Taylor Howard36 said:What about the timing? Like, the gaps between the first and second session, the second and third... all the way down to the last one. Does the anticipation make you nervous?
Doing all six sessions every two weeks isn't scary when someone just shows up at your door and tells you it's time to go. Now that I think about it, YES, YOU ARE SCARED.
Taylor Howard36 said:So, when did you have your first ECT session? Is ECT basically just electroconvulsive therapy? I should probably double-check so I don't mess anything up.🙈
If you want to avoid any mishaps, just look back two weeks before your 19th birthday in 1997. Electroconvulsive therapy haha, oh man... March 29, 1997, was the very first one.😁 🤣
Taylor Howard36 said:Thank goodness they sedate you beforehand... I used to watch movies where they always did that to a conscious patient. I was honestly convinced that people were wide awake during electroshock therapy...
Wait, is insulin shock therapy something completely different?
Just take a second and imagine what’s actually going down in that basement right now. Nothing at the moment. But just six hours ago, dinner was served. If anyone dares to raise their voice, the cleaning lady (excuse me!) snaps: "Quiet!" Then, everyone gets their meds around 8 or 9 PM. The doctor keeps switching shifts—she isn't even supposed to be there in the morning since her shift ends at 4 PM—but she wanders around looking like an alien with that expression on her face: "Ugh, you people are awful. I actually have to work with you." Some of the older ladies are busy praying the Rosary, while others just wander around if they can get to the outdoor area. But! It’s not too much; people just head off to grab a coffee from the vending machine.
Well, that's life at Rib.
Honestly, things are so much better over at Jankic—it's way more lively, like everyone is just one big, crazy family.
When they tell me, "Your child might stay like this for months, the medication might not work, and you may eventually have to move her to a long-term care facility," I’d sign those papers in a heartbeat. Wouldn't you, Dad? 🙂 🙂 🎉
BUT THAT SOUNDS EVEN WORSE THAN BEING LOCKED UP IN A STATE ASYLUM
Okay, fine, I did sign off on an abortion once, but this is a whole different level of heavy
I guess my old man knew I wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box and that I don't have a clue what I'm doing here 🙂
Haha, no, I don't have any side effects at all; my horoscope is looking pretty bright.
For about six to eight months, I actually went through a phase where I felt like I was losing my mind—like I was just some total lunatic with no value whatsoever. But then, life just starts moving forward again. It has to happen; there’s really no other way.
briskgull27 said:Listen closely, sweetie... It’s like this: as far as I know, they perform ECT at Rib, but they definitely don't do it at the Los Angeles facility. After I told my doctor that she was just a Schizophrenic woman, then started throwing pills around and smashing those glass wire doors, my dad had to sign off on me receiving electroshock therapy; he basically had to take full responsibility for any lasting side effects. I went through 6 sessions.
I honestly didn't know what to expect—I'm actually surprised I still remember all my English after 6 rounds of shock therapy! 1. They put a mouthguard in for you. 2. You get an injection. 3. As you're drifting off, they place something against your temples. 4. You wake up.
The best part was when my friends came to visit me for my 19th birthday. They were allowed to visit by then, and they were all like, "Hang in there, it'll get better!" Then the nurse would walk in saying, "Come on girls, let's go, just one more shock," and they'd leave while I was headed back in for another one.
☕
They usually resort to electroshock when medications haven't worked for a while—in my case, it was three weeks. And back at the Los Angeles facility, I ended up in a COMA, and then a doctor hit me with so much Haldol that I wasn't myself for two months. I was shaking like a leaf. Honestly, I have my doubts about that Hippocratic Oath.
Rebecca Flores5 said:briskgull27—I wanted to ask you something, have you ever undergone electroshock therapy? I think I saw you mention it in one of your previous posts.
I actually have an official document with a stamp to prove it.
Down at the Los Angeles facility, we were just chatting—another lady struggling with her mental health and myself— and she tells me, "Honey (she means well), you could have just stayed quiet instead of talking."
I feel like I’ve seen it all, okay? I can’t change anything about companies like Eli Lilly or Jansen, nor can I fix the chaos out there.
But I *can* do my own little part by reminding people that those living with schizophrenia aren't just some specimens to be studied. You actually won't believe what happened I met this girl yesterday, and when I told her, "Hey, I have schizophrenia," she turned bright red. Turns out, she had been seeing a descendant of Freud (maybe a great-granddaughter?) and we ended up having this intense conversation about how he took his own life and all that. With all due respect—forget that! But then again, isn't everyone just like that? Everyone is fighting their own battles to survive, though I definitely have to fight harder since I don't have much freedom. But honestly, who cares?
