Here's the scoop I've gotten on memory. For most folks the only memory loss involves the period in which you're being treated and relates to the details of events during that timeframe. For instance, you might not be sure which specific day that you did something. Or you might not be sure where you put something. Now I don't know about you, but for me these are everyday occurrences and not something new - LOL. It just goes along with the age. My ECT specialist says that's what virtually all his patients say. It's also possible that you might have a bit of trouble committing something to memory. So far - and remember I've only had one treatment at this point - I haven't felt any impact at all. Matter of fact I've been surprised how clearheaded I've been. Like anything else, I suspect it's likely to vary a bit from individual to individual.

To minimize and mitigate the effect on memory there are sedatives being used, it's being done as a Right Unilateral treatment (staying away from the language centers of the brain on the left side for a right-handed individual and the higher memory impact of Bilateral treatments), and finally they're using the minimum amount of current necessary to generate the required seizure in the brain. Turns out its quite a bit less for us girls than it is for the guys.

Here's something else for you to ponder in terms of getting this done. I suspect that all this is just as new to the insurance companies as it is to those of us interested in being treated here. And my experience with trying to get insurance companies to approve payment for a treatment that they don't already have on the list of approved/known treatments for a given disease/syndrome has been that it's challenging at best. And usually before they do so they want to see double-blind placebo type studies - which I don't even know how you could construct under the circumstances. So I suspect there would be a billing issue if you wanted to pursue this under a label that is new to them. For me personally it didn't matter and I just wanted to get treatment as quickly and expeditiously as possible - while I still have insurance, which is only for about another 6 months unless something else happens here.