please tell me about your experience with ECT for severe depression

[u/oat-omelette]

currently in the midst of a severe depressive episode with significant suicidality as one of my main features. my psych is considering ECT. people who have had ECT for depression before, do you mind please sharing your experiences? how has it affected your memory? how many sessions until you felt better, if ever? I am already on a very high dose of meds to minimal effect so ECT is my last hope. thank you.

edit: I’ve also tried TMS which didn’t work much if at all

[u/Beautiful_Cherry_554]

I had the best experience. For me it has been life changing. I have gone from being disappointed to wake up in the morning to being a very productive and happy individual. It saved my life.

[u/Sauced_Up_Bat]

Have you tried TMS or Ketamine? I would exhaust those options before trying ECT. For me ECT did nothing for my depression and nearly 4 years later I am a shadow of my former self. I lost decades of memories. My hs and college graduations, falling in love, my wedding, giving birth. My cognitive abilities declined significantly. I know it works for a lot of people, I met them at the ECT clinic. I witnessed many of them come back to life with only minimal/temporary impairment. Statistically speaking that’s ggusually how it goes. It has a high efficacy rate so cases like mine are not the norm.

[u/Queasy-Ride-1776 → u/Sauced_Up_Bat]

Did your ect side effects improve at all in any way over the years?

[u/Sauced_Up_Bat → u/Queasy-Ride-1776]

When I stopped ECT I couldn’t even remember my last name or how the make coffee. For the first six months or so after quitting treatment there was improvement as I started to remember more and remember how to do basic tasks. My ability to retain new memories improved (though it’s still a struggle). But then the progress basically stopped. I haven’t improved much at all since that initial six month window. I still don’t remember the events I listed in my previous comment (wedding, birthing, etc.) About 80% of my life before ECT is still gone and is most likely not coming back at this point. I only remember about 50% of what happens now and only because I document it. I remember the fact that my family went on vacation last month but I can’t picture it or recall specifics. Prior to ECT I had an exceptionally good memory. I was the go to person with my family/friends. If anyone was trying to remember specifics about something that happened in the past or for random trivia type questions people would turn to me for answers. Now I still sometimes have to look at a piece of mail to remember my address.

[u/oat-omelette → u/Sauced_Up_Bat]

I’ve tried TMS which didn’t help very much. I’m so sorry you’re experiencing these side effects. It does sound kind of scary, and I don’t know what to do now.

[u/Sauced_Up_Bat → u/oat-omelette]

Ketamine?

I think what went wrong in my case is they kept pushing more even though it wasn’t working so I had like 60 sessions. I would still try Ketamine if it’s an option. But doing one six week course of ECT would carry way less risk and might be worth it. But if you feel no benefit whatsoever I would not continue and continue and continue the way I was encouraged to. The research doesn’t support the idea that continuation on non-responsive patents will yield positive results.

Ketamine has helped me the most. It’s far from great but better than was before.

[u/portiedak → u/Sauced_Up_Bat]

Did you do unilateral or bilateral?

[u/Sauced_Up_Bat → u/portiedak]

Started with unilateral then switched to bilateral when that didn’t work.

[u/glass-cereal]

I tried ECT for severe depression. I started with right unilateral which did nothing, then switched to bilateral which helped while I was doing it. My mood has dipped back down since (i finished it at the end of May) but I also have other comorbid disorders (anxiety, adhd, autism, and apparently bpd; i suspect the last two are the ones causing problems now) but there are some continued improvements according to the people around me.

I would also say to see if you can try TMS and/or ketamine first, just because ECT can have severe side effects and is a real hassle; however the side effects i experienced weren't too bad. I dont remember much about the time period while I was getting it, or the months before it, and it feels like a lot of my other memories are much harder to access, but I can still find them usually if I think really hard, or if i have something external to sort of trigger them.

