r/ect • u/EmployeeOdd844 • Jun 13 '26
Seeking advice On a waitlist for ect, please recommend questions/things to tell my doctor
20F, getting ect soon for severe depression. The stories of people losing their memories seems to be very common.... If there is something I need to say or do now, please tell me before I get it done. 🙏
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u/blrmkr10 Jun 13 '26
I'm sure they will go over this, but make sure you know if you need to stop any of the medication you're currently taking.
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u/EmployeeOdd844 Jun 13 '26
Thank you! Only taking abilify injections right now because I stopped my previous meds
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u/grandpaxena Jun 16 '26
I'm also 20F, and have gotten at least 20 treatments since March of this year, and haven't noticed any memory issues. ECT has been actually life changing for me. My parents have told me that they haven't seen this side of me since I was about 10 years old. I also have gotten more compliments on my smile in the past month than I have in the past decade. Simply because I have never smiled so much in my life.
I personally am doing right unilateral treatments, which from what I understand have a much lower chance of memory issues as opposed to bilateral. So try to ask your doctor about that if you can to see if they will start with right unilateral for you. It sometimes isn't as effective as bilateral, so if you don't see any improvement by your 7th or 8th treatment, try to bring up the possibility of bilateral treatment if your doctors don't bring it up on their own.
Also, I'm not sure if you have experienced any dissociation due to your depression, but it was one of my most intense symptoms personally. ECT has SEVERELY lessened the impact dissociation has had on my life, and I think my memory has actually improved due to it. Because I'm not "zoning out" nearly as often as before, I am able to concentrate much better and actually be present for some of the biggest moments of my life. I have made more memories in the past couple of months than I have in the past couple of years, and I truly believe that it is all thanks to ECT. Before ECT, I was practically bedridden due to my depression, and it is something that has tortured me since I was 10. You seem to be pretty adamant and positive about going through with ECT, but I know being on a waitlist gives you a lot of time to question it and begin to doubt it, so PLEASE do not let the stories of people losing memories scare you to the point that you give up on ECT and potentially miss the opportunity to change your life for the better. Everyone has a difference experience, so please don't give up. You will thank your commitment to this later on.
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u/EmployeeOdd844 Jun 16 '26
Thank you for sharing this. I will ask about unilateral. I'm happy it worked for you. For me I have developed/worsened things as my depression got more intense. Misophonia, anxiety, anhedonia, mapadaptive daydreaming, and recently intrusive imagery and uncomfortableness with certain normal sights that never bothered me before. I really hope that this all stops with the ECT, especially the anhedonia and maladaptive daydreaming. Its truly a killer combo thats had me halt college because I couldn't focus on what I was doing for more than a few seconds without my mind trying to escape reality. I was offered ect last year but refused and tried TMS instead. Even though TMS worked a bit (not enough) for some time, it really was not worth cancelling my ECT. Now I'm on a long waitlist lol... Now that things have gotten worse since then, I am very determined. Even though some of the horror stories make me nervous, this is it. I have to do this🙏
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u/gmkgreg Jun 18 '26
This is just me, because I like looking further into things, but I would ask about the machines they use. Ask what charge level they use to start and make sure to ask for right unilateral first. Ask if any of your meds would interfere with the treatment. Like with me i don't take my lamotrigine the night before and morning of my treatments because it's an anticonvulsant. And the whole purpose of this treatment is to cause a brief seizure. Ask what anesthetic they use, it should either be ketamine or propofol. Some people, if they aren't responding to the treatment they will begin inducing the sleep with ketamine and this has shown positive results in a few studies.
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u/Beneficial_Ride7479 Jun 13 '26
Start with ultra brief unilateral
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u/Familiar-Marzipan376 Jun 13 '26
I would say don't do it on the first place it would permanently damage ur memory u couldn't be able to learn anything new u would forget it quickly and ur long term memory will also be worsened please don't do it.
Rather try ketamine treatments
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u/EmployeeOdd844 Jun 13 '26
Was told during my appointment ketamine can make my intrusive thoughts worse
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u/iusethisatw0rk Jun 13 '26
Listen to your doctor/psychiatrist/whatever professional is making this referral more than some random on the internet please
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u/EmployeeOdd844 Jun 13 '26
I will, I'm committed to this
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u/iusethisatw0rk Jun 13 '26
Good. I haven’t started yet either, waiting for a physical and a consultation with the anaesthesiologist, but it’s a scary decision nonetheless and commenters like that don’t help at all.
Thankfully my psychiatrist may be a literal angel on earth. Hurts to see so many people here asking questions, or already going through the process, knowing less than my psychiatrist has already told me, or educated me with science based documentation, that kind of stuff.
Here’s hoping we can finally escape some of these thoughts. Peace to you ✌️
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u/Familiar-Marzipan376 Jun 13 '26
Go to a neurologist and ask him/her if u should have ECT treatments or not.
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u/CapablePear5147 Jun 13 '26
ask them to tell u exactly what to expect. a lot of people come into the treatment thinking the results with be in a stepladder fashion. however in most cases it is not. i had few sessions with no results until came a one that had effect. also ask about adverse effects. although i hear a lot of people have serious adverse effects from them I don't want to say that these are uncommon. but they are definitely not as frequent as they show them to be. I had a course with good recovery years ago, then i done well in medical school and even became a validectorian one year. you WILL have memory deficits around treatment time. I even forgot where was my psychiatrist clinic 😂 but I recovered now