Do You ThinK One Flew Over the CooCoo’s Nest Is Reality?

I haven’t seen the movie but I have heard about it for years. The key thing to remember is this is a movie, an overdramatic movie. Was Electro Convulsive Therapy more difficult in the old days yes, before doctors figured out that muscle relaxers would stop the body movements there was the possibility of breaking a bone.

So if you take out the overdramatic scenes that are barbaric you would probably see something still very scary. But ECT has come a long way and I want to take you back to before ECT and you will see that even in its infancy ECT was a much better option.

Before ECT they did Lobotomies which left the person unable to function without full-time help. I don’t know how the procedure is done but It’s been described as a screwdriver was put thru your Frontal Lobe. Rosemary Kennedy had the procedure and it changed the family’s life forever. You see, much of our thinking is in the Frontal Lobe. Her parents thought they were the right thing but they were not prepared for what the outcome was.

You can see how a Lobotomy took her life away. Thank goodness doctors learned how to do ECT. Yes, it was difficult initially but now it’s a piece of cake. Friday I get my 27th ECT treatments in 20 years. I have Bipolar Disorder and stay mostly on the depressed side. Two weeks ago I was ready to kill myself, I always tell my husband when I get suicidal. I went into a Psych Hospital for a week for treatment and observation then moved to outpatient. It’s hard to say out loud that I’ve had 27 treatments, that sounds like a lot. But when you start planning to kill yourself it’s a small price to pay for getting well.

Now it’s so easy and it’s over before you even know. Most times I wake up from Anesthesia and think I’m still waiting for treatment. Here’s what you can expect for ECT, first you have to remember everyone is different and so is their level of depression and those with more serious Mental Illnesses may require more or less treatment. For me, the number seems to be between 6 to 9 treatments to get me out of the dark hole I’m in.

Here is what to expect:

You will come into the ECT area and with your clothes on the nurse goes thru your medication, checks your blood pressure and you pee in a cup. Then you are moved to the operating room where you talk to the doctor and Anesthesiologist. I often get sick after so they add something to the mix that will take care of getting sick. The shoe on one foot will be exposed so they can tell when the seizure is over. You are hooked up to an EKG monitor and two stickies are put on your forehead. Then two stickies are put behind your ear to monitor the seizure. You start to feel the medicine take effect and an oxygen mask is put on. It takes less than 5-10 minutes and you are back in recovery. You won’t remember anything after you go off to sleep and the only lingering effects might be a headache and some jaw pain.

I take a baggie with two Tynenol and one Xanax to take as soon as I get back to the truck. My husband stops by the coffee shop and gets me a cold Latte and off to the house we go. The first day you may be tired. I often will go lie down after I eat and wake feeling well rested. Sometimes you have to go in very early and I need my sleep.

If you are so depressed it interferes with your life, your sleeping all the time, you don’t care to do the things you once did or you want to kill yourself, it’s time to raise your hand and ask for help. One tip I will give you from my own experience is don’t go to a Psych Hospital that is not connected to a hospital. I know that may be harder for you to find but believe me when I tell you that the stand-alone treatment centers are there to make money off of you. I spent three weeks in one and was outraged by how the patients were treated. They were zombies during the day and given medication to make them sleep. The only place to have any type of activity was the table we ate lunch on. I stood my ground and did not let them change my medication. I received no kindness, no support, no dignity really. I stayed in my room and read. That is not the type of place that is going to get you well.

If you have a Mental Illness that causes you to have big swings into depression start now looking for the nearest respected hospital that has a Psych Unit. The care you get is night and day and that is the only reason I can write today.

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer any and all questions you have. ECT has saved my life many times over the past 20 years and I can tell you it’s much better than death.

Melinda

References:

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/rosemary-kennedy