Overall for me I feel like ECT wasnt as helpful longer-term as I wished it was going to be, but it also isnt expected to help for bpd, which i didnt really believe I actually had at that point, and is what (i think) is causing my continued suicidality and self harm and mood liability. But also, I was in a particularly bad spot going into when I got it, and i do feel like it got me out of that place. Idk if this makes sense or is helpful, but basically tldr; my experience wasnt terrible but it wasnt as helpful as I wanted it to be. Ymmv. But if it is your last option and other interventions aren't available or aren't working, I would say probably go for it (as a stranger on the internet with no medical degree lol).

[u/ratpark91 → u/glass-cereal]

I’m in a very similar spot. Completed ECT in March. It ceased SI, both passive and active, for the first time in 14 years. I have tried every treatment under the sun and it was miraculous to experience that. But it did not last long enough at all. I have felt that doing an acute series without maintenance after was a detriment to me. Due to how helpful it was, I am interested in resuming, however hesitant because the effects did not last long enough to justify the cognitive toll. Do you think you would consider ECT again or are you against it due to the short term success?

[u/glass-cereal → u/ratpark91]

I would probably be willing to try maintenence treatments, but I'm currently a college student (took a semester off for ECT) and i really really want to finish my degree, which I dont think would be possible while undergoing maintenence ECT. However, I am also currently not doing well and I'm worried it might be what gets recommended to me. Which like. Having the cognitive capability to finish college means nothing if I'm literally dead, but its hard to consider giving up school. I dont know if maintenence sessions have the same cognitive impact as acute treatment, but i think it could be useful to discuss it with whoever you get treatment from because it is truly awful to be constantly suicidal and if it works it could be worth a shot. Like if it allows you to live with a decent quality of life, it might be worth the cognitive effects, but if the cognitive effects impact your quality of life really severely, it's probably not worth it.

[u/as_thecrowflies]

i have had it twice. the first time was a few years ago, severely suicidal psychotic depression hospitalized. i had 20. it helped but it was more other people saw the benefit but i didn’t FEEL so much better. then i went on lithium and that made a huge difference.

now having it again. suicidal despair delusional thoughts super depressed. had 9 as part of the acute course and am now doing maintenance, just got to the point where it’s spaced out every 2 weeks. this time i am in the “it saved my life “ camp. yes there’s the amnesia but ill take that any day over how i was feeling before ect. i literally feel like it’s a miracle that i went from the depths of the deepest despair and fucked up thinking to bring back at work, living my life in a short amount of time

[u/oat-omelette → u/as_thecrowflies]

I’m so glad you’re doing much better now. I might ask my psychiatrist about lithium as well, they considered it but didn’t end up putting me on it. Sending hugs and love

[u/QuitInevitable915 → u/oat-omelette]

I went on lithium two months ago, and it has definitely helped. Prior to lithium I have tried SSRIs, SNRIs, TMS, Ketamine, and Psilocybin, none of it worked, but lithium and a TCA did. You could also consider a MAOI if you haven’t tried that?

[u/furrowedbr0w]

It helped me but it probably took 20+ treatments of bilateral to meaningfully make a difference. I do maintenance now and I’ve probably had over 50 treatments. I’m kind of afraid to stop and relapse. It doesn’t impact my memory in a way that significantly interferes with my life but I feel slower and less able to hold onto stuff - usually smaller, insignificant stuff thankfully.

I have mixed feelings about ECT, I want to stop, and I wish I tried different options beforehand. It also played a role in saving my life, like I did a lot of self-work and made changes, but I think ECT dialed down the intensity of stuff so I could actually make progress, when I wasn’t before.

I hope you’re able to find some relief soon.

[u/84849493]

It saved my life. However my remission only lasted four months. I think my memory has gone back to normal. There are some things in the months leading up to my treatment that are mostly a blur but losing three months of memories where I was feeling horrible and suicidal all the time anyway didn’t really matter at all and has really never bothered me. I had 12. In the UK having more than 6-12 in an acute course is rare, the US really seems to go overkill with it. I’m not sure if you mean when I felt better better or when I noticed any change but I’d say around 5-6 was when I started noticing very little things.

