Charlie,
I'm well aware of what a palliadotomy is. Comparing one to electric shock treatments is
like comparing heart surgery to the pre-cordial thump. Let's just say that if it was my
only option I'd consider it. Hopefully, they'll come up with alternatives before that time
arrives.
Greg
47/35/35
CHARLIE WROTE:
> Dawrin and Greg
>
> Thanks for the testimonial Darwin,
>
> Having retired 3 years ago from the practice of psychiatry I can also speak
> to the effectiveness of ECT for serious mental illness especially
> depression. I did not perform the procedure but did refer a number of
> people to colleagues to have it done. It can be lifesaving. But I also
> have seen it and at one time- prior to seeing what it could do for selected
> patients- opposed it. I don't any more because of its proven effectiveness.
> In spite of how it appears Greg, it works for depression- and sometimes for
> PD and PD induced depressions. What do you think of drilling holes in ones
> head and destroying a part of the brain with a cautery a permanent
> destruction of brain tissue? That is called a pallidotomy.
>
> Charlie
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----From: Hawkins, Darwin
<>[log in to unmask]>
> To: <>[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, January 14, 2000 12:17 PM
> Subject: Re: Electric Shock Treatments
>
>
> > Yes, I have seen it and my family has personally benefited from the
> > treatment. It certainly does appear awful! Movie films from the early
> mental
> > health days are terrible to watch, but we have come a long way from those
> > initial experiments.
> >
> > My wife had two nervous breakdowns (three months confinement each time)
> > precipitated by post partum depression. The EST (it was called Electro
> > Convulsive Therapy back then) plus Insulin Shock Therapy brought her back
> to
> > the real world. She still is and will always be an Acute Undifferentiated
> > Schizophrenic, but that can be controlled by medication (if you can get
> the
> > patient to stay on it). Yes, EST does look awful to an observer as the
> > treatment used to be administered, but it was not awful to the patient
> since
> > they were immediately rendered unconscious with no pain. In the present
> day
> > procedures, muscle relaxants are given to prevent the convulsions, a
> > mouthpiece is inserted just in case to prevent broken teeth, and the
> patient
> > is sedated before the procedure begins. The only slight drawback I have
> > observed is about a one day loss of short term memory (never to be
> > regained). Long term memory starts returning in about 2 hours and is fully
> > back the next day. I would imagine there are lots of medical procedures
> > that we would never allow to be performed if we had already observed or
> knew
> > what takes place in the operating or treatment room. Sometimes ignorance
> is
> > bliss.
> >
> > These therapies allowed us to practically empty our mental hospitals and
> > asylums many years ago. It is sad that the result over time has been a lot
> > of homeless people on the streets because of no system in place to assure
> > that they keep taking their medications and because of the civil rights
> and
> > other legalities now controlling society. We have no way of bringing these
> > suffering people back to a normal life. It is sad that EST developed the
> > uninformed stigma that it now has. It is also sad that someone with a
> > serious mental health problem usually cannot recognize their plight
> because
> > their world is real to them and the rest of the world is wrong. It is
> > extremely difficult to get someone to believe what you are saying and
> > observing regardless of how they are perceiving the world about them.
> >
> > I like to thing of EST as a "reboot" of the "computer" in our head to
> > restore corrupted and lost files and applications.
> >
> > Just one man's opinion based on actual experience and facts. This is much
> > more than I ever wanted to say about our personal life, but I thought it
> > important to give another perspective to this discussion.
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From: Greg Sterling[[log in to unmask]]>SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > > Subject: Re: Electric shock treatmenets
> > >
> > > Have you ever seen anyone receive electric shock therapy? It's awful.
> No
> > > thanks.
> > >
> > > Greg
> > >
> > >
>** --------- End Original Message ----------- **
>
