My wife suffered a psychotic manic episode (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_psychosis) after the birth of our first child, the opposite of post partum depression, which happens in 1/1000 births.
I witnessed her on antipsycotics for a week while attempting to persuade her to accept ECT.
The effects of ECT were astonishing. She had the ECT treatment at 9:00 in the morning, and by noon she was back to normal. She had a few more treatments after that to make sure she didn't relapse, and that was the last we saw of it.
She's still without relapses 10 years later, and according to her, should it happen again she would accept ECT much sooner.
Edit: I should probably elaborate on the side effects she experienced.
She suffered short term memory loss, which is a known side effect. When she went to the ECT treatment she recognized the driver, and they established where they knew each other from. It was surreal to witness the same conversation unfold with the driver that just unfolded 20 minutes ago before ECT. She had absolutely no recollection of having seen or talked to the guy before on that day.
She feels (now) that she has lost more memory, but as the conventional treatment for manic episodes is basically locking them up in a room with a bed, a table a chair, and some sheets of paper, and keeping them confined there for 2+ weeks, i bet most of us would be unable to keep track of time. Add the various drugs being administered to the equation, in doses that makes you lean against the wall and drool.
She has no memory problems today. The only "blank spots" are in the time surrounding her hospitalization, specifically the days her ECT treatment was administered.
They can force various antipsychotics down your throat like Olanzapine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olanzapine) or Quetiapine(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetiapine), with serious side effects, but ECT which has very little known side effects, and has been studied quite intensely, cannot be forced.
My wife suffered a psychotic manic episode (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_psychosis) after the birth of our first child, the opposite of post partum depression, which happens in 1/1000 births.
I witnessed her on antipsycotics for a week while attempting to persuade her to accept ECT. The effects of ECT were astonishing. She had the ECT treatment at 9:00 in the morning, and by noon she was back to normal. She had a few more treatments after that to make sure she didn't relapse, and that was the last we saw of it.
She's still without relapses 10 years later, and according to her, should it happen again she would accept ECT much sooner.
Edit: I should probably elaborate on the side effects she experienced. She suffered short term memory loss, which is a known side effect. When she went to the ECT treatment she recognized the driver, and they established where they knew each other from. It was surreal to witness the same conversation unfold with the driver that just unfolded 20 minutes ago before ECT. She had absolutely no recollection of having seen or talked to the guy before on that day.
She feels (now) that she has lost more memory, but as the conventional treatment for manic episodes is basically locking them up in a room with a bed, a table a chair, and some sheets of paper, and keeping them confined there for 2+ weeks, i bet most of us would be unable to keep track of time. Add the various drugs being administered to the equation, in doses that makes you lean against the wall and drool.
She has no memory problems today. The only "blank spots" are in the time surrounding her hospitalization, specifically the days her ECT treatment was administered.