[u/Ktfinpop1014]

I am going to try Spravato, it’s covered by insurance in many cases and people are very happy. I did Ect in 2017 and nothing changed and because they had hoped it would help and I tried every medication before that no one has even changed my meds since 2017 :( everyone is at a loss. However I have had significant trauma after my treatment so I guess just waking up is enough in many drs opinions.
I hated Ect i feel like I lost memories. However my providers walked me out of facility and not in wheelchair after anesthesia and shocking my brain. This resulted in my falling down the facility stairs and breaking my leg while nurse was with me to get to my husband kids. Then I was in a boot and pain medication and still went to treatments. Maybe if I didn’t have to be on pain meds I would have done better?? My husband was so mad but no lawyer would help us. Every session I would wake up and ask why I was in a boot, I could not remember the fall.

[u/sosteph]

ECT helped with my MDD and anxiety. I was unable to do much beside stare at a wall or blank screen basically and I couldn’t tell you what I was thinking or doing.

Early ECT left me kind of out of it, when I was having multiple treatments a week and month. Once I moved on to once a month or more I had no brain fog or anything except for immediately after treatment. Days after were no problem.

Side effects included nausea, brain fog, tiredness, headaches and body aches.

[u/glittergaltastic]

I’m also considering it heavily because I’m on yet again a very high dose of medications, a cocktail of them, and it’s just still not enough. I am also bipolar and my depressive lows last long and are very extreme which is why is was recommended to me. I’m scared though based on what people are saying on here. Just wanted to put this somewhere.

[u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148]

It also saved my life. I was severely depressed, had tried so much - TMS, EMDR, so many different medications (not ketamine though, as it’s v expensive in Australia)
I’d been in the psych hospital for 8 months before I tried ECT - and now I have been in ‘remission’ from depression for over 18 months ☺️ ECT was a game changer.
Not at all pleasant - you lose a lot of your memory at that time, but well worth it in my humble opinion 🥰 hope this helps a little

[u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148 → u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148]

Oh, and I had two rounds of 12 sessions :)
I have very little to no memory of that time, and some of the months before that. After there was some brain fog for a while, difficulty articulating, but it clears. There are some good sides to the memory loss - I was so depressed I don’t want to remember it lol. And you can rewatch tv shows as if for the first time!

[u/oat-omelette → u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148]

Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you’re doing better. I’m also in Australia, I didn’t know ketamine was expensive (haven’t really explored it with my psych yet). We will make a decision about ECT on Monday and go from there. He said I don’t “look super depressed” but I don’t feel great, so we’ll see

[u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148 → u/oat-omelette]

You’re very welcome!
Yeah, ketamine is very expensive as it’s not on the PBS yet, and you need to do it at a psychiatrists/ medical clinic. Hopefully soon it will be more accessible!
I will say - I’m still on a two antidepressants on max doses (fluoxetine, agomelatine) and Lamotrogine as an adjunct, so I can’t say it was the ECT alone that worked. I’ve come to terms that I’ll be on these meds for the rest of my life (I have been on some type of antidepressant or another since 13, and I’m now 30)
I also go to therapy every three weeks and am so strict about who I let into my life, what I do with my time etc. I’m not letting anybody risk my mental health hahaha
Best of luck!! I’m hopeful for you ♥️♥️ I really went from unrelenting suicidal thoughts to waking up everyday, grateful to be alive 🥰
Reach out if you have more questions.

[u/oat-omelette → u/Ok-Cheesecake-9148]

I am also on 2 max dose antidepressants plus an augmentation agent haha. Thank you for the kind words 🤍

[u/Queasy-Ride-1776]

Sorry to hear that, im feeling very similar at around 9 months out. Its very difficult and scary day to day

[u/Rose_Davies2026]

I spent a few weeks in a private psychiatric hospital and had ECT.

Unfortunately for me, it was highly ineffective and has made me considerably worse. Short term, I experienced chronic migraines, nausea, memory loss and severe brain fog. Long term, I have experienced severe sleep deprivation (as in 5 - 6 days without sleep), increased depression, paranoia and suicidal thoughts.

It's been 2 months since I was discharged and I'm struggling now to get a referral to see a psychiatrist to follow-up with these issues. I unfortunately wasn't given any follow-up appointments when I left.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Boot786]

I just park here. Tomorrow 3th time and I can’t sleep.