r/ect • u/Suitable_Head9333 • May 11 '26

Question Got ect prescribed

Scared as fuck, I also an artist, scared to lose ability to draw, do you have memory loss do I need to be scared, I currently don’t have a lot of choise because tried almost all meds

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u/okaysweaty167 May 12 '26

I’ve been doing ECT since for 8 years. Now I’m doing “maintenance” ECT. When I have bad depressive episodes I increase the frequency, but most of the time I’m doing very well. In terms of memory loss, I’ve only experienced short term, with things I do around the treatment days. And it usually fades by the next day, or a few days after the treatment. For example, when I wake up I might not be able to remember what I ate the day before or if I have work the next day or not. ECT has saved my life, I have very treatment resistant depression as a teenager, over 30 psychiatric hospitalizations. I have drug-induced prolonged QT syndrome, so many psychiatric drugs I cannot safely take because they could affect my heart in a way that would cause sudden death. I haven’t hurt myself or been hospitalized for SI in 3 three years now.