October 27, 2023 • 8 mins
I've been depressed the last week or so, and I didn't feel like my meds were helping. So my Dr.'s and I decided to give ECT therapy a try. In this episode, I just wanted to ask for tips or advice for going through it. If you have any tips or advice, please leave a comment or send me an email.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to Bipolar Thoughts. My name is Steven and I'll be your host.
(00:09):
So today we're gonna talk about something that's a little bit I'm not sure how to start this.
So I've been in a depressive mode for about the last week. I felt kind of numb and I've been kind
(00:29):
of stuck between not being able to get out of bed and having too much energy to do so.
Just kind of, I don't know how to explain it. I was trying to explain it to my mom but it's
kind of like not sad and happy at the same time but like something kind of similar. I'm not really
(00:50):
happy but I'm like, I don't know how to explain it. It's not easy to explain because I don't
know exactly what it is. I talked to my doctors about readjusting my medicine and that we decided
to, because I've kind of gone through so many different medications, we decided to try something
(01:14):
different, something called ECT, electroconvulsive therapy. Basically it's electroshock therapy.
I've always been like under the impression that that's only what they give to like really crazy
(01:37):
people. You know they say you see it in the movies where they like strap you down, you have like
this machine thing on your head, you gotta bite down on something and they shock you. I think
this is something similar to that except that from what I understand because you'll be under
anesthesia, they don't actually convulse but it is electroshock therapy. They are gonna shock my
(02:03):
brain which does have a bunch of side effects like memory loss I think is one of them and I think
that's my biggest concern for me because I already have a really bad memory. Part of my ADHD is that
my memory is just not there. I can't focus long enough to remember what the fuck was going on
(02:24):
right before or I'll be so in thought about something that I forget about what the fuck I
was talking about because one little I don't it's just it's hard to explain but it's ADHD. So I am a
little worried about the side effects of this therapy. I don't know much about it I've just
(02:48):
found out yesterday that this is something that we're gonna do. I started trying to do a little
bit of research on it and I've got some things lined up as far as like I am gonna do an episode on
this on ECT and what it is and how like the effects of it and all that kind of different things all
that kind of different stuff. Today I really just kind of wanted to talk about the fact that it's
(03:15):
used as a treatment mostly in people with depression like severe depression or bipolar disorder that
haven't responded well to other treatments. I mean like I said it's used for other treatments you
know schizophrenia and some other things but it's for me in this specific episode in this specific
(03:37):
podcast where you're just gonna stick to the bipolar part of it but basically it's an electrical
shock to the brain while you're while you're asleep while you're well they put you under. Like I
said I'm not gonna go into too much of the details about it because I don't know that much about
it myself and that's kind of the point of this episode is to kind of see if there's anybody
(04:01):
out there that might have some information about this like some tips or you know some guidance or
some help for me or anybody else that might be going through ECT or might be considering it as an
option for therapy. This isn't a replacement for my medicine I'm gonna continue to take that and
(04:26):
it's not a replacement for my therapy I'm still going to that I haven't I have to go this afternoon
actually but no I'm still going to therapy I'm still gonna take my medicine I'm still gonna do
all those things it's just that I with my bipolar I tend to stay in the depressive side of things
(04:47):
more often than I do manic. My manic episodes before I was medicated were really bad I mean like
really really bad I mean they would last for weeks at a time and now that's under control
after the most part I still get manic but it's like I have like manic days as opposed to like
(05:11):
manic weeks or months like before my depressive moods are a little bit more intense than they
used to be I think I mean or maybe I just notice them now because I'm sober but I tend to stay on
that on the darker side of the moon a little bit more than I do you know over the rainbow I guess
(05:36):
I don't know how the fuck to say that you know but I do tend to stay a little more in the in the
dark than I do in the light so this is something that I had never really considered before it
wasn't something that you know I like sought out my my doctor recommended it it was between
(05:59):
ECT and TMS which is TMS is basically it's another it's electroshock therapy but it's a little bit
more intense I think I don't know that the real difference between the two I know that with TMS
you have to do it it's like five days a week it's real intensive it's like five days a week for
like six weeks whereas with ECT and you don't with TMS you don't go they don't put you under like
(06:25):
under anesthesia they just do it and then you go home with ECT I think it's a little more intense
and they actually put you under anesthesia and it's yeah it's like a from what I understand you
can do it like once a month or every couple of weeks or it I don't know I don't really know how
(06:51):
intense of it it really is I'm kind of just going off of the little bit of research that I found
which a lot of the research kind of says the same thing it's just I haven't really read that much
into it so again if there's anybody out there that has any kind of guidance or tips or anything that
(07:13):
really might kind of I don't know help me or help anybody else that might be listening to this send
me an email leave me a comment I'd love to hear what your thoughts are what how what your
experience is aware with this you know I'd really just like to know what I'd like to make that
(07:35):
connection I think you know how this affected you how you dealt with it and it maybe it can help
me I don't know but just remember that even though it for me even though I live on the dark side
(07:57):
of the moon most of the time I have to remember that I don't have to stay there and sit in the
dark alone and neither do you
Hello and welcome to Bipolar Thoughts. My name is Steven and I'll be your host.
