This is not a joke, so please, only serious answers (unless of-course they are really funny).
I have been chronically depressed since the early 80s. Recently my medication stopped working and I began the downward spiral. In the last few months I have lost my business, my car, my children, my medical insurance, all of my friends, and if it were not for my family, I would be homeless. Most days I can’t get out of bed and sleep for about 20 hours a day.
Now that I have cheered you all up here is my question: I live in California and wanted to know if there is any way I can get ECST as a last resort?
I don’t have any money to pay for anything.
It’s a stupid question, but…have you tried any other medication after your stopped working?
As for ECT…I’m sure there’s some kind of non-profit group that would pay for mental illness treatment. Heck, maybe even the government.
And, this probably isn’t going to be helpful at all, but…hang in there. We’ll be pulling for you. I myself am well aquinted with the “Bluebird of Unhappiness,” (And his little friend, “The Raven of Dispair”) and I know all too well what it’s like.
Ranchoth
Not a stupid question at all.
O YEA!
I have been on many different different combinations: some work some don’t.
Right now I don’t have the money to pay for any more medication so I was thinking this might be a good idea.
assuming you are ussing your own computer…why dont you sell some of your posestions that might be left and try to start back up. I to have deppression but I am 17 and mine is because I wasnt hugged enough…seriously its from alot of things. but if all else fells the prison gives you free health care and three squares a day!
i hope you get through this I know what its like and it is tough!
Maybe you could call a suicide hotline and ask them, or a dial-a-nurse. There has to be some kind of state mental health program listed in your phone book that you could call and get started towards your goal. Don’t give up and good luck.
Here are the California Department of Developmental Services Regulations for ECT The DDS Home Page has a phone # for general information. They should at least be able to point you in the right direction.
Dear Apache,
I have suffered from severe chronic depression for most of my life. I have been on just about every med combination there is.
I have also had 7 ECT sessions. If you are considering ECT, you need to know that it does not work for everybody (it didn’t work for me) & it can cause memory loss. I have no memory of a lot of things from my past. That doesn’t really bother me, but it can be a high price to pay for a treatment that may not work.
Re your lack of insurance coverage: Look thru the phonebook for a religious charity, i.e. catholic charities, lutheran social services, etc. They usually offer free or sliding scale fee counseling with a consulting psychiatrist. I did this several years ago, & the counseling does not have religious undertones (important if you are an atheist), & many times they give you manufacturer’s samples of medication if you can’t afford it.
I won’t tell you to “hang in there” because I know how lame that sounds when you are in the throes of an episode. I hope you find access to treatment you can afford.
Perhaps you could commit yourself to a mental hospital. You could have yourself declared indigent in which case the state would pay for your treatment. I think most mental hospitals would be able to provide ECT.
Here is the state’s site for searching for a facility. http://www.calcarenet.ca.gov/facilities_search.asp
Thanks for the help guys! I contacted the Ventura County Psych. counseling people and they seemed REALLY INTERESTED. I played twenty questions with the nice lady and she offered to send somebody out to get me.
I will give it a try and see what happens.
I REALLY appreciate they help everybody gave me.
In the event I have to go this alone, is there any “do it your self” ECST home kits out there, like a HeathKit “demons be gone” number?
I’m almost serious.
In response to the warning of possible memory loss, I see that as a small price to pay. Right now mere existence is a living hell. I seem to have to rebuild my life every three to five years and it is getting a little old.
I figured the “Dope” crowd would be a reliable (and discreet) place to go for this type of question. It is not really the type of thing you can mention around the dinner table without freaking everyone out and causing a big fuss.
I’ve looked into it, and not found such a thing. The machine itself isn’t all that complicated. However, what with all the anaesthetics , muscle relaxants, paralyzing agents, seizure enhancers and etc. that they use nowadays, a home ECT setup is probably not a good do it yourself type project.
Well, in my personal (and somewhat politicized) opinion, you could lick your fingers and then jam a pair of nut picks or sewing needles into your basic household 110 and have an experience as safe, as reliable, and as effective as ECT. Up here in New York, we’ve been trying to get legislation to reduce the circumstances under which it can be imposed on the unwilling.
