Why isn't ECT here? It's a procedure

[Justinian]

Personally, I liked it. I had an 8-session course in hospital last year as I was an in-patient with "severe depression" (MDD?), a vague "anxiety disorder", suicidal ideation and attempts, and "pathological gambling disorder", which pretty much means (according to its ICD-10 code) that my gambling issues are untreatable in the same way any inherent part of anyone's personality can't be treated or cured.

[Chrisy]

Tell me more, I think there's a lot of bad press out there about ECT but Ive also read some really promising things about it and know a couple people who benefited from having the treatments. I'm glad it was a positive experience for you and the results have given you relief...the gambling thing is behavioral and can be contained as I watched my uncle go thru a long process of untangling himself from the addiction of it. The OCD doesn't help as it probably helped you in some ways. I have other compulsive addictive tendencies and it's hard to overcome but can be done. Now I channel the OCD and compulsions in other ways that are less destructive.

[Justinian]

Tell me more, I think there's a lot of bad press out there about ECT but Ive also read some really promising things about it and know a couple people who benefited from having the treatments. I'm glad it was a positive experience for you and the results have given you relief...the gambling thing is behavioral and can be contained as I watched my uncle go thru a long process of untangling himself from the addiction of it. The OCD doesn't help as it probably helped you in some ways. I have other compulsive addictive tendencies and it's hard to overcome but can be done. Now I channel the OCD and compulsions in other ways that are less destructive.

I'm lucky, in a way, as I have chat logs that cover those four months in hospital. I used an app to recover them months after discharge. So I know more than I remember. I had ECT twice a week for four weeks, so eight sessions. The plan was stop at eight and then to decide whether more was appropriate. I requested more but the psychiatrist declined to book more sessions. Forget any depictions of ECT treatment in old history books or horror movies. I think people still look at it as being electrocuted as it used to be called electroshock therapy. In reality, there is no "shock" and the applied voltage is tiny and only used to precipitate a short seizure/fit, which is actually/supposedly the treatment. It isn't traumatic, I didn't get headaches, I wasn't confused or frightened when I regained consciousness. It has a very bad press. I have all my medical records and reports from that time but it is awkward/embarrassing to read them, so I don't. Hence I don't know why the ECT wasn't continued, but I probably have the doctor's reasons in a folder nearby. I developed a tremor/shaking mostly in my legs during treatment and for a short while afterwards. As to gambling, it is harder to stop than ANYTHING. Any drugs, drink, smoking, adult websites, medication...