1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Depression

i got brain damage from electroconvulsive therapy.

Posted , 86 users are following.

sue_cunliffe1
sue_cunliffe1

In 2005 I was given 22 lots of electroconvulsive therapy. It left me with brain damage that means I will never work again. I was lucky because I got support from a neuropsychologist who allowed me to understand and come to terms with my problems. ECT can be used to great effect. However some people like myself end up severely and permanently affected. I want to use this place to link up with those like myself. So that we can support each other.  I don't say ect shouldn't be used. But people thinking of it should understand what can happen. The Information given about ECT side effects doesn't go into details, they talk about memory problems. Actually it affects far more than that. It causes cognitive impairment. 10 years on I need 12 hours of home help a week to help me care for my 3 kids. I tire very easily and some days I am able and feel intelligent. Other days if I have pushed myself and not been able to have a midday nap I struggle to do the most basic of tasks. Some days I'm not well enough to drive at all. Other days I will drive short distances. I was a doctor and well never work again. 

Please let me know if you have had similar problems. Or if your thinking about ECT please make sure that you understand what could happen to you. It could mean permanent I'll health on top of your existing problems.I am no longer depressed. It wasn't stopped by the ECT but by psychological input to support me out of my coercively abusive marriage.

16 likes, 269 replies

269 Replies

Prev Next
  • n37653
    n37653 sue_cunliffe1

    Posted

    Hi Suzie I found your post and I wanted to say I myself have had ect. Since having it I have a few things that really make me regret doing it. First off I use to have a memory so good I could remember details and emotions with the memory that I often suffered bad anxiety from how I would be able to recall a memory and it was like living it all over again good or bad. I've had at least 12 rounds of it and I will say it has affected my memory I can remember past events but now longer feel emotions with them and have distorted sense of time they just seem more like vague recollections of my past. In one way I don't have so much anxiety like I had before but on the other I feels like I don't have much feeling for who I was in the past which bothers me at times. My attention span is very short for the most part and a lot of old and recent memories seem more like fragments. I haven't forgotten information like facts or schooling in electronics of which I have a degree. It mostly has affected my emotions associated with past memories as well as recent events and attention span. Electricity takes the path of least resistance and its unpredictable to guess exactly which parts of the brain it really affected only the general area. I wish I would have never done it. I hope my experience helps you. You are not alone. God bless and good luck.
    • sue_cunliffe1
      sue_cunliffe1 n37653

      Posted

      Those are all my problems. You have got damage to your working memory function and executive functioning.

      I had it 12 years ago and I have got a lot better. Where are you from. I am just trying to get a documentary made.

    • n37653
      n37653 sue_cunliffe1

      Posted

      Yeah I'm convinced of it myself. I suffered from depression and anxiety so bad medication just wast working. I tried a lot of ssri's etc. Doctor I was seeing at the time said id probably have to have it to feel better and I told him hell no. Well about 5 years after that I decided to have it done as I wasn't getting any relief. Anyways I went to a doctor here in my state that still does it and spoke with the doctor who does it. I did it on an outpatient basis. My wife would bring me and then home. I honestly don't remember much from the whole experience. The doctor assured me I wouldn't lose any real memory from my life but only from the time of the treatment mainly from anesthesia. That was back in 2012.......well its 2016 and I struggle with memory mostly minor stuff but very disheartening. And past emotions with past memories almost nonexistent. I remember that I use to feel them but the are just not there. Also I play piano and had to relearn several songs as I completely forgot how to play them......I've since re learned them. I have forgotten several peoples names from the past. My wife has to remind me frequently about little things that will slip my mind. Never had any thing like this before ect.

      I am no longer on any meds for depression and haven't been for several years now I have my good days and bad .

    • Aurebu
      Aurebu n37653

      Posted

      Sounds exactly like Riikka's problems. She did however do something that I would never recommend, and is now drug free, and better than in a long timie. This spring she went early from work, bought a big bottle of boos, came home, drank the boos, and alter that evening took an over-dose (more a heavy dosage) of her drugs. the morning after she woke up rested for the first time in over a year. 

      She then decided to just stop taking the drugs completely, and she has only moderately (At most 2 0,33 ml cans of cider) drunk any alcohol since. 

      She does continue to have all the symptoms from the damage from ECT though. These are all difficult to cope with. At the moment she is sleeping. she got up in the morning, saw our daughter off to kindergarten, and when I got back from driving our daughter, she was asleep. She probably will be so for a couple of hours. 