The goal is essentially the same as any antipsychotic: whether it’s sulpiride, Haldol, risperidone, Zyprexa, or leponex. If those don't do the trick, then it's straight to electroshock therapy. After an ECT session, you don't really feel calm on the inside—it's more like you've been calmed from the outside.
Wasn't that one psychiatrist just on TV a little while ago?🙂 But honestly, it isn't her fault; she can't help it. She probably has something like 500 patients on her caseload.
Still, though, this current doctor actually treats me as an individual and shows some genuine humanity. I suppose the one over at Jankomir is just too straightforward to deal with all the chaos involving schizophrenics.🙂
It’s more about preventing those clogs, if I can even find the right way to put it. Everything stays exactly where it is, it just moves from the surface to underneath.
Taylor Howard36 said:What is electroconvulsive therapy actually like? Did you experience it? What does it feel like?🤔What is the point of it? Does it make you feel better afterward? 🤔
Listen closely, sweetie. Here is how it works:As far as I know,ECT is performed at the state hospital, but definitely not at the local clinic. After I told the doctor she was a schizophrenic, threw my meds around, and smashed through those glass wire doors,my dad had to sign a consent form for me to undergo ECT, essentially taking full responsibility if there were any lasting side effects. I had six sessions.
I honestly had no idea what to expect—I’m actually surprised I still remember all my English after six rounds of shock therapy! 1. They put a mouthguard in for you. 2. You get an injection. 3. As you're drifting off, they place electrodes on your temples. 4. Then, you wake up.
The best part was when my girlfriends came to visit for my 19th birthday; they were allowed to visit by then. They kept telling me, "Hang in there, it'll get better!" and then the nurse would walk in saying, "Come on girls, let's do one more," and just like that, they'd leave while I headed into another session.
☕
In my case, they use ECT when medication hasn't worked for about three weeks. And regarding the local clinic, I once ended up in a coma, and a doctor hit me with such a heavy dose of Haldol that I wasn't myself for two months. I was shaking like a leaf. I don't know much about the Hippocratic Oath myself.
A schizophrenic joke: I actually ran into Morales and got some close-up shots of him and his tattoo on his left arm and I didn't kill him, for the record
😂
Anyway, regarding all those different opinions floating around, it basically feels like psychiatrists are just modern-day Mengele but the truth is, nobody really gives a damn about you any more than anyone else; everyone is just looking out for themselves. 👏
David Stewart52 said:YES. Honestly, you have so much patience with this group! I would have lost my mind with them ages ago. I mean,😁 everyone. Those uncontrolled movements are like sudden jolts... It’s almost as if you’re existing in two different times and places at once, and then suddenly you jerk back into the present. It's fascinating. That state of consciousness is actually quite interesting!! Science, right? They don't even know the cause or how it actually works. In my amateur opinion, what percentage of the brain does a person actually use? Like 10%? Right? Where is the rest? I suspect some unknown center in the brain gets activated—something that nobody else ever taps into. But, hey, it’s treated as an illness because it disrupts our daily routines and the steady rhythm we all live by. Wow, honestly, I almost wish I had studied medicine....
The post above regarding the brother who took his own life is a perfect example of how serious those delusions can get when someone is being persecuted. And he was absolutely convinced it was real.
Look, you’re married, you’re loved, and nobody wants anything bad for you. That’s what matters. That's the bottom line, and any potential negativity from others should just be ignored. This world can be a cruel place. I spent some time in a psychiatric facility once. In my estimation, all those patients are just incredibly emotional people. Everything affects them. Literally everything that goes wrong hits hard. And their self-esteem is completely shot.
Oh, I have to tell you something—you should watch the movie Girl, Interrupted. Basically, in the hospital, they give you all your meds and put you to sleep. So I'm sleeping away, and then suddenly someone wakes me up because— Stana was throwing chairs down the hallway. CAN YOU IMAGINE? THROWING CHAIRS IN THE HALLWAY RIGHT OUTSIDE MY DOOR! And I didn't hear a thing because I was so drugged up.
I’ve always wondered: if these impulses move that fast, couldn't they be harnessed for something productive or even helpful?🙂 ☕ ☕
grgagrga said:Why do you constantly dwell on the hospital and find it impossible to move past what happened?
Honestly, that’s a bit like asking a veteran who served in Vietnam why they can't just forget everything. Could those electroshock treatments have been the deciding factor? Or maybe it's just that moment when you finally realize how many people around you are just putting on an act. 🙂 🙂 🎉
David Stewart52, I suspect that kind of thought process might be linked to rapid impulses firing between neurons, which could ultimately lead to those sudden shifts in mood.😍
From a medical encyclopedia:By definition Schizophrenia refers to a broad category of common psychotic disorders with an etiology and pathogenesis that remains largely misunderstood
Wow, this is dated—it actually lists it as "split personality" from back in the 1970s