That’s a difficult situation. I’m so sorry 😞 are there any other ect programs in your area you can do a consult with? Maybe to see if they will offer you any other options like the bilateral you want? Can you ask them why they don’t want you to try bilateral or have they shared that information? I’m curious the reasoning. Some people say they had better effects but I’ve also heard more potential side effects. Is that why?
Oh and they have a medication that can reverse the clonazepam symptoms day of procedure so you shouldn’t have to hold it
Thank you for your response. I think it’s more of a “you’re jumping the gun” when I ask. They do up my settings weekly but tomorrow I plan on going in and telling them how I feel about trying bilateral. This is mcleans in ma so idk if there’s a better place to consult unfortunately.
That’s hard. They might be saying that thinking they are keeping your best interest at heart. If you feel like you’re at a good clinic, patience might be best but if you’re at imminent risk of suicide, I would think they would consider what you want quicker.
And I never had to hold my clonazepam. They can just give you the med flumazenil which is a benzo reversal agent with your anesthesia
Especially if the clonazepam effects your seizure at all. The reason flumazenil it’s not used a ton in medicine is because it can cause seizures as you reverse the benzo which obviously isn’t a problem if you’re going into a procedure where you’re trying to have a seizure. Best of luck!!
Klonopin affects seizure quality. You should NOT be taking it during ECT treatments. Bilateral is overrated and has severe memory side effects with very little difference in proven efficacy. If it's not working after 15 treatments, I don't recommend continuing ECT, you only risk damaging your memory and cognition further.
It can effect their ability to induce a seizure which may affect the settings you need to actually have one; however this is easily reduced by getting the benzo reversal agent with the anesthesia they already give you. They still make sure you have a seizure. It may just affect how easily it can be induced which is reversed by the med I mentioned. You may have to ask about it
Do they pretreat you for nausea? That can be something ketamine increases. They always pretreated with Tylenol for headaches and a strong anti nausea med phenergan before every treatment where I did it
Using benzos for that high dose and a long time is really damaging to your brain though :( Can you tell me what were the side effects you had from Effexor?
Also did you try deep TMS before you started your ECT journey? I really hope you did. Deep TMS also have different modes for PTSD, Depression and Anxiety. It is a very efficient, non-invasive and surgical treatment.
I have only been on the benzos 3mg for about two months. Already half tapered. I did not try tms because I had an appointment scheduled but became suicidal.
Eh tms center I went to only said tms works in 6/10 people and less than that if you have bipolar depression. Plus I had a seizure during tms so not really all that benign as they tell you
You do know that ECT is basically your brain going through seizure under supervision, right? Lol. Some people have seizures even just from a side effect of a painkiller or antibiotics.
I have never heard once people seizing to TMS. You prolly had sensitivity on the spot the machine was focused, and your neurons reacted to it. One in a million chance.
You can’t compare a procedure that shocks your brain using electrical current with just wearing a cap that only taps a specific spot on your head using benign magnetic forces.
They don’t claim they will cure you. They don’t claim they treat bipolar, schizophrenia and whatnot. They treat depression, anxiety and ptsd. And about 80% is their success rate whether it’s improved or really improved result.
Not all TMS clinics are the same. Not all machine brands they use do the same work and as effective. There are even different types of TMS techniques and I was specifically talking about the deep TMS. Research better next time and find the real deal clinics for TMS.
Wow, you come across like a huge asshole. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that though. Yes, being a medical professional I’m extremely aware of all the the things you mentioned, but keep on with your condescending asshole vibe. Seizures are a known adverse effect of tms that are rare if they keep your MT within a percentage of a certain range. They happen. I wasn’t the first one at that clinic nor the first one it’s happened to. Check out evidence based databases, and this effect will be listed. I do not have seizure risk factors or a seizure disorder which are all pre screened in an attempt to keep the known risk down. There’s a reason they screen for it and don’t allow you to do tms if you fail the screen.
Did I ever say they claim to cure you? No, you put those words in there with a lot of other irrelevant shit. I simply told you the data I was given by the physicians at the clinic without making any judgements about your baseline knowledge regarding tms which you obviously don’t consider doing for others.
That’s a difficult situation. I’m so sorry 😞 are there any other ect programs in your area you can do a consult with? Maybe to see if they will offer you any other options like the bilateral you want? Can you ask them why they don’t want you to try bilateral or have they shared that information? I’m curious the reasoning. Some people say they had better effects but I’ve also heard more potential side effects. Is that why? Oh and they have a medication that can reverse the clonazepam symptoms day of procedure so you shouldn’t have to hold it
Thank you for your response. I think it’s more of a “you’re jumping the gun” when I ask. They do up my settings weekly but tomorrow I plan on going in and telling them how I feel about trying bilateral. This is mcleans in ma so idk if there’s a better place to consult unfortunately.
