Thousands Get Controversial Shock Therapy

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:23 am

helefra wrote: FONT="Book Antiqua"]SIZE="5"]COLOR="Red"]What amazes me is that Psychiatrists admit that it can damage the mind but they still issue it.

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/ ... 3A28%3A943

Presumably people have to consent to having it? All sorts of medical treatments

can have side effects - some debilitating, or even fatal.

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:56 am

I didn't rea;ize shock treatment was still used..

It's barbaric

Patsy

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 7:18 am

A friend of mine, who is a nurse, opted for shock therapy. She had a chemical imbalance and had tried to kill herself a couple of times. It seems to have worked wonders for her. She went to Florida to get the treatment. It's not available in Canada.

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 10:03 am

helefra wrote: Do you know of any others that have benefitted from this therapy?
She knows the numbers. I could try to find out. She thought it out quite carefully.

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 10:19 am

Electroconvulsive Therapy

"Modern ECT is a controlled, painless, brief, and highly effective treatment for both

depression and bipolar disorder. Unlike antidepressant and antimania medications, the

effects of ECT are usually felt within a day or two. Because ECT does not involve a drug, it

is particularly appropriate for people who cannot take an antidepressant due to adverse

reactions with other medications or because of a desire not to expose a developing fetus."

"ECT is conducted under general anesthesia and with muscle relaxants to minimize overt

convulsions. A tightly controlled series of mild electric currents is delivered to the brain

via electrodes placed on the scalp."

CONCLUSION---This pattern of findings suggests that a modern ECT, fulfilling current quality standards, induces no brain tissue damage detectable by changes in NSE or protein S-100.

(J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;71:394-396)

ECT has a higher success rate for severe depression than any other form of treatment. It can be life-saving & produce dramatic results. It is particularly useful for people who suffer from psychotic depressionsor intractable mania, people who cannot take antidepressants due to problems of health or lack of response & pregnant women who suffer from depression or mania. A patient who is very intent on suicide, and who would not wait 3 weeks for an antidepressant to work, would be a good candidate for ECT because it works more rapidly. In fact, suicide attempts are relatively rare after ECT.

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 12:59 pm

My friend is in the medical profession.

I'm aware that your religion has a strong stance against psychiatry. I don't expect you to agree with her or the medical reports. Personally, I already consider myself to have some insight into the matter. It just doesn't agree with your opinion. So mote it be.

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:07 pm

Ok then

I'm highlighting the facts that some well educated people have chosen shock therapy and benefited from it and the scientific support for opposing your conclusions. Perhaps anyone in this predicament should just consider both sides equally.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:06 am

I don't see how any intelligent and well informed human being would opt for this horror. I'd like to know more about the actual definition of "it worked."

Lobotomies "worked" too. By destroying part of the brain and rendering lobotomized patients devoid of emotion. I hardly call that effective.