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Sharon and Mary, ECT is occasionally necessary for depressed PD patients and in fact sometimes it is used for PD even in the absence of depression. It can sometimes by the release it causes of neurotransmitters cause an improvement in PD symptoms. Therefore If your doctor recommends it (both PD and psychiatrist) I would suggest going along with it. Medically it is pretty safe and is the most effective single treatment available for intractable depression. Regarding Mary's comment about him being better off not on a psych unit as a psychiatrist I tend to agree with her. It depends on the unit but as all us PWP are aware it takes a special knowledge of PD to meat the needs of a PWP. For instance the critical of exact timing of meds is relatively unique to PD. Most psych nurses are not attuned to this. It depends on the particular hospital as to which unit he would be better off on but in general I tend to agree with Mary that neuro would be better. Good luck. Charlie Mary U CPR wrote: > > Sharon > Just my feelings---electric shock therapy does have a place in certain > instances but I cannot see it plausable for PDers. Gee, I've noticed a lot of > Parkies end up in Psychiatric wards after hospital admissions because of their > confusion and hallucinations. The Psy unit is not the best answer and can > actually do harm. For one thing they are not up to date on parkinson, seems > that hospital trips is detrimental to PDers as so many hospital personnell do > not understand the disease and especially the need to continue meds. Changes > in environment is a big factor on their worsening confusion on admission. > Seems also that any medication change to decrease or increase causes a > hallucination. > Hope you have a good ND who specializes in movement disorders--insist the the > Psychiatrist consult him prior to shock therapy. I have not met a Parkie who > ever had shock therapy. > Hope things get nbetter for you > Mary CG for Mel 76/12 (NH placement Nov 13th) but we are adjusting. -- CHARLES T. MEYER, M.D. Middleton, WI [log in to unmask]