What are the benefits and risks of ECT?
Pain relief and anti-nausea medication can help reduce these unwanted effects. Complications of ECT are rare, and unlikely to be life threatening. As with any procedure performed under anesthesia, there is a risk of serious heart problems or other reactions to anesthesia.
What does ECT do to the brain?
WHAT IS ECT? During ECT, a small amount of electrical current is passed through the brain while the patient is under general anesthesia. This current causes a seizure that affects the entire brain, including the parts that control mood, appetite, and sleep.
Does ECT help with anxiety?
Conclusions: Electroconvulsive therapy is effective in the acute treatment of major depressive disorder patients associated with anxiety symptoms. Anxiety symptoms improved less than depression symptoms during acute electroconvulsive therapy.
What happens after first ECT treatment?
After the Procedure
When you awaken, you may experience a period of disorientation lasting from a few minutes to several hours. Headaches, jaw pain, and muscle soreness may occur. ECT requires a series of treatments, often initiated two to three times a week for a few weeks and then the frequency is tapered down.
Can ECT change your personality?
Some people experience longer term memory loss, and difficulty making new memories. But some people do say after ECT they experience brain damage, a change in their personality, a loss of creativity, a lack of energy or drive, or lack of emotions.
Does ECT reset your brain?
ECT has been referred to as a “reset button for the brain,” which not only directly improves depressive symptoms, but also allows current medications to work more effectively.
Does ECT reset the brain?
How long is ECT effective?
The ECT taper from an acute series to a maintenance schedule is generally once a week for 4 treatments, then every 2 weeks for 4 treatments, then every 3 weeks for 4 treatments, then every 4 weeks. There is no limit on how long a patient can receive maintenance ECT provided the treatment is effective.
Does ECT change personality?
Does ECT affect intelligence?
However, former patients have publicly testified that ECT can result in a very significant (>30 point) permanent decrement in IQ score (Food and Drug Administration, 1982; Andre, 2001; Cott, 2005: p. 5) and have documented the claims by extensive neuropsychological evaluation.
How long will ECT last?
How long is an ECT procedure? A single ECT session usually lasts one hour. This includes the time the patient will be in the treatment room (approximately 15-20 minutes) and the time spent in the recovery room (approximately 20-30 minutes).
Can ECT reset your brain?