Common Causes
The immediate side effects of the procedure which may last for about an hour include:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Muscle aches and soreness
- Disorientation and confusion
Related Conditions
This report stated that ECT was an effective treatment for severe depression, mania and some states of psychosis, leading to remission in 60% to 70% of cases. The therapy was not shown to be effective, however, as a treatment for dysthymia, anxiety disorder, personality disorder or substance abuse.
When to stop ECT treatments?
Typically the ECT treatment course lasts eight to 12 treatments -- sometimes as few as six, sometimes as many as 15 treatments can occur in a course. Your doctor will determine how many you need depending on your response. After patients have received a course of ECT they're usually placed back on medication.
How effective is ECT therapy?
With eight as the average number of treatments, this means a course of ECT treatment will usually cost between $2,400 and $6,400. The cost of ECT is at least partially reimbursed by most insurance plans offering coverage for mental disorders.
How many ECT treatments are needed?
How much does ECT treatment cost?
How do you qualify for ECT?
Before having your first ECT treatment, you'll need a full evaluation, which usually includes:Medical history.Complete physical exam.Psychiatric assessment.Basic blood tests.Electrocardiogram (ECG) to check your heart health.Discussion of the risks of anesthesia.
What is the cost of ECT treatment?
ECT treatments cost $300 to $1,000 per treatment, with an initial course requiring five to 15 treatments followed by 10 to 20 maintenance treatments per year, the researchers noted. That means the annual cost can be more than $10,000, compared with a cost of several hundred dollars for many antidepressant medications.
Can a psychiatrist do ECT?
ECT involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anesthesia. It is typically administered by a team of trained medical professionals that includes a psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist, and a nurse or physician assistant.
Is ECT an outpatient procedure?
Typically, ECT (whether inpatient or outpatient) is given two to three times a week for a total of six to twelve sessions. Some patients may need more or fewer treatments. These sessions improve depression in 70 to 90 percent of patients, a response rate much higher than that of antidepressant drugs.
Does insurance cover ECT?
An ECT session costs around $2,500 per session, including anesthesia. There may be extra costs if a hospital stay is needed. ECT costs are covered by most health insurance plans, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Is ECT last resort?
ECT Is Not a Last Resort. For patients with psychotic depression and catatonia, and an accompanying high risk of complications such as self-harm, ECT should be considered as a first-line treatment.
Does ECT worsen anxiety?
The concern of some psychiatrists is that while ECT may help with depressive symptoms, it could worsen anxiety symptoms, including obsessional thoughts or panic attacks.
Can ECT damage your brain?
The review of literature and present evidence suggests that ECT has a demonstrable impact on the structure and function of the brain. However, there is a lack of evidence at present to suggest that ECT causes brain damage.
When should ECT not be used?
The following strategies should not be used routinely: augmentation of an antidepressant with a benzodiazepine for more than 2 weeks as there is a risk of dependence. augmentation of an antidepressant with buspirone*, carbamazepine*, lamotrigine* or valproate* as there is insufficient evidence for their use.
How quickly does ECT work for depression?
After two to three weeks, 71% of people who received ECT had a positive response to treatment. But only 28% who received the antidepressant had a positive response after four weeks of treatment.
Can ECT change your 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.
What is the one free thing you can do to relieve depression?
5 Ways to Help Yourself Through DepressionExercise. Take a 15- to 30-minute brisk walk every day. ... Eat healthy foods. Some people with depression don't feel much like eating. ... Don't dwell on problems. It can feel good to talk through a problem with a caring friend. ... Express yourself. ... Notice good things.
When is ECT administered?
ECT treatment is generally administered in the morning, before breakfast. Prior to the actual treatment, the patient is given general anesthesia and a muscle relaxant. Electrodes are then attached to the patients scalp and an electric current is applied which causes a brief convulsion. Minutes later, the patient awakens confused ...
How many people are treated with ECT?
Today, ECT is administered to an estimated 100,000 people a year, primarily in general hospital psychiatric units and in psychiatric hospitals. It is generally used in treating patients with severe depression, acute mania, and certain schizophrenic syndromes.
What is ECT in medical terms?
What is ECT? Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure in which a brief application of electric stimulus is used to produce a generalized seizure. It is not known how or why ECT works or what the electrically stimulated seizure does to the brain.
Is ECT a long term treatment?
After 60 years of use, ECT is still the most controversial psychiatr ic treatment. Much of the controversy surrounding ECT revolves around its effectiveness vs. the side effects, the objectivity of ECT experts, and the recent increase in ECT as a quick and easy solution, instead of long-term psychotherapy or hospitalization.
Is ECT a history of abuse?
The nature of ECT, its history of abuse, unfavorable medical and media reports, and testimony from former patients all contribute to the debate surrounding its use. Research should continue, and techniques should be refined to maximize the efficacy and minimize the risks and side effects resulting from ECT.
Is ECT effective after a relapse?
It is also unclear whether or not ECT is effective. In some cases, the numbers are extremely favorable, citing 80 percent improvement in severely depressed patients, after ECT. However, other studies indicate that the relapse is high, even for patients who take medication after ECT.
