Ect ruined my life. As a patient, I feel the same. ECT is a simple procedure, but many precautionary measures must be taken before the pulse of electricity can be given to produce the seizure. What is this? Keep a supply of erasers, a mop, and a bucket. Andy Luff was given ECT in 2015. The research also found a 47-fold difference between the trusts with the highest and lowest usage rates per capita. I was thrilled to assist with this article, and a friend of mine who is a professional in the field participated as well. Without it, Im not sure I would have recovered to be with family or train as a psychiatrist. We live in a society where certainly psychiatry is dominated its dominated by men, but ones point is it is dominated by male ideas. It's hard to think rationally when you're mind is focused on all the ways you think you have ruined your life. PostedApril 24, 2015 Dr John Read, from the University of Liverpool, believes the treatment will eventually be consigned to the "rubbish bin of historical treatments". Without continued attention to self-care, relapse happens. As the years go by I now have a form of amnesia due to the shock therapy, please make them STOP!. Sorry I'm in Alberta. I heard about this one from a friend. Will all the petitions and testimonials be made available to the public? As a clinician, I am satisfied that its a very good treatment, but I will never be complacent. Read about our approach to external linking. No, it was all a matter of luck. Reviewed by Ekua Hagan. Brilliant. !I dont know im just so stuck I cant even get myself out to seek further treatment elsewhere.I guess I feel like the damage is already donebut I also know I cant continue in this depressed state. Hi Surviving and welcome to the forum. The campaign for it in the medical community is completely flawed. Sounds dramatic Im assuming, but I am far from!, I had ECT several years ago and have had noticeable cognitive problems since and ECT does not reduce suicide risk., ECT treatments caused a huge change in my life. Its fairly acceptable to admit to taking antidepressants these days, less so ECT. Download and subscribe to the Street News app today, for unlimited access to stories that raise the voices of marginalised communities around the world. Professor Reeds research found women are twice as likely as men to receive the treatment, and the majority of patients (58 percent) are over 60. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) saved my life. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. So nice to wax eloquent on something you have never endured. "I was forced to have it under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act", ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------, Thousands receive electric shock treatment, Electric shock therapy 'not up to scratch', Friends Against Psychiatry: Ban Shock (US), ECT, its uses and effects, Salford Community Health Council, Pat Butterfield, founder of ECT Anonymous. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Either science is right or there is a spiritual realm. This is a barbaric practice that needs to be permanently banned., I am an ECT survivor. Thus, the report states, the probability of getting ECT seems to be a postcode lottery based on the personal opinions of one or two local psychiatrists. I was in a behavioral center for 4 weeks and received treatment 3 x week. There is good evidence that it works and is safe, although medication is usually needed to maintain long-term remission. Men have long been silent and stoic about their inner lives, but theres every reason for them to open up emotionallyand their partners are helping. It was like that for me. As Ann Lamott put it, somewhat paraphrased, Hey doc, If you dont like what a patient writes about you, then you should have behaved, eh?. Than they have already done! she sustained, and she wants better support for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And, under Without capacity laws can be administered in the US against a persons will/wishes. The ECT method is also condemned because it has multiple side effects. I agreed with her and said the psychiatrist convinced my family the ECT treatments would eventually work., I have suffered severe reversible brain damage. Or just get a pile of sticky notes, a chalkboard, and program your phone with reminders, alerts, and notes to self like a dementia patient might? Shows us a little about whose brains are valued in our culture. This device can destroy brain cells, and other parts of the cerebral area. He was instrumental in having that place closed down in 1992. The State Power Triangle and My Spiritual Awakening, White Paper Presents Case Against Forced Treatment, Self-test for Adult Symptom Deficiency Disorder (ASDD). One manufacturer, Somatics, immediately added "permanent brain damage" to the list of risks from the treatment. If I want to be bleak, I can talk about how ECT ruined my life, how it stole my memories of my ex-fiance (and nearly everything else about my life), to such a degree that I don't even remember what she looks like or how we met or our first date or even the circumstances under which she left me. Stock up for those summer smoothies! ;..g hospital , I want to go home and not miss my friends bar mitzvah. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Please make a principled stand against it., Ive seen the devastation that shock can cause. For most people, the problems will be tolerable if well explained and monitored. Lets ignore the other 6 or 7 completely destroyed. It is a brutal and unnecessary treatment, because patients will feel better eventually without any ECT. My father, before he passed away, had told me about this new thing, Windows. He lost his ability to read and forgot his name. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, psychotherapy, social support groups, stress management, and often medication play a critical role in maintaining health after ECT. (I love my dog dearly but my health would be just as important). It wasnt safe to live with him any more and even though he was grouchy and withdrawn before treatment I would have preferred to live with grouchy and withdrawn as opposed to violent and raging., Im signing because I am a survivor of shock therapy. Life was worth living. The sixth, seventh, and eighth most common words used in the comments submitted through the petition were damage, barbaric and torture. We must continue the fight to make sure that the FDA hears the people who will be adversely affected by the proposed rule if it becomes an order. And that started off with having to read kids books. While you may be aware of the hazards (heart attacks, brain bleeds, memory loss), what you probably dont know about is what happens to them as people who you interact with. My new neurologist who's alot more knowledgable and caring asked if I'd try brivaracetam, he mentioned it was very similar to or basically like a new keppra just no Genaric name out where I'm from. Nobody consciously, voluntarily accept this can not be! Gotta make sure they are getting wise counsel from their peers cause they can ruin your life. The article argues the quality of previous studies into ECT is so poor, they "were wrong to conclude anything about efficacy, either during or beyond the treatment period". I had 30 rounds of ect for severe depression at 21 years old. Description. By the time I was starting my freshman year of college, I had been on over thirty combinations of medications, been in three partial hospitalization programs, had two psychiatric inpatient hospital stays and tried ketamine infusions. Shock therapy? In 2006-2007 i had electroconvulsive therapy (ect). Single issues are also available to purchase on our shop, Select a subscription duration Do we eliminate heart surgery because some have a second heart attack? Several months ago, a major news organization interviewed me for a front-page article about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I had good insurance so they offered me shock treatment. The medical community completely minimized them. Dr. Stephen Seiner, director of the psychiatric neurotherapeutics program at McLean Hospital . Bits and pieces of brain cells can be found in the CSF after treatments. It was a really weird feeling. Cookie Notice TMS aka rTMS for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive type of brain stimulation treatment. I had left McLean October 1997. The experience of my closest relationships has been erased and is daily erased with each interaction. and our The worse the illness, the better it seems to work, and it can be miraculous. Is there any idea of the time frame involved in the FDA reviewing the submissions and making a ruling? Mixed berry, strawberry, blueberry, and even peach! For me, its as though there are big holes in my memory before and during a course of treatment. Annually in the United States, approximately 38,500 people die by suicide. It is also functioning in everyday life that is effected. After the ketamine infusions didn't work, my psychiatrist recommended electroconvulsive therapy. For more information about me or Struck by Living, check out the Struck by Living website. But the other thing I find hard is that those who oppose ECT can be vituperative, accusing clinicians and others of deliberate attempts to harm. The Mind charity says ECT "can be an effective treatment" for people with severe depression, for whom no other treatment has worked. I figured that I could regain some sort of social life that way, regain confidence via correspondence, just like I had when I had pen-pals decades ago, all around the world. ECT may reduce suicidal feelings, although . The results of this were devastating. Her work aims to expose the institutional corruption which is a source of profit for organized psychiatry, and to abolish state sponsored human rights violations, such as murder, torture and slavery. Nothing worked and I was still severely depressed and suicidal. But I have maintained a challenging career and taken postgraduate degrees, and that makes me feel better. Theyre more likely to be given antidepressants, theyre more likely to be given electroshock. Ill join in demonstrating to stop electro shock wherever and whenever possible for me to do so, coercive psychiatry as well . Its easy to blame ECT for difficulties that might have happened anyway. Years later, you can still see these effects. Agreed. You no longer need to login or create an account on our site to comment. On good days, I rarely think