(00:09):
So today we're gonna talk about something that's a little bit I'm not sure how to start this.
So I've been in a depressive mode for about the last week. I felt kind of numb and I've been kind
(00:29):
of stuck between not being able to get out of bed and having too much energy to do so.
Just kind of, I don't know how to explain it. I was trying to explain it to my mom but it's
kind of like not sad and happy at the same time but like something kind of similar. I'm not really
(00:50):
happy but I'm like, I don't know how to explain it. It's not easy to explain because I don't
know exactly what it is. I talked to my doctors about readjusting my medicine and that we decided
to, because I've kind of gone through so many different medications, we decided to try something
(01:14):
different, something called ECT, electroconvulsive therapy. Basically it's electroshock therapy.
I've always been like under the impression that that's only what they give to like really crazy
(01:37):
people. You know they say you see it in the movies where they like strap you down, you have like
this machine thing on your head, you gotta bite down on something and they shock you. I think
this is something similar to that except that from what I understand because you'll be under
anesthesia, they don't actually convulse but it is electroshock therapy. They are gonna shock my
(02:03):
brain which does have a bunch of side effects like memory loss I think is one of them and I think
that's my biggest concern for me because I already have a really bad memory. Part of my ADHD is that
my memory is just not there. I can't focus long enough to remember what the fuck was going on
(02:24):
right before or I'll be so in thought about something that I forget about what the fuck I
was talking about because one little I don't it's just it's hard to explain but it's ADHD. So I am a
little worried about the side effects of this therapy. I don't know much about it I've just
(02:48):
found out yesterday that this is something that we're gonna do. I started trying to do a little
bit of research on it and I've got some things lined up as far as like I am gonna do an episode on
this on ECT and what it is and how like the effects of it and all that kind of different things all
that kind of different stuff. Today I really just kind of wanted to talk about the fact that it's
(03:15):
used as a treatment mostly in people with depression like severe depression or bipolar disorder that
haven't responded well to other treatments. I mean like I said it's used for other treatments you
know schizophrenia and some other things but it's for me in this specific episode in this specific
(03:37):
podcast where you're just gonna stick to the bipolar part of it but basically it's an electrical
shock to the brain while you're while you're asleep while you're well they put you under. Like I
said I'm not gonna go into too much of the details about it because I don't know that much about
it myself and that's kind of the point of this episode is to kind of see if there's anybody
(04:01):
out there that might have some information about this like some tips or you know some guidance or
some help for me or anybody else that might be going through ECT or might be considering it as an
option for therapy. This isn't a replacement for my medicine I'm gonna continue to take that and
(04:26):
it's not a replacement for my therapy I'm still going to that I haven't I have to go this afternoon
actually but no I'm still going to therapy I'm still gonna take my medicine I'm still gonna do
all those things it's just that I with my bipolar I tend to stay in the depressive side of things
(04:47):
more often than I do manic. My manic episodes before I was medicated were really bad I mean like
really really bad I mean they would last for weeks at a time and now that's under control
after the most part I still get manic but it's like I have like manic days as opposed to like
(05:11):
manic weeks or months like before my depressive moods are a little bit more intense than they
used to be I think I mean or maybe I just notice them now because I'm sober but I tend to stay on
that on the darker side of the moon a little bit more than I do you know over the rainbow I guess
(05:36):
I don't know how the fuck to say that you know but I do tend to stay a little more in the in the
dark than I do in the light so this is something that I had never really considered before it
wasn't something that you know I like sought out my my doctor recommended it it was between
(05:59):
ECT and TMS which is TMS is basically it's another it's electroshock therapy but it's a little bit
more intense I think I don't know that the real difference between the two I know that with TMS
you have to do it it's like five days a week it's real intensive it's like five days a week for
like six weeks whereas with ECT and you don't with TMS you don't go they don't put you under like
(06:25):
under anesthesia they just do it and then you go home with ECT I think it's a little more intense
and they actually put you under anesthesia and it's yeah it's like a from what I understand you
can do it like once a month or every couple of weeks or it I don't know I don't really know how
(06:51):
intense of it it really is I'm kind of just going off of the little bit of research that I found
which a lot of the research kind of says the same thing it's just I haven't really read that much
into it so again if there's anybody out there that has any kind of guidance or tips or anything that
(07:13):
really might kind of I don't know help me or help anybody else that might be listening to this send
me an email leave me a comment I'd love to hear what your thoughts are what how what your
experience is aware with this you know I'd really just like to know what I'd like to make that
(07:35):
connection I think you know how this affected you how you dealt with it and it maybe it can help
me I don't know but just remember that even though it for me even though I live on the dark side
(07:57):
of the moon most of the time I have to remember that I don't have to stay there and sit in the
dark alone and neither do you
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