John, You will get many opinions here I'm sure of ECT treatments.

Here is my take.

In March of 1997 I was truly suicidal for the first time in 30+ years of dealing with recurrent depression. I was admitted and my pdoc also recommended ECT. I requested a Medline search of all articles on ECT from our local medical school library and a friend picked them up. I read every single one and decided to go ahead. I had 9 initial treatments (3 a week for 3 weeks) and 4 or 5 monthly maintenance treatments until I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia. They helped me greatly and I'm very glad I agreed to them.

After the first few treatments I began having severe short term memory problems. My family and friends were very worried, but fortunately I had an excellent doctor (my pdoc, not the one who actually administered the treatments, he was another pdoc) who took the time to explain things to them. I have also been in the hospital subsequently (much less severe problems) and seen the confusion in the patients taking the treatments. It is very important that those around a patient taking the treatments fully understand the memory problems and the resulting confusion and fear in the patient. they need to constantly assure the patient that these effects are temporary. About 6 weeks after the treatments I took the theory course in the graduate program I was attending at the time and received the only A in the class. My fears about permanent cognitive problems were alleviated.

Today's ECT is a far cry from what was seen on One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The amount of electricity used today is very small, Most treatments are unilateral, not bilateral. The treatment is done under anesthesia and with a muscle relaxant to alleviate the problem of broken bones or sore muscles. It is a potent and effective treatment for resistant depression and some other serious psychiatric problems.

Just my two cents.
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Peace, love and serenity,
Madeleine