I
have bipolar disorder and was diagnosed about three years
ago (first incorrectly diagnosed six years ago with major
depression). I have been through many, many med changes
and several hospitalizations.
I recently spent one month inpatient in the mental ward
of the hospital getting ECT three times a week. The
procedure itself was not bad at all. The night before
they would insert a catheter in my vein to put the
anesthesia and muscle relaxant right before the procedure the
next morning. I have to say the anesthesia burned quite
a bit, but just by the time I didn't think I could take it
anymore, I was out! They came to get me pretty early in
the mornings. I was back and ready to eat by breakfast.
I'm pretty sure the doc did bilateral ECT, but I'm not real
sure which is better -- that or unilateral. Two
different docs alternated days to do this and one of them was
my personal psychiatrist. (One reason I picked him 2
years ago cause I thought I would end up going this route, but
he wanted more medication trials first.)
Unfortunately, so far, I can't claim to feel much better.
I'm still on loads of meds. (I'm told I'm med
resistant.) So I will keep you updated during the next
month or so. I do have some memory problems, that is,
MORE memory problems than usual (LOL). But I'm doing
fine here at home all by myself so I guess it's not that bad.
Right now I'm still going to the hospital each morning for
group therapy. It will only last another week or so.
Oh by the way, I've been diagnosed since 1996 after my husband
left me (cause I was never happy enough). I guess I
made his life miserable. I've had problems with this as
far back in my life as I can remember. I just thought
everyone felt this way. At least then I had my hypomanic
times but now I am mostly depressed or in a mixed state
(usually depressed, but agitated and hyper), especially since
I started treatment. I am on permanent disability and I
think the lack of something to do has a major impact on my
moods. So I spend alot of time on the computer.
Oh I really want to say that I get along good with my
ex-husband and we do a great job raising our 15-year old son
who has ADHD. We are always there together when he needs
us. It wasn't my ex-husband's fault that I have these
problems, so I decided that I had to do my best to get
along even though I was so hurt.