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What to expect after ECT treatment? After the Procedure When you awaken, you may experience a period of disorientation lasting from a few minutes to several hours . Headaches, jaw pain, and muscle soreness may occur.
What happens during ECT treatment?
Many people receive electroconvulsive therapy as an outpatient procedure, meaning you or your loved one can go home shortly after the therapy session. After waking up from anesthesia, some people experience headaches, muscle soreness, or nausea. For effective treatment, you or your loved one may need eight to 12 ECT sessions. After treatment, some people go for years …
What to expect during electroconvulsive therapy?
Mar 02, 2022 · ECT may cause memory loss and confusion. Your confusion may go away in a short time, such as 1 hour after your treatment. You may lose your memory for 1 to 3 weeks, and some memories may be lost forever. You may also get a headache after an ECT treatment. These headaches usually only last a short time.
How long does confusion last after ECT treatment?
After treatment, you may feel tired and need to rest. Other things you can expect include: • Temporary headache or muscle soreness. This should go away within a couple of days. Use over-the-counter pain medicine if needed. • Temporary nausea. This should also go away within a couple of days. If you have nausea, drink
What happens if you get a headache after ECT?
May 12, 2020 · Headaches, jaw pain, and muscle soreness may occur. ECT requires a series of treatments, often initiated two to three times a week for a few weeks and then the frequency is tapered down. As the treatment course progresses, short-term memory loss for things recently learned is not uncommon.
How long does it take to recover from ECT?
You can generally return to normal activities a few hours after the procedure. However, some people may be advised not to return to work, make important decisions, or drive until one to two weeks after the last ECT in a series, or for at least 24 hours after a single treatment during maintenance therapy.Oct 12, 2018
How often do ECT treatments make you feel better?
HOW MANY TIMES WILL I NEED TO BE TREATED? People undergoing ECT need multiple treatments. The number needed to successfully treat severe depression can range from 4 to 20, but most people need a total of 6 to 12 treatments.Apr 7, 2021
How long does ECT effects last?
What is ECT? In ECT, an electrical energy device sends electric pulses to the brain. This causes a brief seizure in the brain (a period of rapid nerve impulses) that lasts about 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Which side effects are most common after ECT treatment?
The most common side effects of ECT on the day of treatment include nausea, headache, fatigue, confusion, and slight memory loss, which may last minutes to hours.
Does ECT damage the brain?
Despite many scientific and governmental authorities having concluded that ECT does not cause brain damage, there is significant evidence that ECT has indeed caused brain damage in some patients, both historically and recently, and evidence that it always causes some form or degree of brain damage.
Does ECT change personality?
ECT does not change a person's personality, nor is it designed to treat those with just primary “personality disorders.” ECT can cause transient short-term memory — or new learning — impairment during a course of ECT, which fully reverses usually within one to four weeks after an acute course is stopped.
Are you tired after ECT?
You may experience other side effects immediately after treatment. These can include: drowsiness (you may sleep for a while) confusion.
Does ECT wear off?
“After ECT, within one to two months, those memory problems mostly dissipate,” said Weeks. “You don't continue to have ongoing short-term memory problems and memories from before ECT tend to come back.”Feb 13, 2017
Does ECT cause weight gain?
During ECT, all patients increased their caloric intake (280 +/- 180 to 1,510 +/- 60 kcal/day, mean +/- SEM) to exceed their basal energy expenditure; major improvements in their depressive symptoms and weight gain were seen in five of the six patients.
Can ECT make you feel worse?
ECT can't prevent future depression, or fix any ongoing stresses or problems that are contributing to how you're feeling. Some people have very bad experiences of ECT, for example because they feel worse after treatment or are given it without consent. You might not want to risk the possibility of getting side effects.
When should ECT not be used?
Do not use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) routinely for people with moderate depression but consider it if their depression has not responded to multiple drug treatments and psychological treatment.
What happens when ECT doesn't work?
If nothing else has helped, including ECT, and you are still severely depressed, you may be offered neurosurgery for mental disorder (NMD), deep brain stimulation (DBS) or vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).
How many ECT sessions are needed for a person?
For effective treatment, you or your loved one may need eight to 12 ECT sessions. After treatment, some people go for years without experiencing severe symptoms, while others require “maintenance” sessions up to once a month. Most people continue taking medications for their mental health after receiving ECT.
Can you go home after an ECT?
Many people receive electroconvulsive therapy as an outpatient procedure, meaning you or your loved one can go home shortly after the therapy session. After waking up from anesthesia, some people experience headaches, muscle soreness, or nausea. Read what you need to know about ECT.
How long does it take for ECT to go away?
ECT may cause memory loss and confusion. Your confusion may go away in a short time, such as 1 hour after your treatment. You may lose your memory for 1 to 3 weeks, and some memories may be lost forever.
What is ECT therapy?
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment that sends a small electric current to your brain to cause a seizure. The seizure affects the chemicals in your brain, which may make your brain cells work better.
What does it mean when you have a fever?
You have a fever. You have a severe headache that does not get better, even after you take medicine to treat it. You have a stiff neck or trouble thinking clearly. You have feelings of guilt or hopelessness, or thoughts of hurting or killing yourself or others.
How to help depression?
Antidepressants: You may be given this medicine to help decrease or prevent symptoms of depression. Take your medicine as directed. Contact your healthcare provider if you think your medicine is not helping or if you have side effects. Tell him of her if you are allergic to any medicine.
Can you fall after ECT?
If more ECT treatments are planned for you, ask the healthcare provider to give you medicine before the treatments to help prevent headaches. There is a greater chance that you will fall after ECT treatments . Ask someone to help you when you want to stand up or walk.
How often do you get ECT?
