My First ECT Treatment

I arrived at PVBH at 6:45am, the time they told me to be there. Hubby and son were with me and they planned on staying and waiting. I didn't wait long before Chris came and brought me back. Chris is a portly, young fellow, jovial most of the time in my dealings with him (from being hospitalized).

I followed him through the familiar hallways to the pre-ECT room - the room where I had done my initial intake. I sat in a leather recliner, tried to make myself comfortable. Another girl had come in with me (Samantha? who cares . . .). A female nurse whose name escapes me and a male nurse I knew, Johnny, came in to start IVs, while Jim (the RN who heads the ECT program), went through my paperwork, had me sign consents, and asked me orientation questions.

A third woman was brought back, an inpatient, and she sat in the far chair, wrapped in a blanket. She was the first to go back. Chris put the Princess Bride in the DVD player to keep us occupied while we waited.

I went back second - Dr. Chu came and got me and leaded me to the ECT treatment room. She made small talk and joked, seemed genuinely concerned about my wellbeing - the opposite of how she seemed for my intake. A pleasant surprise. She had me place my purse and glasses under my bed, and remove my shoes and socks.

Since this was my first ECT session, she explained, they do things a little differently. She has to experiment a little to find what my seizure threshold is - how much electricity to cause a 30 second seizure. She would start with a dosage and measure the seizure activity - and adjust the electricity dose accordingly (meaning I might have 2 or 3 seizures). She laid me back and began hooking electrodes to my ankles and wrists while Jim attached them to my forehead and temples. The anesthesiologist was applying a blood pressure cuff, a finger probe, and chest leads. A cuff went over my left ankle and one on my right. (The cuff on my left ankle cause my toes to spasm - the intent. When they stopped spasming the docs knew the paralytic was working. The cuff on my right ankle kept the paralytic from reaching my right foot so that they would see it spasm from the seizure).

Dr. Chu and Jim are explaining everything as they're doing it and the room seems in utter chaos. Jim remarks on my new cuts. Dr. Chu asks how bad I was getting - bad enough I almost admitted myself on Friday. "These probes are going across your forehead" "Jim, do you see the mark here?" I feel wetness on the tip of my head and what feels like a marker tip "You just have to move her hair a little - I marked your head so Jim knows where to place the probe" "Can I get another lead? This one isn't sticking" "I'm going to put this mask over your face, just breathe deeply" "If you need to be admitted, come in - it's what we're here for" "You said your cut could have used stitches?" "Just breathe. You're going to drift off to sleep now . . ."

I had felt panic welling up in me. The mask made me feel claustrophobic and the talking and questions and noise were overwhelming. And the burn of the anesthetic through my veins . . .

"Would you like some juice?"

"What? Yeah, cranberry." I'm sitting up in bed. My vision is blurred - but that has more to do with the fact that I'm not wearing my glasses rather than the anesthesia. The nurse, the one who started my IV, hands me cranberry juice and I drink it greedily. "What time is it?" I ask.

"8:30"

I was brought back shortly before 8. She asks me my orientation questions and leads me out to the lobby, where hubby and son are waiting.

We went home and I ate and had coffee, and then napped for 2 hours. I had a wicked headache for about half of the day. Around bedtime my neck and shoulders were starting to get sore and this morning my whole body is sore. Like I spent hours in the gym and ran a marathon.

Without the health benefits.

But no memory issues. So far. Hopefully that will be the norm.

Treatments are Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 4 weeks.

Cheers, y'all.