What's Happening In Your Life?

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Good to hear from you, AG. Congrats on your college graduation and I hope you can continue to pursue your dreams.

[WalshFan88]

Elle - Good to hear from you. I'm sorry to hear about your Grandma. Medications can be such a struggle. I'm personally trying some new things and I'm not having a lot of luck myself. I think the next step for me is intranasal ketamine called Spravato. I've felt suicidal off and on all year and I'm going to a new doctor. The problem is I've been on every medication as of my last med I tried so I've either had no results, mixed results, or bad reactions where it's worse. Spravato is the last thing I can try before going down the path of electroconvulsive therapy and I really don't want to do that if I can help it because of the real possibility of retrograde memory loss. Unfortunately therapy hasn't done anything for me other than give me a place to vent. Actual therapy targeted at helping has done nothing so now my appts are just an hour to decompress and vent and put my feelings onto someone else. I don't envy my therapist, lol.

AG - Good to hear from you as well! Congrats on the graduation and best of luck with your IVIG treatments!

[FreyFollower]

Sorry I am so late responding, but much has me tied up these days!
Congrats, AG, and good luck on your future endeavors!
Elle, I hope that things are starting to look up for you!
WF, I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties you have been facing. Music is good for whatever ails a person, and I hope you can work it in more often.
I encourage you to keep fighting to find the help you need, I believe it's out there. Remember there will be brighter days ahead, and reasons to be hopeful despite current circumstance. I believe in you!

[WalshFan88]

Thank you, FF.

[WalshFan88]

Hi everyone.

Bit of an update on my situation. Unfortunately Spravato/Ketamine did not work for me. I actually am currently going through TMS which is transcranial magnetic stimulation. It's the next to last stop before committing to shock therapy. Unfortunately so far TMS has not seemed to make a difference. I have one more month of it and then if I'm still not better they want me to start ECT. TMS was something that I didn't even know about until I switched psychiatrists and went to a bigger clinic. Ketamine and TMS are two of the last three big treatments for treatment-resistant depression. I'm all but sure I will be doing ECT come December. I'm really afraid of the memory issues people can have but I'm told they have improved it since what you saw of it in movies and such and it's not a barbaric punishment for out of control hospitalized patients like you see in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. You go under general anesthesia every time so you aren't even aware of what's going on which for me as someone with anxiety is a blessing.

[FreyFollower]

Wishing you the best in finding what works for your issues, WF. Goodness knows how all treatments have improved in 40+years! Hang in there, new advances happen all the time. Each treatment that doesn't correct things just brings you one step closer to one that will! Praying "No More Cloudy Days" for you!

[WalshFan88]

Wishing you the best in finding what works for your issues, WF. Goodness knows how all treatments have improved in 40+years! Hang in there, new advances happen all the time. Each treatment that doesn't correct things just brings you one step closer to one that will! Praying "No More Cloudy Days" for you!

Thank you, FF.

I’m definitely failing the TMS and ECT is the next logical choice. I’ll take it one treatment at a time.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

We are all pulling for you, Austin. Best of luck and, hopefully, you can find the right treatment. And you are right, medicine has come a long way in the last few decades.

[WalshFan88]

Thanks Dreamer.

While it wasn't my first or fourteenth choice, the time has come and I will in fact start ECT next month. I don't want to be in a situation where I have to choose between ending my pain and devastating my family or continuing my pain and being miserable for the rest of my life. I credit the Eagles with saving my life in 2007 and getting me to play guitar which helped for many years. Sadly I'm in need of a second miracle that I don't think will come. I really don't want my last memory to be knowing the intense pain I will cause my mom and dad but unfortunately that's exactly where we are headed. The hospitalization last month was rough. It told me it's time to swing for the fences and try things I didn't really want to try. It's hopefully going to be a lifesaving decision. I'm really worried about the memory loss but it is what it is. I tried Ketamine and TMS.

[groupie2686]

I'm so sorry to hear what you've been going through, WF. I'm keeping you in my thoughts!