While ECT is still allowable and it's administration is more humane it is grossly unjust that people who suffered from it's misapplication when human knowledge was lacking do not appear to be able to obtain justice today.
Jan 04 2012
I can relate to this story very closely. My mother was diagnosed as a "manic depressive" (now described as full on bipolar) and was on anti-d's for the majority of her life from her mid 20s. In '67 at age 34 she had me (the 8th child!). As I have later learned, I was in foster care as a baby and didn't live with my mum for some time. Mum wasn't at my 2nd birthday because she was "over at Porirua Mental Hospital getting shock treatment". With what we know about mental illnesses now I believe my Mum actually went into postpartum depression (totally unrecognised and disregarded at that time period) after my birth. I used to get angry at my Mum (RIP) as a child because I couldn't understand why she couldn't remember anything about my childhood - what time I was born etc. I silently thought that she didn't care. Mum had massive self esteem issues and self medicated with food making her obese. My childhood home was not a happy one. Mum's mental state would rollercoaster from "singing happy" (she was a classical singer) to "wearing big black sunglasses to hide red, swollen cried out eyes while pigging down an entire packet of chocolate biscuits" from one day to the next. Leading by her example (children are a blank slate that parents write on), I developed the same insecurities. Thank goodness for counselling. The shock treatment did nothing to help mum; how can you progress in life when you've been "assessed as crazy enough to zap"?Claude Moffat #57 07:40 pm Mar 06 2012
I have spoken with many people from both side of the divide on ECT. I have read many studies done on ECT. My conclusion is that very few people claim any benefit from the procedure. The downside is horrible to say the least. One very important point must be made and that is that the brain attempts to heal after the damage from ECT. That is why especially in the US there is a practice to give repeat treatments to make the damage permanent in the false belief that that is the "cure". That damage in some people might not be within their awareness because their awareness has been compromised. Another thing came up from the studies. Never has the clinician's concept of benefit aligned with that of the patient. It is a subject of opinion not of science. I challenged the Review into ECT with Annette King Min of Health at the time. She had to admit there was a lack of scientific rigour attached to the use of ECT, but that she had every faith in psychiatrists in administering it. That is not good enough for me, just an act of faith without any science to back it. The benefits have to be significant over the side effects but they aren't. Hence it isn't a valid treatment option. Long term studies of which there are few show no benefit at all. People get better over time long after ECT because their brains healed over that time and for no other reason.Jen #7 07:15 am Jan 04 2012
My grandmother had ECT for depression when she was a young woman. The remainder of was spent nervous, forgetful, paranoid and missing a large chunk of her memory. I had no idea this was still happening and I find it utterly terrifying.MissL #36 03:53 pm Jan 04 2012
ECT is a barbaric and prehistoric form of treatment, not to mention often ineffective. My mother had ECT numerous times along with a concoction of various anti-depressents, the ECT made her miserable, she was like a zombie after each treatment and as strange as it sounds she said it made her feel even more crazy due to the seriousness of the treatment.. after watching my mum go through the horrific treatment, and then burying her after she committed suicide on Christmas eve 10yrs ago, I would never recommend or condone such treatment being used on anyone I know and love.greg #51 07:14 pm Jan 08 2012
http://www.sfauckland.org.nz/site/supportingfamilies/files/Information/ect-review.pdf In this govt document of 2004 it is stated in section 7, point 4, that "No study has examined the impact of ECT on social functioning and quality of life". Don't you find this statement sadly ironic considering what ECT was and is still administered for? And does it not beg a proper if not actual investigation to be carried out by an independent body? If a product is found to be defective to the point of harming a relatively small amount of users then the entire batch is recalled. This applies to food, cars, toys, tools and even medicine. What is the difference between medical drugs and medical treatment as far as product recall is concerned? The reason thalidomide is not still given for morning sickness is because of physical deformities which are obvious whereas social and emotional deformities are harder to prove as is very much your word against a 'medical professional' whose job it is to deal with and identify such problems. Why is it up to the people who administer the treatment to find fault in it? According to section 7, point 4 of the 2004 govt review it appears that no one in the ECT administering mental health community has even started to think about the fallout ECT may have caused.ben #23 09:01 am Jan 04 2012
I think ECT is medieval medicine! first of all in order to make the assertion that ECT "fixes" or "heals" a mental illness etc you need to make the unscientific statement that depression and other mental disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance. As the overwhelming research shows "chemical imbalance" is unable to be substantiated. Therefore causing a seizure in the brain is abuse to the patient. I can't believe Dr Melding states the supposed "effective" process of the procedure in a way which she truly believes it is worthwhile and appropriate. Maybe she should have a turn on the ECT if it is such a useful piece of medical equipment!
