Comments: Electroboy Author To Write New Book, Film About Being Spokesman For Abilify?
Looking forward to the book, I hope it's a real whistle-blower!
Posted by Stephany at November 19, 2008 11:48 PM
Andy is one of the few people I know who advocates and has a big heart. He would do anything for his friends in a New York Minute.
Electroboy is a great read, but not for the faint of heart. it's a memoir of mania, and deals with adult subjects like drug abuse and hypersexuality. Not for the faint of heart. But it's a great read, and I couldn't put it down, reading it in one setting. There are a lot of books out there on Bipolar but this one has the distinction of being one of the very few to deal with mania- not hypomania, but the real mania from BP 1.
I strongly recommend Electroboy. I am glad he had a good experience with ECT, he is one of the few people I met who have. And he really is genuinely nice.
Posted by susan at November 20, 2008 02:39 AM
There some patients whores here in Brazil who wrote books claiming that drug X saved his/her life.
I despise them all.
Posted by Ana at November 20, 2008 05:20 AM
Can Behrman share with us how long ago he had his last ECT treatment? Is he saying it worked for him? I think so. I'd like to hear more. I admit to being a bit mystified at the distance between Breggin and Healy on the topic of ECT (there are a lot of things they disagree on actually). I do find it really hard to believe frankly that ECT can be "good" for someone beyond some short term effect that's artificially beneficial if you know what I mean and don't like that memory loss aspect. Still I try sort of halfheartedly to be open-minded. I'd never agree to it for myself though.
Posted by Sara at November 20, 2008 10:59 AM
Ana:
What if those people really did believe a given drug saved their life?
Now, if they said that just to satisfy a contract with Big Pharma, yes, that would be a form of prostitution.
But otherwise, everyone is entitled to their opinion -- and to express a desire to help people, even if you and others think it is misguided.
Posted by Larry at November 20, 2008 03:45 PM
Sara, I hope you will more than sort of halfheartedly try to be open minded about ECT.
I believe Andy had it in the early nineties. We met about a year ago and discussed our respective experiences. Both of us experienced a huge improvement in our moods but suffered memory loss along with it.
Many people I've compared notes with credit it with saving their lives, just as I do. Do I like the memory loss aspect of it? Of course I don't, no more than chemo patients like the nausea and hair loss they endure.
Why would you call it "artificially beneficial?" If Tylenol successfully treated a headache, would you call that an artificial benefit? The same could be said for an antibiotic or any other medical treatment.
I don't know how long the benefits lasted as there were several variables in place during the subsequent years. I do know that in the twenty years since, my depression hasn't sunk so low again.
A friend had ECT on a Wednesday in September, drove four hours to a conference the next day and performed a comedy routine on the Saturday evening of the conference.
I've heard equally remarkable stories from others who've had it in recent years.
I probably didn't return to driving for weeks but that was a small price to pay for having a life again.
Maybe you wouldn't ever agree to it and I respect your view. If you ever become depressed as I was, and for so long, you might reconsider.
No one should pressure you into it but keep in mind that afterwards you might say it was the best decision you ever made. I still feel that way two decades later.
Ana,
Why do you call people whose lives were saved by meds "whores?"
I don't know if any pscyh med has saved my life as I've never received the remarkable benefits some experience. I do know that when I began taking Effexor at age fifty I became much less preoccupied with suicide, a chronic state of mind that began in childhood.
Posted by gardener at November 21, 2008 08:48 PM