I received ECT for mania at this hospital. Overall I am grateful for staying at the hospital because I needed to be contained somewhere safe at the time and understood the reasons behind this which were explained to me compassionately. There are always nurses willing to answer mental health questions from patients which is appreciated. I was aware ECT was often carried out for depression and anorexia at the hospital as not eating can be life threatening and had spoken with people who had this treatment. Despite this, I sort of felt that for mania , it was just a question of 'calming me down' whereas it was phrased to me that it would 'save my life.' I was quite noisy and irritable at the time but mania occurs in episodes and I was eating so I didn't see how it was a risk to my health as such. Obviously , I respected the hospitals advice on this as at the time I was not thinking as lucidly as I do now but with hindsight I wish that I had refused the procedure as I am suffering from memory loss for something that posed no risk to myself or others. Furthermore I was in a contained environment minimising any potential risk and pills would have managed it to a certain extent. I'm not the most intelligent person compared to doctors but I'm thinking they slightly oversimplified their reasons for the procedure to me but I understand how ethically complex these sorts of decisions are and I was perhaps not in the fittest state to appreciate subtleties. Overall though I felt really safe at the hospital and needed time away from the wider world with professional support.
"Intelligent doctors but didn't understand..."
About: St Georges Hospital Site (Morpeth) St Georges Hospital Site (Morpeth) Morpeth NE61 2NU
Posted via nhs.uk
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