Electrical storm.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) On My Brain

ECT, also known as electroconvulsive therapy, is used to treat unipolar depression and bipolar depression.

They can also prescribe some individuals who have mania or are in a mixed state ECT treatment. Older patients and those who are not responding to regular treatment are strong candidates, as well. A doctor who specializes in ECTs will thoroughly interview the patient to determine if ECT is the best option for the situation.

Many people have asked my advice regarding electroconvulsive therapy. I will tell you what I have told them, but just remember—this is based solely on my personal experience with ECT.

Over about 5-6 years, I had around 55 individual ECT treatments.

My Experience with ECT

The medical professionals in my case explained that my short-term memory would be affected very minimally. I was assured my short-term memory would come back fairly quickly after the conclusion of my treatments. 

Well, the doctors were right—I regained my short-term memory. My long-term memory, however, was a different story. 

During that time, I was in the middle of college, studying to be a chemical engineer. To this day, almost 20 years later, I do not remember those chemical engineering classes. 

I had dozens of notebooks full of class notes, homework, and labs. It is quite scary that they were all in my handwriting, and I can’t recollect even one word, drawing, or diagram.

In the end, I completed chemical engineering school up through my junior year, and then I switched to natural sciences and earned my Bachelor of Science, along with minors in both Math and Chemistry.

Although I didn’t complete my chemical engineering degree, I’m grateful I ended up earning a degree in natural sciences. It took me longer than normal, but no one can take my degree away from me.

John Poehler’s Experience With Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

What Is It Like to Get an ECT Treatment?

Electroconvulsive therapy is not like it used to be. I’m sure you’ve seen it portrayed in pop culture movies as a primitive and barbaric act. Have you Ever Seen One Few Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or A Beautiful Mind? Now, there are fewer side effects, and a paralytic is used to stop almost all movement during the procedure.

The schedule is generally Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning for a few weeks at a time. If I remember correctly, maintenance ECTs are once a month. 

Upon arriving in the pre-op area, I filled out a memory form, with basic questions covering cognitive abilities. An ECT nurse took my vitals.

After putting on a hospital gown, the nurse pushed me into the procedure room on a hospital bed. The nurse positioned me on the bed for the ECT treatment, and my doctor put in an IV. 

My doctor administered a muscle relaxant, along with a host of other medications, and I quickly fell asleep. 

I was given bilateral ECT treatments. After they anesthetized me, my doctor put an electrode on each of my temples. Electricity passed through my brain, between each electrode, which initiated a seizure. The doctor monitored my seizures on his machine. The only way you could visually tell I was having a seizure was when my little toe twitched.

I awoke to a nurse telling me I was in recovery and already had my ECT treatment. My memory is extremely fuzzy about this step in the process, but I remember having oxygen and taking a memory and cognitive function test.

Inpatient Versus Outpatient ECT Treatments

Throughout my ECT treatments, I received ECT treatments as both an in-patient and out-patient.

As an out-patient, I was required to have a competent adult drive me to my ECT treatments and take me home. I also needed somebody to stay with me for the rest of the day. I could not drive and was instructed not to make any decisions.

If you have a loved one or other trusted individual in your life, going through ECT treatments on an outpatient basis is a viable option.

You may not have anybody to drive and take care of you, or perhaps a loved one simply cannot. This was the case for me, and I ended up staying in the hospital for a couple of months.

The Reality of My ECT Experience

I am a firm believer in doing your best, with what you have, at that particular time. That is one reason I do not feel bitter or harbor anger regarding my experience with ECT.

It is always easier to blame an issue on someone else or something else. That kind of thinking has always brought me down.

For me, ECT was a last-ditch effort to save my life, and it did. For me, that is enough to celebrate.

Losing the memory of my engineering schooling (along with other memories during that time) was devastating—especially when I had friends, family members, and teachers question my reasoning for halting my efforts to complete my chemical engineering.

It was a different time back then, and I kept the part of my life regarding bipolar disorder a secret.

My Last Words About ECT

ECT treatments saved my life. When it comes to the question of whether should I or should not go through ECT treatments, I’m grateful I opted to go through them. 

I’ll never get my memories back. For me, that is ok. I am beyond grateful for the life I have. 

Deciding whether to have ECT treatments is kind of like deciding whether to enter a psychiatric hospital. Like the majority of people, I never like to go. I know, though, that sometimes I need it to make the final push to get better, and it is important for me to go. 

I think you can look at electroconvulsive therapy in a similar fashion. It is a last-ditch treatment to save your life. A doctor who specializes in ECT must sign off that you are a good candidate for this treatment.

Everyone’s situation is different. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. 

If your situation warrants, electroconvulsive therapy may be a viable option. You may need it to literally stay alive—I know I did.

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