about what got me to where I am today. I can just hear the oh, yes, well, must be the benzos, the anesthetics, the anti-psychotics, the disease state, the coffee they have been drinking, the phases of the moon, somataform disorder, aliens, conspiracy theorists., basically anything but the electrical lobotomies decimating people being assaulted by ECT creating traumatic acquired brain injuries. Id like to reiterate thanks to Lauren Tenney for her tireless work and a big In Solidarity hug to all you who have survived and to all those who have not and to those that love us still . your self report. And if youve got a little old lady in front of you who simply refuses to get better, then why not electroshock her?. It has been used intentionally abusively to torture people who are designated by psychiatric professionals as noncompliant. At the last ECT treatment given, the nurse told me there was no reason to continue the ECT treatments because they were not working and were causing more harm than good.. She did not understand why the psychiatrist insisted on continuing ECT treatments and said they were nothing but torture. This is literally the last chance to ask your networks, friends, and loved ones to have your voice counted in this round of our fight with the FDA to not down-classify the shock device for any reason, and to have them hold hearings on the shock device. I was saddened that I was able only a week or so ago to access her death announcement. Weekly Newsletter Oblivious to the science, oblivious to the victims. As you've said, ECT involves electricity to the brain, it's an inexact science. I suspect her telling the staff how she hated the F***ing hospital is the reason she got ECT for her wonderful treatment. The doctors who prescribed it were largely earnest and well-intended, but the consequences were destructive. "On the basis of the clinical trial data, ECT should not be used for depressed individuals.". Who I was has been erased. As a survivor of ECT, I suffer from significant memory loss, while my doctor declared my 30+ ECT treatments unhelpful., My sister received shock treatment. So does Vita-Mineral Green by HealthForce a green super powder supplement and Richard Schultzes http://www.herbdoc.com herbal brain formula . Another fiction is the fear of brain damage. A mum of two talks about having electric shock therapy while pregnant. This year, he celebrated with his family. The method used was bilateral ECT -- the most grossly damaging and most commonly used form of the treatment. During electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) patients are put under a general anaesthetic and a paralytic and then an electrical current is run through their brain. My father had suffered from a deep, intractable depression that wasn't responding to medication. Nothing that causes epileptic seizures and erases your memory can be helpful. No way! Electroconvulsive Therapy What do neuropsychs suggest? A LOT of uncomfortable loud stomach gurgling, a lot of reflux. They remember me as on the brainy side, and somewhat of a bookworm, just like my dad. Terrible heartburn in chest and throat ..nausea.. abdominal pain as well as back pain and chest pain. Just the thought of it is terrorizing me still today., Everyone should have all information regarding their treatment before administration of such a treatment, although I felt that I benefited by it I believe that everyone has the right to refuse it., Because I have seen the effects that this machine has on people and its destructive and deadly. The reason? Please report any comments that break our rules. Lets just mindlessly drink the koolaid and shriek OMG! The only information needed is your name, email and comment text. The last one in 2008. Youve got mail became a joy to me, just as decades ago, my daily trip to the mailbox had been the best part of the day. I believe the device caused irreversible brain damage. So, here is the article I wrote. Then there were another 1000 comments from psychiatrists. According to brain stimulation experts from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, ECT sessions improve depression in 70 to 90 percent of patients, a. My holiday was ruined when we were eaten by BED BUGS at four-star hotel and I needed an injection in my bum: Brits film horrific scene after discovering creepy crawlies all over them at 3am. I lived two years of absolute humiliation, says Cunliffe. I only knew who my friends were because they kept coming in to see me. And thats the key. Please post and forward it so that people might obtain some balanced information about ECT. This is how the system works. I had not been known to be a chronic complainer. I noticed one particular damaged patient asking for help, suggestions, and assistance during the NIMH And the other one did five or six treatments a week. The opinions expressed are the writers own. Use spell-check. For any reason Its just not worth it. I am devastated to see other people sold ECT today by doctors who vastly downplay any side effects at all. Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, HSBC says 1 bank buyout boosted profit by $1.5bn, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month. Writing for a buck isnt what I do. It has taken me years to recover. I think they should be required to take a course of 10-12 ECT as part of their training for certification to administer shock. "Virtually my whole life has been seriously affected by the ECT treatment. Later, I let myself think about it, knowing that the reason for my unease was that I, too, had undergone a similar number of ECT treatments. Prayers to the victims who are unable to sign this petition because they lost themselves due to ECTs. Some argue that ECT only works temporarily, the high relapse rate invalidating the procedure. A recent report by clinical psychologist Professor John Reed, published in Psychology Today in March, cites major flaws in the administration and regulation of ECT. As doctors, we have a duty to explain, and patients have a right to knowledge and reassurance. I think it is a good treatment, but I think it comes with its fair share of problems, which can be unduly minimised by clinicians. If I want to be bleak I can talk about how I . Obviously the APA had sent out a broadcast email and most of the docs just pasted in this email without even changing it much at all. It was supposed to be a last resort action to save me from being severely treatment resistant. Thousands of women given 'dangerous' electric shocks as mental health treatment in England. I also have no memory, ever, of having consented to treatment. I know 1) I got away from the McLean Corporation, which had determined that my confusion was definitely a personality disorder and refused to accept responsibility. Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention . Theyve done everything they possibly could ever since to attempt to discredit me and prove that what I have done couldnt possibly be real. Its humiliating to walk into a shop and tip your money out and say: Just take how much money you need, because I dont know how much to give you.. people seem to be oblivious to the fact that those who speak out have a noble cause and a humanistic agenda- to protect people from being brain injured, disabled, and driven to suicide bc of their losses, trauma, and despair. very-frequent ECT in combination with unusually high doses of drugs which included neuroleptics, anti-depressants and barbiturates. I had memory problems, trouble sleeping. I was given ECT because i had "disturbances in my personality". One of the things people are most curious about is ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). But it continues to wreck the lives of some patients. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. No drugs do not cause such harm. In 2018, a class action case was settled in the US after a federal court ruled that a reasonable jury could find against manufacturers of ECT equipment if they failed to warn of the dangers of brain damage. www.laurentenney.us, MIA Webinars and Other Educational Events, Antipsychotics for Psychosis, Bipolar & More, Lauren Tenney, PhD, MPhil, MPA, Psychiatric Survivor, Epidemiologists Decry Major Problems in US Psychiatric Practice, The Germanwings Crash: Flying Under the Influence, Global Mental Health Agenda Fails to Address Psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa, Says New Report, Researchers: ECT Study in Children Methodologically Flawed, Ethically Concerning, https://www.regulations.gov/searchResults?rpp=25&po=0&s=1k0-8oqo-69e7, https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/14-powerful-ways-to-form-new-synapses-in-the-brain, Campaign Against ECT Gains Traction in UK. I am not eating or drinking properlyI cant even get up to do everyday thingsexercise is out of the question..cant explain the sensation in my brain.I just want it to go away..im scared to go to the hospital because that is where they did the dreaded ECT..but I cant continue this.also I have a dog and I have no place to leave himso I have been putting off going go the hospital. I went from happily living a normal middle aged working spouse/mother life with a basic hypothyroid condition, to a full blown psychiatric iatrogenic survivor, now permanently labeled as mentally ill, while facing daily neurological post side effects of such treatments. My long term and short term memory has been greatly impaired and I have great difficulty comprehending many things. They said, Youve tried everything else, right?. It brings me to tears. Please sign this petition to the FDA to stop ECT. 29-year-old Ashley Clayton suffered from chronic major depression after suffering serious trauma during childhood. Electroshock is not treatment. It is a form of brain damage and torture, and I hope that you will prevent anyone from allowing it, because once you do, it will become required and that many more people will suffer. Just unbelievable. By the same token, medications involve messing with the brain, and the consequences are unpredictable. is life-threatening and you need a rapid improvement to save your life; is either causing you immense suffering or is likely to get worse, so that a rapid improvement is needed; has not responded to other treatments, such as medication and psychological therapy. The most common symptoms of high-functioning depression may include: Changes in sleep patterns. Prayers to the families who lost loved ones from this. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In late December I had obtained my Win95 computer. The exact incidence of brain damage remains unknown. Psychiatrists have incredible power. Psychiatrists say ECT saves lives BBC News Online talks to former ECT patients who say the therapy ruined their lives. we have pets we love, and despite it all i love him more than i've loved anyone. I wasnt told all the possible risks. A more thorough analysis of those comments is forthcoming, however, we wanted to offer a glimpse of what people shared. I wasn't sure which thread to reply to so I just picked this one. Does Social Media Have a Negative Impact on Body Image? While a 39 percent relapse rate is not optimal, researchers like Dr. Ahmad Raza at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) work diligently to improve these numbers. His work with NAMI had become Human Rights centered. My distress was taken for agitated depression and I was medicated to insanity dementia it says in my medical records. Everyone needs to listen to survivors stories; this needs to become real and fleshed-out. "For many, it can be a life-saving treatment," he said. I had been fully compliant and never refused anything, fully cooperative, responsible, never late and never a no-show. They made good money off of me, since they kept their numbers up at the clinics. "Despite its effectiveness, there are still a lot of misconceptions about ECT," says Bolton. It was made out to be extremely safe and have very promising results. I made friends quickly, and enjoyed the class so much that I signed up for the next one. TMS therapy should not be confused with Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). In eight months, I was finished. I believe and hope that one day, mental illness will be discussed with the same rationality as breast cancer or heart disease. At least 1,600 patients were given ECT in the UK and Ireland in 2017, according to psychiatrists. Press the button to drop ice balls into cones, then squeeze water from a bottle onto the Water Wow! surface to create color-changing play snow-cones! Newnes says earlier in his career it was much easier to obtain figures on localised ECT treatments without the need for FOI requests but health authorities are no longer obliged to keep the data. She was convinced the ECT was responsible for her sudden memory loss and inability to function, but what followed was two years of denial by the medics who treated her. A Safety Plan provides a blueprint for coping when suicidal thoughts and feelings are overwhelming. And yes, there is no doubt the majority of people would recover or heal without being administered multiple traumatic electrical head injuries via shock. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC, Dr. Ahmad Raza speaks at an event for ETC education. I started out to try to reply to truth about what I tried to do to mitigate the effects of my brain damage . The ECT application consisted of intravenous, short-term anesthesia with propofol and muscle relaxation with succinylcholine, while a brief electrical stimulus applied to the brain using external electrodes induced an epileptic seizure over several seconds, which is the core feature of a curative effect. And one of the biggest of those crimes is administering shock to the vulnerable and distressed and suffering, usually, as you say, after poisoning them into a state of toxic drug insanity If you look at the multiple roles of women in society, they are pretty much exhausted a lot of the time far more than men I suspect. Post author: Post published: June 12, 2022 Post category: is kiefer sutherland married Post comments: add the comment and therapists to the selected text add the comment and therapists to the selected text I think the reason theyre a bit loath to give the figures anymore is that it kind of shows that electric shock isnt some scientific procedure. I find the FDA not reopening the shock dockets or holding accessible public hearings on the shock device unacceptable, and I hope you will agree with me that we must take further actions. It should be banned entirely and it is shocking to me that ECT is still allowed., Electroshock has caused significant memory/cognitive impairments. The catalogue of personal testimonies of the horrors of ECT are horrible to read but really important to record and publish.. Psychiatry an absolute evil. The memory loss, the physical malaise, the nausea and headache despite medication made things worse instead of better. Within a couple weeks after electro-shock treatments , arriving home at my parents house , having been released into their custody, with great difficulty I convinced my dad to verbally fill in the gaps in my memory where I knew uncomfortably , that stuff was missing concerning my previous history and yet did not know what it was. I also had no bug problems, and hardly ever heard my neighbors. I had no trouble in the class. The people who are personal friends are really messed up and aware that its the electroshock treatment that caused them harm and depression., I have come to personally know individuals who have been harmed by this procedure for life (permanently)! How had I forgotten I was so good at it? She wants acknowledgement for the injuries
Wipeout Course Open To Public California,
Marx's Concept Of Man Summary,
Articles E