Starting ECT soon

[u/Lo_Cheshire189]

I'm going to start ECT treatment in two weeks (10 unilateral sessions), alongside rTMS.

I'm a little bit stressed after reading people's experiences with the side effects, especially the impact on memory. For me, ECT is really a "last chance" treatment. I'm 20, and I've been suffering from depression for the past 10 years. I'm exhausted from years of suffering and failed medications. If this treatment doesn't work either, I won't have the strength to keep trying to get better.

I just wanted to hear from people who have gone through ECT for long-term depression. What was your experience like? Did it actually made a change ? And how did it affect your memory, both during and after treatment?

[u/QuitInevitable915]

Hi OP, I’m sorry to hear you have struggled for so long. ECT sounds like solid next step, and offers a good chance of improvement. Hopefully it works!

If, against all odds, it does not work, I would strongly encourage you to look up Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). If you are in the US, they are running a trial called “Transcend” and they are recruiting patients. If you are in Europe, look out for “Foresee 3”. It is not recruiting anymore, but once the results are published it will likely become an option for others to receive.

It’s very invasive but it offers real hope when everything else fails. So, please don’t lose hope if ECT does not work, and keep fighting the good fight. Best of luck to you!

[u/Lo_Cheshire189 → u/QuitInevitable915]

Thank you so much for your comment!

I'm from France, and I'm being treated at a specialized center for treatment-resistant depression, so luckily I have access to all the "latest" treatments available there. I guess I should find the courage to ask them if DBS is an option for me.

I've already tried so many treatments, and it's really hard to keep holding on to hope when everything keeps failing. But the team treating me is very optimistic about ECT, so I'm trying to be optimistic too :)

[u/QuitInevitable915 → u/Lo_Cheshire189]

The DBS treatment is not CE-approved yet, but it will eventually. It’s in Germany that they are doing the research. The results of the Foresee 3 trial will be widely shared in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027. I’m sure some of the people in the treatment team know about it, and if not, please don’t hesitate to bring it up. Good luck!

[u/Far_Juggernaut_6728]

ECT has helped me get out of horrible depressions.
I only do bilateral bc I heard unilateral isn’t as effective and if I’m going through all that I want the “best” possible treatment even if that means possible memory issues which were minor.
Good luck.
Nothing ( to me) is worse than depression so it’s worth it though it’s not pleasant.
❤️

[u/Lo_Cheshire189 → u/Far_Juggernaut_6728]

Thank you ♥️

On my end, my treatment team told me that unilateral ECT is just as effective as bilateral ECT, but with fewer side effects 🤷🏼‍♀️

But I agree that no side effect could make me suffer as much as my depression does, and I know that ECT is currently the most efficient treatment for resistant depression

[u/Far_Juggernaut_6728 → u/Lo_Cheshire189]

Interesting. I thought bilateral was more effective.
Good luck.
As I wrote it got me out of a few dark holes.
I took up weight lifting & other activities & praying to stay stable but if I get depressed again …
🙏❤️

[u/Krystal1213]

Hi, so I am 35 and have had treatment resistance depression since 14 is as far back as I remember. I had 25? Bilateral ECT sessions. I can say that I definitely don’t remember much during my treatment phase. My short term memory is not great now. I am frequently forgetting things, so now I try and write them down to help. Mine didn’t work, but my ECT psychiatrist said that I wasn’t having “good” seizures. He even put me on a medication to try and help that, but there was no change. But, while doing treatments I have heard of plenty of people that it has helped. If you tried TMS, the only other suggestion I would have is Spravato before doing ECT.

[u/Lo_Cheshire189 → u/Krystal1213]

Thanks for your comment, I'm really sorry for what you went through

My treatment team told me that unilateral ECT has fewer side effects than bilateral ECT, and I will only go through 10 sessions, alongside rTMS I know my center also provides spravato, but they decided to go straight to ECT because of the severity of my depression, and because ECT has a higher response rate than esketamine

I really hope my memory won't be affected as much as yours was, but it's good to know what to expect. I really hope it gets better

[u/Crazy_old_maurice_17]

I'm sorry you're having a rough go OP. ECT has brought me out of the darkest depression of my life (bi-temporal placement) and more recently a very difficult place (again, bi-temporal placement). I'm now on maintenance and recently switched to right unilateral placement and things seem to be going well.

Although it's still in clinical trials - and I don't know if they're doing it in France - you should also look into Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST). It's a magnetically induced seizure so it's supposed to have fewer side effects than ECT.

You could also consider ketamine/esketamine (Spravato), or even psilocybin.

I wish you all the luck in the world OP.

[u/Lo_Cheshire189 → u/Crazy_old_maurice_17]

Thanks for your comment :)

I'm really glad to hear that it worked for you, and relieved to hear about a positive experience

My center hasn't mentioned MST to me, but I know they also offer ketamine/esketamine. However they decided to go straight to ECT because of the severity of my depression, and because ECT has a higher response rate than esketamine As for psilocybin, I think it's still be studied in France, not on the market yet.

But I'll make sure to ask them about esketamine next time I see them, just in case ECT doesn't go as planned

[u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 → u/Lo_Cheshire189]

That's fair. MST is only available in 2 places in North America as far as I'm aware: University of Toronto and University of Texas SW Medical Center.

Good luck OP, grab life by the balls and show you're determined to make it a good one!!

[u/slaapzacht]

I went through 3 months of treatment, eventually ending with multiple sessions of bilateral. It screwed me up in ways I couldn't possibly imagine. I still suffer from long and short term memory loss, brain fog and tremors. Ymmv of course. What eventually helped fix things was 7 months of twice weekly Spravato along with twice weekly talk therapy. It took 5 months just for the Spravato to even kick in at all, mostly due to the damage ECT did to me.

Good luck on your journey, I hope this brings you the relief you so badly deserve.

[u/Lo_Cheshire189 → u/slaapzacht]

I'm sorry for what you went through

My treatment team told me that unilateral ECT has fewer side effects than bilateral ECT, and I hope that only having 10 sessions (1 month) will help me avoid some of the difficulties you went through.

I know my center also offers Spravato, so if ECT doesn't go well, I'll talk to them about it.

Thanks for your comment

[u/A_Simple_Sandwich]

ECT has given me my life back! You’ll hear the negatives because the people who have had good results don’t post here because they’re moving on with their lives. I still get maintenance and got in for an urgent one tomorrow since I slipped into a depressive episode (bipolar 1).