About two years ago i received a ECT and clozeral combination for a serious depression i was experiencing. as a result i was totally out of it for months i seemed to appear better at time cause of this sort of artificial high that these "treatments" created. i have lost a ton of memory (long term-short term) and simple everyday tasks such as boiling water for pasta i have found to be extremely difficult since the treatment--- loss of cognitive skills too. strangely enough i feel empty headed (no conscious thoughts running through my head) and i have lost the ability to visualize images in my head ( i thought in pictures) --- i feel like a totally different person and this is very stressful to me. it also angers me that i wasn't given all the info on the risks.

if anyone has experienced ECT and have had similar side effects or has any advise on how i can recover please comment.... thanks...

do you go to therphy? Has any doctors given you step by step day by day things to do ..sorta like retraining you for daily things you did "normaly" before with out much trouble.
I am sorry for what your still going threw but did it help with your depression? I dont understand if the docs havent helped you re learn things or given you diffrent exercises to improve those issues. They should maybe see if you can get refered to diffrent doctor or therphy if thats possible and if your comfortable with that idea. I dont know what to say most times the positive far out weight the negitive.

Dont give up maybe another will come along and offer more helpful advice then i can at this time. I will say prayers for you and hope things improve for you.
Thank you for posting.By the way it is nice to meet you and in case no one has done it..I want to give you a warm welcome to neuro talk. I hope you find this a safe supportive community. there are many forums and even more wonderful people here.
If I can help you in any way let me know.
PEACE
BMW

i appreciate you response, Burnt marshmallow,

pleased to meet you..

The ECT helped i would say for a short period.. i didn't feel well though... kinda off and, out of it... just not depressed. Since receiving the ECT i have been residing at a therapeutic work community in mass. time and the work the the community has offered has helped me rebuild some of my skills. I'm still struggling though. i have heard many success story's related to this treatment where the positive effects out rode the negatives. i have also heard as many disasters.

this is a terrific site.. please post if you have any advice... i would also be willing to help members on this site to the best of my ability... thanks

hi my name is the sad one in this forum i am going through ect now 3 times a week and i am not liking the effects i am very forgetful and very so called out of it lately

I was reading in a neurological magazine how doctors are just now realizing how different medications and treatments can have a significant cogitive impact for people. Everyone is different, but sometimes it takes a long time to recover. Often times, just reducing or eliminating difficult medications causes improvement. We know now that a good diet and light exercise helps in this area. Avoiding fats and too much sugar is always helpful.

In addition, taking a multi vitamin and perhaps extra nutrients might help and it might be a very good idea to talk with your doctor or a nutritionist about this. The B vitamins help with depression and might also help with memory. This is why I take and recommend that my friends who are having health concerns take a B50 tablet, in addition to thier multi vitamin. It has a variety of B vitamins and covers most everything. Another supplement to look into would be Omega 3. You can get this from eating things like Wild Salmon and watch for products made with them. You can even find them in things like eggs and peanut butter these days. Honestly, you would be surprised with how much a good diet, added vitamins and a little exercise helps with memory issues.

The items mentioned above (diet, excerise and vitamins) help with memory and depression...so it is a winning combination.

Still another issue...getting enough sleep has been proven to help with memory. Again, natural things should be tried first. Warm milk at night, relaxation tapes, melatonin from the health food store (usually 1-3 mgs).

In addition, I think most doctors would not even consider prescribing something to help with memory until all natural efforts have been sincerely tried first.

Don't forget, there is a good chance that time will be your biggest asset with reference to feeling better..which is what you are after.

Ask your doctor if any medications or treatments you are taking could cause memory issues. If so, maybe they could be lowered/reduced/switched or eliminated. Think about any changes that you might make to your diet and to inquire about possible supplementation. I do wish you well...I understand how frustrating this can be.

the ect treatments did not help me at all they made me worse and the dr said after 9 treatments its time to stop now i have a constant headache andi ammore aggitated

Yes; I had the same problems from ECT and more. I have lots of visual-spatial problems. Had RUL ECT but at a high charge. I feel like a totally different preson too, and I have all sorts of cognitive problems. So far neuropsych testing shows significant problems with concentration and attention. I am now very distractible. I had olfactory hallucinations right after I shopped--constant horrible odor of burning wax and smoke.

I have Chiari I malformation too as well as GERD and sleep apnea and lots of pain in neck and back and it goes on. Some of this is from the chiari, and some from the ECT. Hard for me to sort out, but I am now seeing a neurologist and will complete neuropsych testing.

Zeba

Zeba,
that horrible... how long ago did you receive the treatments? i've been brainstorming with a couple friends of mine on a some possible way to make a full recovery from ECT... if you would like maybe we could put our heads together and try to figure something out?

I am sorry I have not posted in such a long time and did not respond to the thread. I had ECT two years ago, seven unilateral treatments, and they did me in. I just finished the neuropsychologial testing --I had to start over with another neuropsychologist because of some problems with the testing with the guy I originally saw. I have not seen the report yet, but he told me I have significant impairments with some things like word retrieval. Sometimes I feel really dumb because of this. The neurologist helped me to understand what happened to me due to ECT. He also said that things like Alzheimers can be brought on by assaults to the brain including ECT. I do not have a neurodegenerative disorder for which I am glad. He also explained how some of my symptoms are due to the Chiari I malformation and how it was no good for me to have done ECT with this. It made things worse with the Chiari. I am supposed to see a neurosurgeon, but I have been dragging my feet with this. I will try to be better about posting.

Zeba

I think reading these posts lets us know that there are potential difficult side effects to this treatment and everyone needs to be made aware of this. So, if your doctor suggests this treatment...it would be wise to ask. I'm sure this treatment has helped folks...so keep in mind that everyone is different. Not everyone gets the same side effects, etc.

One thing I thought about was the possible use of medications for Alzheimers to treat memory loss. Even if you don't have Alzheimers techinically, perhaps there is a chance that the medicine would help. I'm thinking it is worth experimenting with it...one would have to ask their doctor. Some medicines to ask about would be Aricept and Namenda. Given what we already know about possible medication problems...perhaps a small dosage is best.

I also think, even if it only helps in a small way, it would still be beneficial to try eating properly, light to moderate exericse and vitamins, proper rest and avoiding dehydration. Of course with that last one...water is always best. I also really like what BMW said...relaxing music...and giving the body time to heal. It is amazing what the body can do when we give it a chance to heal...might be a little...might take a long time....but it's good to do what we can to help.

This is a tough situation...no doubt. Perhaps some medication if warranted, some good health habits, combined with positive thinking and time...will really make changes. I've seen big things happen for others in difficult situations with this combination.

Wishing those affected by this better health......better memory.