What is ECT therapy?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment for severe symptoms of depression, mania and catatonia. This section explains what ECT is, when it is used and your rights to refuse this treatment.
When should ECT be used?
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends that ECT should only be used when: all other treatments have not worked, or. your illness may be life-threatening. But ECT should not be used as a long-term treatment to prevent a depressive episode coming back.
How does ECT work?
Doctors are not sure how ECT works. But they think that ECT changes the way the chemicals in your brain work. Changes to these chemicals seem to have a positive effect on some mental health symptoms. It is thought that ECT can make these chemicals work better in your brain.
What is ECT in medical terms?
ECT is a treatment for some mental illnesses. ECT is when electrical currents are passed through your brain to cause seizures or fits. The seizures or fits can be very small and minor. They usually last less than a minute. There are 2 types of ECT. Bilateral ECT.
How long does ECT last?
Unilateral ECT. This is when the current is only on one side of your head. ECT will last about 5 to 10 minutes. With extra time for preparation and recovery. Before you get ECT, doctors will give you muscle-relaxing medicine.
What is a nice guideline?
NICE guidelines are evidence-based recommendations for health and care in England. They set out the care and services suitable for most people with a specific condition or need, and people in particular circumstances or settings. Health professionals should use them to help them to make decisions about patient health, care and wellbeing.
What to ask your doctor about ECT?
Ask your doctor for information on ECT. Your doctor should document both the risks and benefits of ECT. As part of the assessment the doctor will think about: the risks of having an anaesthetic, whether you have other illnesses, the possible side effects of ECT, and.
What is ECT therapy?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can help patients suffering severe depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health illnesses when medications and other therapies are not working. ECT treatment can provide rapid improvement for patients whose mental illness and related symptoms are severe and difficult to manage.
What are the risks of ECT?
ECT can also be an option for more vulnerable patients, including: 1 Pregnant women 2 Older adults 3 Those unable to tolerate medication side effects 4 Those at-risk of drug interactions
What is ECT?
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a depression treatment that involves the stimulation of the brain with a controlled electrical current.
What Does ECT Treat?
ECT treats severe resistant depression and although it is exactly unclear to scientists and researchers how ECT is so effective, it has proven to be quite effective.
How Effective is ECT for Depression?
Over the past 2 or 3 decades, research has shown that about 47% to 75% of patients who have undergone the procedure have fully recovered from their depressive symptoms.
Side Effects of ECT
Electroconvulsive Therapy is a generally safe treatment for depression but like every other treatment, there are a few side effects.
ECT vs Other Treatment Options That Work
Depression is one of the easiest mental illnesses to tackle today because there are many treatment options.
How We Can Help You
TMS is the future of depression therapy and we are excited to be a part of this movement.
Why do people need ECT?
Maintenance ECT: Why Some People Need Continuation ECT. Electroconvulsive therapy, once known as shock therapy, is a safe and effective treatment for depression and other mental illnesses. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is most often used in cases of severe, intractable, hard to treat (treatment-resistant) depression.
How long does ECT last?
Generally, ECT is a short-term treatment where the patient receives 6-12 treatments over the course of 2-4 weeks. However, in some cases, continuation ECT or maintenance ECT is used. These two therapies continue ECT beyond the initial 6-12 sessions used in acute treatment.
What is maintenance ECT?
Maintenance ECT consists of ECT treatments given infrequently over a long period of time after the index series and continuation ECT. The goal of maintenance ECT is to prevent the reoccurrence of the mental illness.
Is ECT effective for relapse?
Relapse after a positive response to ECT is common. Most frequently, prevention of relapse is accomplished through the use of medication but continuation ECT has also been shown effective for the prevention of illness relapse.
How many treatments are there for ECT?
Typically the ECT treatment course lasts eight to 12 treatments -- sometimes as few as six, sometimes as many as 15 treatments can occur in a course. Your doctor will determine how many you need depending on your response. After patients have received a course of ECT they're usually placed back on medication.
How long does it take for a patient to get back on medication after ECT?
After patients have received a course of ECT they're usually placed back on medication. However patients given medication after ECT have about a 50/50 chance of relapsing or having another episode of depression. Usually this episode occurs within one to three months after ECT -- but it can occur within the six months after ECT. ...
How long can you be on maintenance ECT?
Maintenance ECT involves getting treatments every two weeks to every month, usually for a period of six months to a year. But patients have gone on maintenance ECT for up to three years, depending on their response. ...
How many times a week is electroconvulsive therapy?
Email this article. — -- Question: How long will I need to do electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and what is maintenance ECT? Answer: ECT is usually given two or three times a week -- usually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Typically the ECT treatment course lasts eight to 12 treatments -- sometimes as few as six, ...
Why It's Done
Sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain which can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings, and consciousness.
Seizures is not always related to an underlying condition. It may be caused by:
- Lack of sleep
- Alcohol or drug use (amphetamines or cocaine)
- Medications such as certain pain relievers, antidepressants or smoking cessation therapies, that lower the seizure threshold
- Lack of oxygen during birth
- High stress
- Rapidly flashing lights
Risks
How You Prepare
What You Can Expect
- 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 e…
Results
- 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…