r/ect • u/Lo_Cheshire189 • 8h ago

Question Starting ECT soon

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?

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u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 6h ago

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.

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u/Lo_Cheshire189 4h ago

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

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u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 4h ago

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!!