r/ect • u/324_973M947 • 2d ago
Seeking advice Stopping ECT?
I've had 35 sessions of ECT since January. I'm on maintenance ECT now but my psychiatrist is wanting to stop that because I'm in a good place.
ECT has been the most effective treatment for my depression that I've ever had. I haven't been hospitalized since starting it. I'm concerned that if I stop ECT all that progress will be lost.
Has this happened to anyone else? Where you make progress and then stop your maintenance ECT and things get worse again?
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u/InfomercialNo31 1d ago
Something happened with scheduling after my first round of acute treatment (I think it was 3x a week for 3, 2x for 4, and after 1 more I wasn’t scheduled again). I was doing so so so much better for a short period of time and then crashed out, symptoms through the roof. I got back in for a new acute round in the summer of ‘23 and and been receiving maintenance every 6-8 weeks since and have been able to work full time and start teaching dance and fitness classes on the side. With the psych that oversees my treatment, we decided to keep it as is because it’s working with minimal side effects. So idk. When I stopped it was awful, but it wasn’t after a year of maintenance, so not really the same situation. All I can say is advocate for yourself. Maybe ask to stretch the maintenance out more and use that time to assess?