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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lumen on August 24, 2000, at 6:08:22
My son (22) has been taking celexa and resperdal (two weeks). He is in hospital due to suicidal thoughts (one very serious attempt)and inability to do everyday things or concentrate on anything. Problem began about a year and a half ago while away at university. The medication is not working and is affecting his ability to sleep and making him unable "to be comfortable". Previously on luvox which did not help. The doctor has suggested shock treatment (ECT)if he does not respond to drugs. Anyone with experience of this, or comments?
Posted by shar on August 24, 2000, at 15:40:31
In reply to Shock treatment - anyone with experience?, posted by Lumen on August 24, 2000, at 6:08:22
I have not had shock treatments, however before I would turn to ECT, I would definitely be sure my son had a very thorough psych workup, and careful documentation of all meds he's tried (name, amt, for how long, side effects, etc.). Also, checks on things like thyroid etc. that can cause depression.
Many (most) antidepressants don't really kick in until 4-8 weeks of use. Be sure enough time is given to give the drug a good trial. If he can't sleep, there are meds that can help with that (such as Klonopin and others) that are not "sleeping pills" type. And, it's necessary for him to stick to his regimen (Take as he should).
Also, is he seeing a psychopharmacologist--someone who knows a lot about psych meds and maybe specializes in it? Not all docs do, not even all psychiatrists--they are MDs, but not necessarily overly familiar with meds.
Finally, it often (very often) takes more than one try to find a good med or combination of meds for providing relief with no side effects (or at least with minimal side effects). I would definitely want to give meds a few more tries before ECT.
Some people have had very bad bad bad ECT experiences, and some people report benefits. Since you don't know how it will go with your son, the meds might be a better choice for now. But, I admit I am biased slightly against ECT because of the few people I know that have had it, and how it affected them (badly).
Best of luck. Keep posting here with questions, there are some very knowledgeable people here.
Shar
> My son (22) has been taking celexa and resperdal (two weeks). He is in hospital due to suicidal thoughts (one very serious attempt)and inability to do everyday things or concentrate on anything. Problem began about a year and a half ago while away at university. The medication is not working and is affecting his ability to sleep and making him unable "to be comfortable". Previously on luvox which did not help. The doctor has suggested shock treatment (ECT)if he does not respond to drugs. Anyone with experience of this, or comments?
Posted by Debby on August 25, 2000, at 22:30:52
In reply to Shock treatment - anyone with experience?, posted by Lumen on August 24, 2000, at 6:08:22
> My son (22) has been taking celexa and resperdal (two weeks). He is in hospital due to suicidal thoughts (one very serious attempt)and inability to do everyday things or concentrate on anything. Problem began about a year and a half ago while away at university. The medication is not working and is affecting his ability to sleep and making him unable "to be comfortable". Previously on luvox which did not help. The doctor has suggested shock treatment (ECT)if he does not respond to drugs. Anyone with experience of this, or comments?
Yes! I has Shock treatments and about 11 I can honestly say i don't think they help. I too Have a great deal of depression and had serious suicidal attempts. The shock treatments just made the concetration harder, loss of memory (they said would not be permant and it is) left me with temendous headaches. I would suggest continuing on medication under strict supervison, meaning at least once a week visit to a psychiatirst, and bi-weeking with a therapist or a partial hospitalization program where he can go everyday and go home in the evening. I would stray from the ETC's as much as possible. I have a hard time learning now as a result.
Posted by Steve on August 26, 2000, at 0:46:04
In reply to Re: Shock treatment - anyone with experience?, posted by Debby on August 25, 2000, at 22:30:52
Never had ect, but I would strongly urge you to first find a competent psychopharmacologyist ie not just anyone with an MD, and have them try some meds like Lamictal and Zyprexa which usually help when the normal ones don't before you do ECT. From what I have seen on the boards and read elsewhere ECT treatments do work for a while, but then wear off, do cause memory loss, and sometimes, horror of horrors, or so I was told by my doc who has done ect, patients no longer respond to meds that the way they had responded to them before, but get no benefit from them..
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