Be that as it may, it’s your body, your mind, your demons, and if it’s what you want, more <ahem> power to you.
My general impression of medical doctors altogether (not just shrinks) is that they like the prescribed treatment to be their idea. I would suggest going to a facility that does, in fact, perform ECT, see if you can make an appointment, and then ask the psychiatrist to go over your options with you. Explain your history of no luck with pharmaceuticals and couch-based reminiscences of your potty training and whatever else you may have already tried to date. With any luck the shrink will bring up the subject of using the voltage.
Please do read up on this thing that you contemplate, though. If possible, go talk with some folks who have had it done, especially more than 5 years ago, to get feedback regarding long-term effects (and lack thereof). My sense of ECT is that it works by doing a bit of brain damage which causes a short-term euphoria and emotional flattening and memory loss. Over time, the euphoria goes away. The emotional flattening and memory loss sometimes goes away, sometimes not.
ECT is usually done as a series. Make DAMN sure that in the state where you reside you have the right to discontinue ECT after the Xth treatment, as in some venues consent is considered to be for the whole series.
Actually, regarding the “home kit” thing, I was being too flip (assuming you were being flip yourself, but on re-read I think maybe you’re serious). You can’t do it at home because people who are receiving ECT are not breathing under their own power at the time. Convulsions are spectacularly violent and destructive (you can break bones and/or furniture) unless significantly damped down by paralyzing agents, and the curare-based meds they give you for ECT is strong enough to paralyze your diaphragm. You need your BP, pulse and respiration monitored, as well as the electrical activity in your brain. It’s a pretty invasive procedure, if not quite on the order of open-heart surgery.
AHunter3 Thanks for the advice!
Although affordable, I think that the technology has not caught up with the demand of consumer/home ECT.
I am fairly convinced that my therapeutic options are becoming more limited as time drags on.
My last IQ test says I can blow up about 50 points before I leave the realm of “50th percentile”; I think I’m OK on that front.
As for memories, I cant really recall that much (that has happened) over the last five years that I need to remember, so if I lost that I would not be too devastated either.
One way or another I have to beat this or die trying.
I’m sure you’ve been through the wringer on this already, but I just wanted to be sure you were aware of Sleep Deprivation therapy, especially in light of your large quantity of daily sleep.
Since the severe bouts seem to happen every 3-5 years, I strongly suspect you have a slow cycling bipolar disorder. If this is the case, you will need a mood stabilizer as well as an antidepressant to stay on an even keel. There are several mood stabilizers and a psychiatrist can explain them to you.
Breaking such a long-standing depressive episode is not easy. I have seen spectacular results in patients who responded to ECT but you should remember that the effects only last a few months at best. It gives you a break from the depression and, therefore, time to find the right drug combo for you. Some good psychotherapy to deal with the losses incurred by your illness as well as exploring possible psychological contributions to your depression would also be appropriate in a case such as yours.
One final word. If you have been “self-medicating” your depression with alcohol or illicit drugs, keep in mind that no treatment for depression is likely to succeed until you get and stay sober. If this is the case, a dual-diagnosis treatment center would be your best bet.
I wish you the very best. It sounds like you have made a good start.
Hello again, Apache.
If you undergo ECT on an outpatient basis, you will need someone to accompany you for each session, because you are anesthetized during the procedure.
Watch the tv listings for TLC this week & weekend; they just had a program on ECT & they usually repeat programs on the weekend. It is an hour long program showing the procedure & interviews with doctors both pro & con & a patient who had the procedure.
I would urge you to give medication another look. There are several medications for depression that have recently been approved by the FDA, one of which is Geodon, & I had some success with that, albeit temporary success.
I know exactly what you’re going through, having spent 2+ years bedridden with depression. I, too, lost my friends & do not want to make new ones because I never know when my next episode will occur. I am lucky because my husband has stuck with me through everything, never even making me feel that he thought I should just “snap out of it”.
Good luck, whatever path you decide to follow.