My brother in laws father was given ECT for "depression" his comment a few years afterwards was that he felt it did absolutely nothing for him and actual made him feel worse.
All shocking the brain does is just that, it doesn't heal any mental illness as mental illness is not a chemical imbalance in the brain, it is a issue that resides in a person's spirit.John #11 07:54 am Jan 04 2012
I was given ECT in the early 2000's at the HBC in Hamilton & it was the worst thing to ever happen to me mentally. It gave me an artificial "high" for a few weeks followed by a deep depression which earned me more ECT. Today I have lost alot of my memories from before the treatment & what I do remember is all scrambled up. Also I now have very little concentration & I struggle to play the guitar(22 years) as I can't concentrate or remember songs.
LSD could be used in psychotherapy - scientists
Last updated 22:38 18/08/2010
Maybe we should use this cure for depression makes as much sence as ECT
Mind-altering drugs like LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms could be combined with psychotherapy to treat people suffering from depression, compulsive disorders or chronic pain, Swiss scientists suggest.
Research into the effects of psychedelics, used in the past in psychiatry, has been restricted in recent decades because of the negative connotations of drugs, but the scientists said more studies into their clinical potential were now justified.
The researchers said recent brain imaging studies show that psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine and psilocybin - the psychoactive component in recreational drugs known as magic mushrooms - act on the brain in ways that could help reduce symptoms of various psychiatric disorders.
The drugs could be used as a kind of catalyst, the scientists said, helping patients to alter their perception of problems or pain levels and then work with behavioural therapists or psychotherapists to tackle them in new ways.
"Psychedelics can give patients a new perspective - particularly when things like suppressed memories come up - and then they can work with that experience," said Franz Vollenweider of the Neuropsychopharmacology and brain imaging unit at Zurich's University Hospital of Psychiatry, who published a paper on the issue in Nature Neuroscience journal.
Depending on the type of person taking the drug, the dose and the situation, psychedelics can have a wide range of effects, experts say, from feelings of boundlessness and bliss at one end of the spectrum to anxiety-inducing feelings of loss of control and panic at the other.
marc bonny #44 12:25 am Jan 06 2012
Dr Read and Margaret Parry are absolutely correct on all points. Psychiatrists holding out, trying to get a name for themselves over this dangerous -to -patient game are holding up an empty sack.Now aged 64 I went through 29 verifiable forced ECT, unilateral initially, the last few bilateral causing massive(shrieking)tinnitus over the right side of my head, at Auckland Hospital, and Oakley c1966-74. Ive never seen improvements in anyone by this procedure but personal experience up close of many individuals having gotten worse; their potential in life reduced to tatters.The noise and pitch of the tinnitus have not changed since that time; with a deep electronic tone in the head upon coming to, then a couple of weeks later the deep electronic tone in my head elevated to a high shrieking tinnitus. As with the other victims I have greatly reduced memory and recall for the most important stages in my life. Patients unable to avoid the forced 'treatment' sometimes attempted suicide,as they experienced the quality of their life slipping away.Sue Leighton #33 12:29 pm Jan 04 2012
I was alerted to your article by a friend who has 'travelled' with me during my bouts of severe clinical depression and consequent treatments - anti-depressants; mood stabilisers; CBT; endless sessions with psychiatrists/psychologists and ECT! I felt the article was somewhat imbalanced in that it primarily focused on the viewpoints of the medical professionals with a less than proportionate viewpoint from the 'patients'. ECT, from a patient's perspective, is a 'last resort' and 'consent' given out of desperation rather than 'choice'. Depression, in all its forms, does not discriminate. It is an illness than consumes your entire being; it takes away your ability to function; it makes you doubt the honesty of your feelings, emotions and decisions and it can bring you to the point where 'ending' your life is better than 'living' it. In 1997, my experience of ECT was a positive one - a short course of treatment put me back on track when all else had failed. The memory loss was relatively insignificant in comparison. In 2009/10 the experience was not so positive - during three admittances to hospital I was treated with ECT - this was no 'short course' of treatment. Subsequently,the gaps in my memory are huge. When prompted I can remember snippets of an event now but there is no clarity. My concentration is limited. Would I 'consent' to ECT again - no never!
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