jpepper:
I'm currently a candidate for ECT (haven't had it yet), but I've been doing a tremendous amount of research on it, so I feel like I know a bit about it (not on a neurologist level, but anyway). As far as I've been able to tell, there's no credible research that indicates that ECT causes any kind of physical damage to brain cells. This is even the case with patients who have had it many times over a period of years. Now, having said that, the functions of the brain are far more complex than we can see. MOST patients report memory loss and cognitive impairment (poor short-term memory) for a period of a few days to a few months after treatment. Generally these effects go away or are dramatically reduced after time. MANY report some permenant loss of memory of the period immediately before and after treatment and spotty sections of their past. A SMALL but important minority of patients report permanent memory loss and cognitive impairment to varying degrees. Whether that is considered "brain damage", "cognitive impairment", "side effect" or whatever largely depends on your editorial slant. It is what it is. A vast majority of people report significant reduction in symptoms after treatment. Some feel the risk trade-off is worth it, some don't. It depends in large part on the severity of symptoms you have, and what other treatments you've tried. The problem with this whole discussion is that ECT is neither a miracle cure-all (although, for some patients, it has been), nor is it a demonic attempt by big psych to torture and mind-control patients, but it is often presented as one or the other depending on their prejudice and outside agenda.