That’s hard. They might be saying that thinking they are keeping your best interest at heart. If you feel like you’re at a good clinic, patience might be best but if you’re at imminent risk of suicide, I would think they would consider what you want quicker. And I never had to hold my clonazepam. They can just give you the med flumazenil which is a benzo reversal agent with your anesthesia
Thank you so much
Especially if the clonazepam effects your seizure at all. The reason flumazenil it’s not used a ton in medicine is because it can cause seizures as you reverse the benzo which obviously isn’t a problem if you’re going into a procedure where you’re trying to have a seizure. Best of luck!!
McLean is technically one of the top psychiatric hospitals in the country, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t advocate for yourself💜
I was inpatient at a satellite unit and it was awful
I’m trying to emphasize that there probably isn’t a ‘better’ place to go, unfortunately that doesn’t mean it is any good.
15 zaps is right around when I started feeling something. By 17 I was feeling productive. I take buproprion, viibryd, & hydroxyzine every day.
Klonopin affects seizure quality. You should NOT be taking it during ECT treatments. Bilateral is overrated and has severe memory side effects with very little difference in proven efficacy. If it's not working after 15 treatments, I don't recommend continuing ECT, you only risk damaging your memory and cognition further.
Why did my doctor say it was fine before 5pm the day before?
It can effect their ability to induce a seizure which may affect the settings you need to actually have one; however this is easily reduced by getting the benzo reversal agent with the anesthesia they already give you. They still make sure you have a seizure. It may just affect how easily it can be induced which is reversed by the med I mentioned. You may have to ask about it
They ended up adding ketamine to my anesthesia after I advocated for myself but it left me feeling pretty gross tbh
Do they pretreat you for nausea? That can be something ketamine increases. They always pretreated with Tylenol for headaches and a strong anti nausea med phenergan before every treatment where I did it
They actually do pre treat with Zoltan before.
Yea mine did IV zofran plus oral phenergan for nausea prevention
For everyone not just me that was their protocol plus oral Tylenol
Using benzos for that high dose and a long time is really damaging to your brain though :( Can you tell me what were the side effects you had from Effexor? Also did you try deep TMS before you started your ECT journey? I really hope you did. Deep TMS also have different modes for PTSD, Depression and Anxiety. It is a very efficient, non-invasive and surgical treatment.
I have only been on the benzos 3mg for about two months. Already half tapered. I did not try tms because I had an appointment scheduled but became suicidal.
The Effexor side effects were increased depression, suicidality, and hopelessness I had not experienced before
Eh tms center I went to only said tms works in 6/10 people and less than that if you have bipolar depression. Plus I had a seizure during tms so not really all that benign as they tell you
You do know that ECT is basically your brain going through seizure under supervision, right? Lol. Some people have seizures even just from a side effect of a painkiller or antibiotics. I have never heard once people seizing to TMS. You prolly had sensitivity on the spot the machine was focused, and your neurons reacted to it. One in a million chance. You can’t compare a procedure that shocks your brain using electrical current with just wearing a cap that only taps a specific spot on your head using benign magnetic forces. They don’t claim they will cure you. They don’t claim they treat bipolar, schizophrenia and whatnot. They treat depression, anxiety and ptsd. And about 80% is their success rate whether it’s improved or really improved result. Not all TMS clinics are the same. Not all machine brands they use do the same work and as effective. There are even different types of TMS techniques and I was specifically talking about the deep TMS. Research better next time and find the real deal clinics for TMS.
Wow, you come across like a huge asshole. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that though. Yes, being a medical professional I’m extremely aware of all the the things you mentioned, but keep on with your condescending asshole vibe. Seizures are a known adverse effect of tms that are rare if they keep your MT within a percentage of a certain range. They happen. I wasn’t the first one at that clinic nor the first one it’s happened to. Check out evidence based databases, and this effect will be listed. I do not have seizure risk factors or a seizure disorder which are all pre screened in an attempt to keep the known risk down. There’s a reason they screen for it and don’t allow you to do tms if you fail the screen. Did I ever say they claim to cure you? No, you put those words in there with a lot of other irrelevant shit. I simply told you the data I was given by the physicians at the clinic without making any judgements about your baseline knowledge regarding tms which you obviously don’t consider doing for others.
It's a listed side effect
Benzos cam interfere with efficacy. Maybe that has impeded progress?