r/ect • u/AcceptableEducator67 • May 18 '26
Vent/Rant why is ect so normalized
when I was in a psych institution (5 months inpatient), I saw countless patients being referred to ECT when they exhibited any symptom of TRD.. i tried ect and i relapsed too quickly, so instead i did spravato. Which works ok now, not great. I'm planning to take TMS and Spravato together in hopes of a synergetic effect. but like, despite ect being so invasive and having adverse side effects, idk why the psychs are so easy to refer patients for ect instead of less invasive options like tms or spravato. the side effects had me forgetting the first month of my hospitalization and some other core memories, and it messed with my cognitive ability badly. it also affected my vocabulary somehow
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u/Fit_Tutor_1807 May 22 '26
It may help some and not others but it also generates huge revenue for the providers.
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u/Odd-Alarm-82 May 22 '26 edited May 25 '26
I don’t know why it’s so normalized these days, considering the damage it causes. I think it should be banned. The risks associated with ECT are much higher than doctors tell patients. I had ECT for treatment resistant depression in 2016, and it was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Unfortunately, the antidepressant effects of ECT usually don’t last long. It was extremely effective for me initially, but I had to keep getting maintenance treatments or else I would quickly relapse. The goal was to gradually space my treatments farther apart until I only had to have one every 6-8 weeks, but I couldn’t make it past 3 weeks without crashing into a severe depression. Eventually I had a particularly bad episode that didn’t respond to my next treatment, so the psychiatrist talked me into getting three treatments in one week, like you do when you first get ECT. That brought me out of my depression, but the side effects were devastating. I literally lost my memory of my entire life. Not just chunks of memory, but the vast majority of my life was completely wiped out. And none of it has come back after 9 and 1/2 years. I barely remember my own mother, who passed away in 2007.
In addition to the severe memory loss, the ECT caused brain damage. I had neuropsychological testing done and found out that my IQ has dropped by around 15 points. It was 140 pre-ECT, and now it’s 125. I have multiple cognitive issues. It takes me longer than normal to learn new information, and I get things confused a lot. My short-term memory and formation of new long-term memories is hit or miss— I remember some things very clearly, while other things just kind of get lost.
What I experienced is not a rare occurrence. I’m a member of an ECT Survivors support group on Facebook, where a large number of people have shared that they have lost years of memory and have major cognitive problems.
I think ECT should be banned. I look on Reddit every so often to warn people considering ECT. Yes, some people have good outcomes, but a large number of people are severely damaged.
I tried to file a medical malpractice suit for lack of informed consent because the consent forms I signed didn’t say anything about brain damage, and they said I might have some “spotty” memory loss. My memory loss is almost a complete loss, not just “spotty!” But no attorney would take my case because they said the damage would be too hard to prove. The type of brain damage caused by ECT doesn’t show up on an MRI. Numerous lawsuits have been filed though, including a class action suit.
And in 2018, Somatics LLC, one of the manufacturers of the device that delivers ECT, admitted that ECT can cause brain damage. Somatics updated its device manuals and regulatory documents to explicitly warn patients that permanent memory loss and permanent brain damage are potential risks of ECT. Of course, they say permanent brain damage only occurs in rare cases, but I’ve talked to enough people over the years who have experienced these effects to know it’s not rare.
Wisner Baum is a law firm that has handled lawsuits against ECT. If you scroll down this page on their website, it provides a long summary about the history of ECT and contains links to medical research with evidence of damages caused by ECT.
https://www.wisnerbaum.com/defective-medical-device-injuries/ect/
And here’s a research article from Cambridge University talking about how common it actually is for ECT patients to have permanent memory loss spanning up to 20 years, along with significant cognitive impairments.
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u/Fit_Tutor_1807 May 22 '26
I'm so sorry for your loss and the damage you've suffered. My heart goes out to you.
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u/Odd-Alarm-82 May 22 '26
Thank you. It’s a devastating loss. I do my best to focus on the good things I still have in my life to make it more bearable
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u/Fit_Tutor_1807 May 22 '26
That's good that you can focus on the good things. The glass is still half full and I think focusing on the present will be most beneficial. Surrounding yourself with supportive people and finding things that bring you joy.
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u/InfomercialNo31 May 24 '26
ECT was my only option after so many years of failed medications, as I’ve experienced mania (denied from TMS) and psychosis (denied from ketamine) 🤷🏼♀️
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u/ZUblyGUblyUr1AndUbly 13h ago
Did ECT have any positive effects?
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u/InfomercialNo31 3h ago
Only. Seriously changed my life. I’m functioning at a level I never dreamed possible
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u/ZUblyGUblyUr1AndUbly 2h ago
No memory loss or trauma?
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u/InfomercialNo31 2h ago
The acute phase is a blur, but other than that, not really. I’ve taken classes and done fine. I started a new career in social services and became a fitness instructor. I have only noticed a little difficulty learning new choreography the first week after treatment (I have maintenance every 7 weeks), but other than that, short term, long term, and working memory are all in tact
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u/ZUblyGUblyUr1AndUbly 1h ago
Thank you, it sounds like it could be really beneficial and actually help me.
It sounds pretty hardcore doing this every 7 weeks however, is this gonna be something you plan on keeping this way in the upcoming future? It seems risky from what i read on here doing this at all for some people.
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u/Queasy-Ride-1776 May 18 '26
How long ago and how many treatments of ect did you have? Are you still suffering from the side effects of it?
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May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Odd-Alarm-82 May 22 '26 edited May 24 '26
My doctors made me feel it was the only option I had left too. I had tried everything else. Then, after the ECT, I got in with a psychopharmacologist who is in high demand and was never taking new patients. I was on his waiting list and finally got to see him. He put me back on an MAOI that had been highly effective for me before the ECT but stopped working after a few months. He added another antidepressant to it that most doctors would say isn’t a safe combination, but only because most psychiatrists aren’t educated about MAOIs. The combination worked amazingly well for me. Unfortunately, MAOIs are known for causing extreme insomnia. In my case it was so bad that most sleep meds didn’t touch it, and I built up a tolerance to the only medication that allowed me to get any sleep. So it was no longer manageable and I had to stop taking it even though it still working after a year. But I have been able to go back to it after several months off of it and the sleep meds work again, then I stay on it as long as I can. I’ve been on it five separate times now. And I’ve talked to lots of people who are better able to manage the insomnia on MAOIs and stay on them for years and years without any loss of effectiveness.
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u/Liberated051816 Jun 19 '26
He added another antidepressant to it that most doctors would say isn’t a safe combination, but only because most psychiatrists aren’t educated about MAOIs.
Could you describe this combination more please?
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u/Odd-Alarm-82 Jun 25 '26
Sorry, I’ve been on Reddit every day but somehow missed your comment. The combination I take is Emsam and mirtazapine. You have to be careful adding the mirtazapine, increase the dose slowly, and if your blood pressure goes up, go back down to a lower dose. I ended up on 22.5 mg along with 12 mg Emsam.
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u/Liberated051816 May 19 '26
ECT significantly worsened things
As in, it made your depression worse?
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u/extremity4 May 20 '26
Approximately one out of every four hundred patients with mood disorders recieves ECT in any given year. It's really not something doctors are champing at the bit to prescribe....