Scamper61 asked this question on 4/12/2000:
I had a liver transplant 1-6-99. I have been very depressed which is causing me to feel sick. My doctors are talking about shock treatment to get rid of the depression. I want to know if it works and how I wood feel afterwords.
If you can tell me this I would be very greatful. Please E-Mail me at Scamper61@aol.com Thank you
ampito gave this response on 4/15/2000:
I have seen ECT to be life-saving in extreme depressions. The first person I saw that received the treatment was a middle-aged woman in the VA hospital in Long Beach, CA. She was so depressed that she felt that she was unworthy to eat and had lost a great deal of weight. After several ECT treatments, she began to eat again. I read the answers that two other experts gave you with horror stories about what happened to their loved ones after receiving ECT. My mother went through two or three series of ECT's in the 1960,s because there wasn't much else to offer at that time. I did not observe the horrible results in her that the other experts described. However, I'm not sure that it had any long-term good effect for her depression either. Most psychiatrists in this age, with the plethora of treatments available, save ECT's as a last resort. Having had a liver transplant does complicate things, however. If you are in the medical field, you may know that the liver detoxifies many things in the body. Detoxify means to turn something harmful to the body to something which is safe. Most medications are acted upon by the liver and the doctors may be afraid that the medications may harm your new liver. You say that your doctors are talking about using ECT to relieve your depression. It sounds like you may be in a teaching hospital, a VA facility or something like that. Could you get another opinion? If you were comfortable with their choice of treatments, you wouldn't have asked the question. If it doesn't feel right to you, refuse the treatment. You have that right! Don't let the doctors bully you into doing something that you are not comfortable with. Let me know if the doctors are willing to consider other options and how you do.
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