    • mindy45479
      mindy45479 n37653

      Posted

      ECT survivor... did u ever get ur documentary made? I would be very interested in seeing! 
    • sue_cunliffe1
      sue_cunliffe1 mindy45479

      Posted

      I've had a few TV / radio / newspaper articles.

      I'm trying to find someone in the UK who has had ECT recently who will speak on TV

    • Aurebu
      Aurebu mindy45479

      Posted

      I have all the documentation and sound clips ready, but will wait with making any youtube clip/documentary until the case is finished. We won the case with IVO, and won the case with LÖF. Now we are only waiting for the retribution. I believe they are trying to hawl things out to try and avoid paying Riikka anything for the damage she's got. 

       

  • ronald50431
    ronald50431 sue_cunliffe1

    Posted

    Suzie,

         Hello I am a Care Manager working for the Mental Health Assocition of the Southern Tier in Upstate New York. I have client that has gone through ECT and has experience sevee memory loss. She has gone through ECT sessions before with no memory loss at all heowever this latest session has left her with not remembering some of the most important history in her life. She has mental health issues and this is compounding them. I am looking into finding a neuropsyhologist and think it may help her in some way. She is confused and is just trying to rebuild a relationship with her daughter and grandchildren. I want to help her in any way possible is there any suggestions you may have. Thank you in advance for any help or advice you may have.

    Ron

    • sandy46484
      sandy46484 ronald50431

      Posted

      You are so kind to do this for your client. As someone trying to come to terms to the harm done to me, I suggest your client may benefit from a neuropsychologist who specialized in brain injury and PTSD. I'm not certain if your client has PTSD from this, it is what I now have from this horrific experience. I now see a traumatoligist.

      She's lucky to have you as a counselor. This is a "treatment" that destroys many lives.

    • sue_cunliffe1
      sue_cunliffe1 ronald50431

      Posted

      A neuropsychologist will help her to understand her brain injury. All to often the symptoms of brain injury can be mistaken as depression. But the way you deal with them are quite different.

      There is a great book called head injury, a practical guide by Trevor Powell...which has good explanations of brain damage in it.

      Do you have many successful brain damage ECT claims in the USA?

    • sandy46484
      sandy46484 sue_cunliffe1

      Posted

      Yes, we do. Peggy Salter from South Carolina successfully sued for $600,000 damages. It is tricky here because we have a two year statute of limitations and often survivors do not even realize the extent of their injuries for a couple years. Plus, "mental patients" are not seem as very sympathetic plaintiffs. Docs will lie and convince people that we deserved the brain damage. Juries have a hard time believing doctors deceive their patients. There is well regarded book called 'Doctors of Deception' by Linda Andre which details how much shock doctors and the industry lie to their patients and get away with it. There is a lot of money behind the shock industry.
    • sandy46484
      sandy46484 sue_cunliffe1

      Posted

      Peggy Salter case. You can google her name to learn more.

      Jury Awards $635,000 in shock case.

      In June 2005 in Columbia, South Carolina, a jury awarded $635,000 in a malpractice suit against a psychiatrist who referred a patient for electroshock treatment. The hospital had previously settled for a small amount and the doctor who administered the treatment was not found negligent. The plaintiff, Peggy Salters, is a former nurse who lost her memory for many years of her life, including her professional training and the raising of her children. Her cognitive abilities remain impaired for new learning as well. She was found permanently disabled by the shock treatment. Mrs. Salters viewed the jury award as a victory for all victims of electroshock. It is probably the first jury award in an electroshock malpractice case. The fact that the referring physician was found negligent may encourage greater caution on the part of physicians who refer their patients to “shock doctors” for treatment. Dr. Peter Breggin was the medical expert on behalf of Mrs. Salter’s. The attorney was Mark Hardee (phone 803 799 0905).

    • sandy46484
      sandy46484 sue_cunliffe1

      Posted

      I would like to add, there is a very real depression I'm experiencing as a result of having my children's memories robbed, my career stolen and life experiences stolen. They did not ask for consent to do this. One of the side effects of shock, that they don't tell you before you "consent", is worsening of the original DX due to the "adverse" effects of treatment. Who wouldn't be depressed after having a meaningful life deleted? Our lives had meaning.
    • sandy46484
      sandy46484

      Posted

      I do hope more brave victims will seek legal redress. There is something terribly wrong with this; doctor lying to patients and brain damaging them to "treat" depression.
    • sue_cunliffe1
      sue_cunliffe1 ronald50431

      Posted

      You hav done the most amazing thing by believing her. A neuropsychologist is what she needs.

      Beware that brain injury can look superficially like depression and anxiety.

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.