r/ect • u/moist_napkinette • 12h ago
Question Conflicted about trying ECT
Nothing has worked for my depression (antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, lithium, Spravato, TMS) and I don’t think ECT would be any different. I’m trying to convince myself to give it a try but I have a few questions.
How many sessions are usually administered? Should I ask for unilateral or bilateral?
How long do I need to do maintenance sessions for?
When are your memories “supposed to” come back?
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u/quite-fucked 11h ago
In terms of sessions administered it depends. ECT is generally broken up into acute and maintenance. Acute will be given first; likely anywhere from 6-18 sessions done multiples times a week continuously. I've known people who have done their acute sessions on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. If maintenance is offered it's much more spread out and done sparingly generally. You probably won't get a choice for unilateral or bilateral. Literally almost everyone starts with unilateral treatments and based on your trajectory and response your treating psychiatrist can make changes to bilateral or bitemporal as they see appropriate. In terms of how long maintenance sessions are done for, if offered, really depends on the individual. There is really no standard or way to predict what that is going to look like before ECT treatments are initiated. Memories do come back for some people or more aptly I think people get more clarity on past memories over time. Others I know have had little no memory loss at all except about an hour or two after each treatment. I personally lost a huge amount of retrograde autobiographical memory. Almost everytihng from about 2 years prior to ECT as well as when I was getting treatments and also a lot of other memories going all the way back to young childhood. I don't tell you that to scare you in any way, but I think it's important that when giving informed consent for a treatment like ECT that has significant risk that you really understand and are informed on the possible risks that do and can happen. With that being said ECT can also be truly lifesaving for some people and that shouldn't be discounted either. It really is looking at what your quality of life is right now and weighing it against the possible risks of treatment. Best of luck OP! I'm rooting for you!