Furious Seasons

July 31, 2007

More Forced ECT In New York

MindFreedom has another alert out on yet another New York State patient whom the state is lining up to force into undergoing ECT against his will. Read about it here. I've said it before: if someone consents to ECT, go ahead and do it. But to force ECT on someone who does not give their consent is the grossest invasion of human privacy by the state that I can think of these days. It's fascism and against almost every principle upon which this country was founded.

On another front, I chatted over the weekend with a fellow bipolar I've known for three years from the MySpace bipolar groups. She's tired literally every anti-depressant and antipsychotic on the planet, but she cannot shake her depression. She is going into the hospital at the end of August for 30 days worth of treatment including several rounds of ECT. She is consenting to the procedure.

I didn't push much in the conversation, but simply asked if she'd read the pros and cons of ECT. She said she had. I asked if she didn't think it wise to get a second opinion. She said she'd been with the same psych doc for seven years and trusted her doctor implicitly, so she wouldn't seek a second opinion. I left it at that. I hope to God it works for her.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at July 31, 2007 12:05 AM

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Comments

"It's fascism and against almost every principle upon which this country was founded."

"I hope to God it works for her."

I do too.

Posted by: Stephany at July 30, 2007 10:07 PM

I too think your friend should get a second opinion. It's odd how second opinions are considered the norm in so much of medicine, and yet wanting one is considered a symptom of mental illness in psychiatry.

Posted by: Sally at July 31, 2007 06:00 AM

I hope that when you say she has "read the pros and cons of ECT" that you mean she has read first-hand accounts of brain damage, rather than just the pap put out by the electroshock docs: minor memory loss, mild headache, etc.

Posted by: Francesca Allan at July 31, 2007 07:48 AM

I am wondering if when you say you hope it works for her, what you really mean to say is what I did in my earlier comment: I hope it works for her, as in doesn't hurt or harm her like some of the stories I have read here by people who have had ECT done.
I was wondering if you [in chatting with the friend]remained as neutral as the 2nd opinion suggestion, or did you advise her to read some things such as the mindfreedom links or even this site. I guess what I am asking is: is she trusting her doctor's judgement only, or has she researched all information as possible.
I ask this, because when my daughter was going to have brain surgery [Chiari]I trusted that doctor and his experience, but was not remotely going to allow the surgery without several other opinions.
Though this has had me thinking in comparison to psych medications, that if someone were to trust their doctor and tell me the doc was going to load them up on 5 medications, [for example]Trileptal,Haldol,Seroquel,Cogentin,Lithium all at high doses and due to never been "trialed" before, I would feel possibly as concerned about the friend's outcome as ECT.

Posted by: Stephany at July 31, 2007 09:32 AM

Phil,

You were kind enough to print my ECT article two weeks ago.

I mention to get a second opinion in it. Please tell her to get a second opinion. See the facility and talk to the nurses. There still may be less evasive things for her to try. My depression got better on it's own, I just needed more time.

Give her my number and tell her to call me collect any evening.

She is in my thoughts.

Posted by: susan at July 31, 2007 01:54 PM

I feel if anyone is considering ECT they must go to www.zaprap.org and read the first hand accounts of the devastation it has caused in so many lives. There is a higher likelyhood of sustaining damage than not.

Posted by: SallyT at July 31, 2007 03:29 PM

I'm glad I don't live in New York.

Posted by: Lisa at August 1, 2007 10:32 AM

I just noticed over the Mindfreedom website that the 2nd forced ECT mentioned here won his right not to be forced to undergo the "procedure." Yeah!

http://mindfreedom.org/as/act/us/new-york-state/another-omh-forced-electroshock

Posted by: Sally at August 6, 2007 12:20 PM

The mindfreedom link is gone. This happens alot on the new mindfreedom website.

Posted by: mark p.s. at October 25, 2007 07:03 PM

Sorry about that Mark. I bet it's still somewhere on the site. I'll see if I can find a good link.

Posted by: Mark p.s. at October 26, 2007 08:40 AM