What are the side effects of electric shock therapy?
The most common side effects of ECT on the day of treatment include nausea, headache, fatigue, confusion, and slight memory loss, which may last minutes to hours. These risks must be balanced with the consequences of ineffectively treated severe psychiatric disorders.
What are 3 common side effects of ECT?
Immediate side effects
- drowsiness (you may sleep for a while)
- confusion.
- headache.
- feeling sick.
- aching muscles.
- loss of appetite.
What is the most serious side effect of electroconvulsive therapy?
During ECT, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and in rare cases, that can lead to serious heart problems. If you have heart problems, ECT may be more risky.
Is electric shock treatment still used for depression?
Researchers concluded that ECT remains an important treatment option for the management of severe depression.
Does electro shock therapy cure mental illness?
It is most often used to treat severe depression and depression with psychosis that has not responded to medications. In some cases of treatment resistant bipolar disorder, ECT may be considered as a treatment option. Once called electroshock therapy, ECT still has many negative associations.
Is shock therapy a safe treatment for depression?
This treatment, sometimes referred to as “electroshock therapy,” is often misunderstood and incorrectly portrayed by popular media as a harsh, cruel treatment. In reality, it is a painless medical procedure performed under general anesthesia that is considered one of the most effective treatments for severe depression.
What are the alternatives to electroshock therapy?
changing brain blood flow
What are the long term effects of ECT treatment?
longer-term side effects. Many people experience memory loss after having ECT. Some people find this only lasts for a short time and their memories gradually return as they recover from ECT.