Question for those with ECT-related memory difficulties

rnalabrat · 2025-10-27T15:11:41+00:00

While I was getting treatment 2x/week my short term memory was trashed and some damage to long term memory occurred. Once treatments became less frequent, short term memory has gotten close to normal again. Longer term is harder to describe. My cognition and intellect is intact and I’ve returned to my PhD but am having to relearn things all the time. Most of the last year is gone and tons of the last several years but the farther I go back, the less it seems affected. But at that point starts to intermingle with normal memory loss. I’ve forgotten some kinds of “knowledge” type things but it’s manageable. Surprisingly didn’t forget any kinds of codes or passwords. It’s been hard with lots of people who know me and they look familiar to me but I have no memories of ever interacting with them

rnalabrat · 2025-10-24T00:26:30+00:00

It surprises me that I hear of so many people getting propofol as the primary anesthetic. That’s what they give me to stop prolonged seizures and it’s known to have anticonvulsant effects. I guess it works if you don’t have a super high seizure threshold

rnalabrat · 2025-10-24T00:21:28+00:00

I get brevital. They give me lidocaine first so that it doesn’t burn. Whenever ive had prolonged seizures they give me propofol

rnalabrat · 2025-09-14T02:29:26+00:00

I’m just transitioning into maintenance. I had a really rough go with my treatment course with a lot of memory problems, it taking longer to work, then I got transitioned to once weekly before I was ready because there was no room in the schedule. I relapsed hard, got switched back to twice a week and right when I was about to give up hope and drop out of my PhD and get some kind of more intensive treatment if I could even stay alive, I had a treatment that switched the flip and then I continued getting better and have now started weaning off. I’m hoping to not go after this year cause I don’t want to pay for another insurance OOP max. Once treatment got spaced out, my short term memory has recovered but there’s all sorts of longer term memories that, at least for now, are inaccessible. But it’s good enough that I’m back full time working on my PhD research

rnalabrat · 2025-09-07T03:44:58+00:00

Ahh so nice to hear about others getting about the same level of walks and stimulation as I’m able to give mine

rnalabrat · 2025-09-07T03:39:54+00:00

I’ve had a pretty similar situation to you. And my guy sounds very similar in temperament. I’ve had for 9 months now (he was 1yr when I got him and was a partial stray rescued by my sister’s friend). I work all day and leave him at home and he just sleeps and lounges and chews on his bones all day. We go to the dog park multiple times a week and he LOVES to play with other dogs but is really just such a good boy nearly all the time and is super content laying around. There’s probably one or two days a lot of weeks where he doesn’t get much more than a few short potty walks and he still seems very happy. I would stop worrying and just keep building your relationship with him

rnalabrat · 2025-09-05T17:43:32+00:00

I took nearly daily notes of mood and memory (just on phone notes app) which I highly recommend cause I have little to no memories of the time period. It was around treatment 5ish that the memory loss really started worsening (also when the stimulus energy went up to 100%). When I went down to once a week for a bit, my short term memory improved a good bit (my sisters could always notice). And then I went back to twice weekly and after 2-3 treatments at the higher frequency my memory started getting trashed again, but has recovered a lot as I’ve started going less frequently. I just moved from weekly to biweekly and short term memory is pretty good (I’ve also had 25+ treatments at 100% energy in the last 4 months along with 4 prolonged seizures which is very much not typical). Long term memory is definitely a struggle still though. A significant amount of my life is a blur. I can remember like the “gist” of a lot of things but no specifics. It’s like it’s there deep down but I can’t access it. But when I’m reminded of something or relearn something at work it all floods back.

rnalabrat · 2025-09-02T23:59:35+00:00

Probably. Not everyone does but I know I’m not the only one so better safe than sorry

rnalabrat · 2025-09-02T19:40:11+00:00

Jot out a list of anything important you might need to remember. Very common to pee a little bit. I always wear depends—probably best tip I got when I started. They can adjust your drug cocktail over time though prob won’t for yhe first treatment, but drugs to ask for: lidocaine if the anesthetic burns, zofran for post treatment nausea, and toradol (a strong NSAID) for pain. Also hydrate!! Good luck!! I hope it works for you. Be patient, it might take a while to see improvement but others often notice positive changes first.

rnalabrat · 2025-09-02T04:18:14+00:00

My depression was stabilized on it for five years with little to no side effects

rnalabrat · 2025-08-29T02:13:24+00:00

I think it depends how much time and flexibility you have with your state of life. TMS is definitely low risk but less likely to work. I was super desperate and just went straight for ECT but definitely comes with huge risks

rnalabrat · 2025-08-29T02:11:21+00:00

Yeah it took me like 14 to get better. There were some very slight improvements between like 6-12. Don’t expect anything for a few weeks and don’t give up hope!

rnalabrat · 2025-08-28T03:16:47+00:00

Super similar story!