In the United States, ECT treatments are generally given two to three times weekly for three to four weeks — for a total of six to 12 treatments. Some doctors use a newer technique called right unilateral ultrabrief pulse electroconvulsive therapy that's done daily on weekdays.
How long after ECT can you drive?
However, some people may be advised not to return to work, make important decisions, or drive until one to two weeks after the last ECT in a series, or for at least 24 hours after a single treatment during maintenance therapy.
What is ECT in medical terms?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.
Why is electroconvulsive therapy used?
Why it's done. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide rapid, significant improvements in severe symptoms of several mental health conditions. ECT is used to treat: Severe depression, particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat. Treatment-resistant depression, ...
What is ECT used for?
ECT is used to treat: Severe depression, particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat. Treatment-resistant depression, a severe depression that doesn't improve with medications or other treatments. Severe mania, a state of intense euphoria, agitation or hyperactivity ...
What is a blood pressure cuff?
A blood pressure cuff placed around one ankle stops the muscle relaxant medication from entering your foot and affecting the muscles there. When the procedure begins, your doctor can monitor seizure activity by watching for movement in that foot.
What is the term for a lack of movement, fast or strange movements, lack of speech, and other symptoms?
Catatonia, characterized by lack of movement, fast or strange movements, lack of speech, and other symptoms. It's associated with schizophrenia and certain other psychiatric disorders. In some cases, catatonia is caused by a medical illness.
How long does it take to get an ECT?
The ECT procedure takes around five to 10 minutes to perform, not including preparation and recovery time. The day before the procedure, you would be placed on dietary restrictions, typically with no food or drink allowed after midnight and only a sip of water permitted in the morning to take medication.
How often do you have to do ECT?
ECT requires a series of treatments, often initiated two to three times a week for a few weeks and then the frequency is tapered down. As the treatment course progresses, short-term memory loss for things recently learned is not uncommon.
Why do doctors put a blood pressure cuff on the ankle?
A blood pressure cuff inflates around your ankle to prevent the muscle relaxant from entering the foot. This allows the doctor to monitor seizure activity by looking at the "unmedicated" foot. An oxygen mask is placed over your face.
What doctor would you meet with to see if you have had anesthesia?
You may also meet with the anesthesiologist who will inquire whether you have had anesthesia in the past and if there were any adverse reactions.
What happens after a syringe procedure?
After the Procedure. Once the procedure is complete, the effects of the short-acting anesthetic and muscle relaxant will quickly begin to wear off. You will be taken to a recovery area where you will be monitored for any complications.
What is IV line?
Once in the treatment room, an intravenous (IV) line would be inserted into a vein through which the anesthesia, fluids, and other medications will be delivered. You would then be hooked up to various machines to monitor your blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, and brain activity.
Is ECT scary?
While ECT is a scary concept to most people, by understanding the procedure and what to expect, you can make a more informed choice if the treatment is recommended for you. Overview of Electroconvulsive Therapy.
How long does an ECT procedure last?
How long is an ECT procedure? A single ECT session usually lasts one hour. This includes the time the patient will be in the treatment room (approximately 15-20 minutes) and the time spent in the recovery room (approximately 20-30 minutes). Typically, ECT (whether inpatient or outpatient) is given two to three times a week for a total ...
How long does it take to drive after ECT?
Usually this takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Patients who are given ECT on an outpatient basis must have someone drive them home after the procedure and stay with them until they go to sleep at night. People should not drive in the 24 hours following ECT.
How does ECT work?
Why does ECT work? No one is sure how ECT helps certain psychiatric disorders. It may promote changes in how brain cells communicate with each other at synapses and it may stimulate the development of new brain cells. ECT may flood the brain with neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which are known to be involved in conditions like ...
What are the two electrodes used for?
Two of these electrodes are for monitoring the brain waves. The other two are for delivering a short, controlled set of electrical pulses for a few seconds. The electrical pulses must produce a generalized seizure to be effective.
How long does it take to sleep before ECT?
During the procedure, the patient receives a short acting anesthetic agent which puts the patient to sleep for approximately 5-10 minutes.
What are the side effects of a syringe?
The immediate side effects of the procedure which may last for about an hour include: 1 Headaches 2 Nausea 3 Muscle aches and soreness 4 Disorientation and confusion
How can families help with ECT?
Families can help by providing a gentle reminder of the day and date and that feeling confused is to be expected. Family members should inform the nurse of any concern they have about their loved one. View a Powerpoint Presentation for Families about ECT.
Overview
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions. ECT often works when other treatments are unsuccessful and when the full course o…
Why It's Done
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide rapid, significant improvements in severe symptoms of several mental health conditions. ECT is used to treat: 1. Severe depression,particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat. 2. Treatment-resistant depression,a severe depression that doesn't improve with medications o…
Risks
- Although ECT is generally safe, risks and side effects may include: 1. Confusion.Immediately after treatment, you may experience confusion, which can last from a few minutes to several hours. You may not know where you are or why you're there. Rarely, confusion may last several days or longer. Confusion is generally more noticeable in older adults. 2. Memory loss.Some people hav…
How You Prepare
- Before having your first ECT treatment, you'll need a full evaluation, which usually includes: 1. Medical history 2. Complete physical exam 3. Psychiatric assessment 4. Basic blood tests 5. Electrocardiogram (ECG) to check your heart health 6. Discussion of the risks of anesthesia These exams help make sure that ECT is safe for you.
What You Can Expect
- The ECT procedure takes about five to 10 minutes, with added time for preparation and recovery. ECT can be done while you're hospitalized or as an outpatient procedure.
Results
- Many people begin to notice an improvement in their symptoms after about six treatments with electroconvulsive therapy. Full improvement may take longer, though ECT may not work for everyone. Response to antidepressant medications, in comparison, can take several weeks or more. No one knows for certain how ECT helps treat severe depression and other mental illness…