 month period. I haven't had a serious relapse in the 5 years since. I had tried every SSRI and SNRI my insurance would cover. I had been in therapy for over a decade. I was suicidal. ECT saved my life.
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The rules for use of ECT are much more strict than they were in the past, so when this happened would be extremely important. ECT as used well into the 80s, possibly even the 90s, was pretty much aversion therapy - essentially just: "you'll behave properly or we'll torture you". In CA at least the rules for use of ECT nowadays are extremely strict, and required frequent confirmation of understanding of what you think…
Well, it was in the late 1980s, and it certainly created an aversion response! (although perhaps not the intended reaction) >> was pretty much aversion therapy - essentially just: "you'll behave properly or we'll torture you". If it has changed sufficiently to be essentially unrecognizable vs prior practice, that is probably a good thing... Still, knowing what I do about neuroscience from a minor in college, it still…
The aversion therapy element is gone entirely - it is always performed under general anesthesia, the patient must consent explicitly, and the patient consent and understanding must be checked regularly by a third party.
> The real work of the brain & nervous system happens in hundreds of subtle interactions within cells and in the synapses, the patterns of the synapses, etc, and this is just a global sledgehammer.
Modern ECT is performed with low voltages applied to specific regions, as this and every other paper involves goes into the details of.
> It'll likely have measurable effects, although 50% seems pretty much like toss-a-coin Russian Roulette with your brain.
The success rate is greater than 50%, but it's also fairly dismissive to act like there's no cost involved in the alternative. For example, would you be saying "sure there's a 50% chance this cancer cure will save your life, but it has a bunch of terrible side effects, so it's basically Russian roulette"
> Perhaps an OK bet in true desperation, but...
Again with the dismissiveness.
Neither ECT nor ketamine are considered for anything other than extreme cases for which all alternatives have failed, so weighing the side effects of these treatments against the symptoms of mild and/or treatable conditions is kind of shitty?
I get it, due to personal experience you are biased against ECT, and so whether a bunch of research demonstrates that it can be beneficial is not relevant to you. But you don't get to then act like the alternative is some kind of panacea free from these side effects that are apparently so bad.
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No, quite the opposite. The general consensus is that it’s underutilized.
No, not even close
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective evidence-based medical treatment. ECT is endorsed by the APA when administered by properly qualified psychiatrists for appropriately selected patients.
https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/About-APA/Organiza...
You’re welcome to disagree with the APA, or point out that the APA only represents a small fraction of psychologists, or question whether this is really a consensus opinion.
The APA isn’t god.
But I don’t think you can say things like “No, not even close” and expect to be taken seriously.
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> All the anti-dopamine drugs are terrible. Some of the second-generation drugs that are forced on people are much worse than plain old haloperidol. The poor doctors are just implementing their training. Tragic. Haloperidol has one of the highest rates of side-effects[1], like permanent movement disorders, in its class, and it is neurotoxic[2]. Movement disorders like tardive dyskinesia don't seem like a good time. S…
My friend says she's 'allergic' to olanzapine (Zyprexa). I think it turned her into a zombie? I think aripiprazole (Abilify) is the least-bad of the antipsychotics. None of them work when the psychosis is actually caused by malnutrition, cocaine, meth amphetamine, or alcohol. Injection of these drugs is a form of violence.
I had ECT and it was absolutely life changing. Only thing that ever worked for me. Mild headaches with each treatment and my memories of the time of my treatment is fuzzy. But I think we probably should be investigating why it works so well.
After reading the comments in this thread it is clear that people are not current with how ECT is administered in the modern era. 1. You are under general anesthesia 2. The dosage of electricity is very low when compared to how it was done before. 3. The electrical currents are far more focused Stuff like personality changes or loss of creativity is no longer a risk factor. Risks tend to be those associated with gene…
How does the memory loss manifest? Are you aware that you lost time, like can you feel that you did experience time pass for X amount of days, but you just don't remember what took place? Or is the feeling that the time never passed at all, like it was Monday and you woke up on Friday, but it felt like it was actually Tuesday morning, and you have no intuitive feeling that a week passed at all?
After dealing with depression myself, I dove deeply into this world, and actually ended up founding a ketamine and esketamine treatment startup in the Boston area (lumin.health). We've seen pretty amazing results with patients who have otherwise failed antidepressants and/or ECT and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation). The reality is that ketamine/esketamine are much more accessible from a patient perspective, an…
After dealing with depression myself, I dove deeply into this world, and actually ended up founding a ketamine and esketamine treatment startup in the Boston area (lumin.health). We've seen pretty amazing results with patients who have otherwise failed antidepressants and/or ECT and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation). The reality is that ketamine/esketamine are much more accessible from a patient perspective, an…
What about developing a system that people can use to administer ECT to themselves. Obviously it will have to be sold as something else.
Seems way too dangerous for home use.
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Thank you. Any help for insomnia or overeating?
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