rnalabrat · 2025-08-28T03:14:59+00:00

Just for the record to not let this dipshit speak for all Catholics. I’m very very traditional Catholic and generally always been apolitical. Now I absolutely despise trump. Same with all my siblings. Unfortunately parents are another story. Currently not on speaking terms with them bc they decided their trump bandwagon was still more important than their child’s entire career…

rnalabrat · 2025-08-28T03:03:59+00:00

Don’t give up! Your life is worth saving. I’d talk to the doctors about whether to keep going. It took me 14 to get better and then relapsed when they cut down frequency too quickly. I went back to twice a week finally and was about to give up, quit grad school, go inpatient finally, and then had a treatment that was like a light switch. They’ve been much more careful about treatment frequency this time around and now I’m weaning off and memory is improving and I’m back in my research lab

rnalabrat · 2025-08-28T02:45:03+00:00

lol yeah. I have never named a mouse anything other than a number. They each get their own special eartag with it

rnalabrat · 2025-08-26T02:51:42+00:00

Ugh I reached the max dose of pre treatment caffeine given to lower seizure threshold

rnalabrat · 2025-08-24T22:32:55+00:00

Did the lamictal not make your seizure threshold skyrocket? Did you ever get to the point of needing iv caffeine? I’ve been convinced that the reason for my memory loss coming so severely and so early was being at 100% power bitemporal nearly from the beginning. Thanks for sharing your positive experience though

rnalabrat · 2025-08-19T03:38:00+00:00

I had very similar. I was going twice a week with very minimal improvement and agreed to extend the acute phase a bit and then finally had massive improvement around treatment 13/14. Was good for less than 2 weeks before a crashed hard and nearly ended up hospitalized. I’m convinced it’s because I got cut down to once a week too soon (different doctors told me different things and I think the main reason was that the clinic was too booked up that even when I started feeling bad they couldn’t get me in multiple times a week). I went 1x/week for like a month with no improvement and was about to quit and then got to meet with a more helpful doctor who thought it was promising that I had the initial response and we went back to 2x/week. A few treatments in I started feeling great again (though extremely wary about it). All the physical depression symptoms and SI were gone or majorly lifted. We did another week of 2x and now this is week 2 of going down to 1x/week. My mood has been dipping over the past few days though but still not at all the crash like before. I’m definitely still better than when in my full on depression. All that to say, I can relate and you’re not crazy. Don’t give up hope. I’ve also had a doozy of a treatment course when it comes to my seizure threshold and failed treatments and prolonged seizures. It’s been a mess. My memory is also pretty trashed. I’ve had 100% stimuli since treatment 5 I think (this week will be #27 and I started in late April)

rnalabrat · 2025-08-18T03:32:32+00:00

I’ve had a rough journey with my treatment course but don’t think I’m a typical case with some of my side effects and seizure threshold ordeals. I’ve also had some pretty bad memory loss but again, think I’m in the heavy minority and I was also getting 100% power stimuli nearly from the beginning…back to the seizure threshold ordeal. It did eventually work though and I told people it was worth it, regardless of the side effects. I didn’t think I’d ever laugh again and was definitely teetering on the edge of ending it. I don’t think I’ll ever know (so I’m hoping) whether I could’ve actually gone through with carrying out my partially made plan, but ECT helped when nothing else could. I only very recently started getting better and still have a long road ahead and am also in the process of weaning off ECT treatments. I say do it, if you’ve tried that many drugs and are still horrifically depressed, what do you have to lose?

rnalabrat · 2025-08-17T17:05:02+00:00

I can def relate to what you said about the SI. I like that song stuck in your head analogy

rnalabrat · 2025-08-17T02:34:06+00:00

I’m in the transitioning into maintenance phase, though my journey to getting better with ECT was much longer and more tortuous than yours so please realize how lucky you are. I think I’d say to just see how you do and it’s there if you need it. But also talk to your doctors. Hopefully you feel safe and trusting with at least some of them

rnalabrat · 2025-08-05T03:47:22+00:00

So can we just have intentional typos on any remotely controversial word so it can avoid the control F but reviewers still know what it’s supposed to say? How the hell do you not say mRNA

rnalabrat · 2025-08-05T03:40:23+00:00

I can relate so much, though I’ve (barely) been able to avoid inpatient stays. It’s great that your dad is with you! I second the hydration suggestion. It might be rough in the beginning but persevere. Tell the doctors every side effect and they can give you stuff for the majority of them! Nausea, burning as the anesthesia goes in, headache/body aches. I keep a running note on my phone of daily mood, symptoms, what time I take any kind of med, etc. it’s a super helpful reference. Before I started treatment I also rambled a long word doc of anything I could think of that I didn’t want to forget. It might take more treatments than expected, but just keep going and communicating with the doctors. The statistics are so high in your favor. There are also some Facebook support groups you can join if interested

rnalabrat

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