Medical Consent Form 2016: Fill & Download for Free

Oh boy, yes! And the best part of it was, all of this was completely unnecessary, let me go back to the very beginning shall we?(If you don’t want the back story and know perfectly well what a cochlear is, and what Mondini Dysplasia is and you just want to get to the story, scroll down until you see a duck, then that’s when the original question gets answered! You’re welcome!)*teleports back to the very beginning!**whoosh*Alright, so I was born profoundly Deaf, and my parents tried so hard to find a ‘cure’ seeing as I was the only Deaf person in the family. We tried doctors/audiologists but a cochlear implant was not recommended but we couldn’t figure out why.I think I attempted to get a cochlear implant roughly four separate times but I was still not being approved, it was always full of excuses, either the hearing I had on my left ear was still too good to justify a cochlear implant (even though my right ear was practically deaf), or that there was just too many risks that outweight the benefits. Obviously after hearing that over and over, I just accepted it. I was going to be completely deaf on my right ear.Then I moved to England (from Scotland) and at the age of 22, I enquired about the cochlear implant yet again to a new doctor. He never heard of what a cochlear implant was, (so I kind of used it to my own advantage ^_^) and the doctor referred me over to a specialist in one of the leading hospitals in the UK.A few weeks later I got an appointment and it was discovered why I was rejected all of this time. Apparently (and I only say apparently because this was a condition I had all my life and at the ripe age of 22, I just discovered this!), I had a condition called…Mondini dysplasia (it does look like I randomly punched letters on my keyboard but that’s what I have). Basically, you know how the cochlear looks a bit like a snail?A bit like this (if I can figure out how to paste a picture onto this)(ignore the wire part, that’s what a cochlear implant does) but yes, that’s what a cochlear looks like, and it’s responsible for converting sounds into electrical stimulation so your brain can understand it. Notice how it seems to have 2 and a bit turnsWell apparently mine looks a bit like this (I am sorry for the incredibly complex image you are about to see, it is done with my wonderfully amazing art skills since google cannot find a decent picture of what my cochlear actually looks like.Yes, so my cochlear has one and a half turns…I figure by now since the population of Quora be like “WE NEED TO SEE PROPER TERMS AND PROPER EXPLANATION OF WHAT THE CONDITION IS TO FILL OUR KNOWLEDGE OF PROPER INFORMATION RATHER THAN A PICTURE THAT CLEARLY LOOKS LIKE YOU DID IT THROUGH PAINT!!!!” - pfft, fine, be right back then!“The Mondini dysplasia describes a cochlea with incomplete partitioning and a reduced number of turns, an enlarged vestibular aqueduct and a dilated vestibule. A normal cochlea has two and a half turns, a cochlea with Mondini dysplasia has one and a half turns; the basal turns being normally formed with a dilated or cystic apical turn to the cochlear. The hearing loss can deteriorate over time either gradually or in a step-wise fashion, or may be profound from birth” - Quote from Wikipedia, you’re welcome!Right, so…..let us get back to our story time. Where was I? ….*scrolls up* ah yes, so the doctor explained that this was the condition I had, which means that the operation would be very difficult and it would have more risks associated with it than the normal cochlear implant operation. Obviously I was disheartened but I was so happy when they said they can still operate.Right, so let’s actually answer the question now, what exactly was the doctors unable to explain…..So, for the actual operation, it went fine, there was a lot of leakage, but that was to be expected with the condition I had, turns out, it was a day operation so I was sent home that day. I was told to be put on bed rest and I was to expect a little blood coming through my nose. Hmm…Okay.I was fine for the first three days post op. But then I found I was bleeding through my nose, my ear, and I just felt quite off…..so an ambulance was called and we were teleported to the hospital (not the original hospital, which is part of the story….)We arrived at the hospital and I was rushed to A&E. I had all my usual checks, my heart rate, my pupil dilation, and all that fun tests that nurses like to do at 4 in the morning….What I found though was, I was getting more and more tired. I couldn’t sleep yet couldn’t stay awake. But every four hours, I had to take a drug called ‘Codeine’. After taking it, I’d be back to sleep, and I believe we were there for 8 hours and nobody came over to tell me what was wrong with me. A doctor finally came over to explain that nobody in their department has seen someone with a cochlear implant and so they wanted to transport me back to the original hospital seeing as they are the ones who are specialists in cochlear implants…..so off we went. I do remember falling asleep a few times on the way to the other hospital.We arrive at the hospital and they did their checks, and soon enough (well when I say soon enough, it was about another 8 hours) before I was checked in as a patient and had my own bed. Things seemed to be okay, I just felt a bit sickly every now and again. And they kept giving me Codeine, every four hours……(the codeine was meant to help reduce the pain and swelling from my operation)….I did let the nurses know that my head did feel like it was going to explode…there is something that is quite unexplainable, it was like my head was full of pressure and I did feel really worried about that.So here is the fun ,fun, fun, fun….part of it all. As I am Deaf, when people talk to me, my first instinct is to smile and nod and hope they go away, and turns out I did the wrong thing…..it was about 11:45pm that night, with two people coming into the room. One was a doctor, and the other was a nurse. They mentioned something called a ‘lumbar puncture’, which I had no idea what it was, and the next thing I know is…..I need to grab my knees, while they cleaned my back (why were they cleaning my back….it’s my head that really hurts!) …….they injected a long narrow needle into my spine, and let’s just say it’s not something I’m desperate to do for fun in the future…..and they left me to it. It wasn’t until I googled it (as I was in a lot of pain, I’m pretty sure my google search was initially “WHAT THE F@CK IS A LUMBAR F@CKING PUNCTURE?!” but once I calmed myself down, I googled it, and I found out that they were trying to extract the spinal fluid to see if that was what was causing the pressure in my head.What I did notice over the next couple of days…..along with being woken up every four hours for codine….was, if I was to move my head ever so slightly, I’d vomit. If I was to try bending my legs, more vomit. If I was to look upwards without moving my head, again…more vomit.See, I can handle vomit, usually I feel great after vomiting, but no, it felt a lot worse. and I’m sure anyone who has vomitted non stop for at least 3 days, can understand that being in a hospital full of people you don’t know, constantly vomiting, and not being able to smoke…..with a needle in your back……it’s not the most fun thing to go through. But after five days, they removed the needle in my back, and I was told that the vomit was normal for someone going through with the lumbar puncture, and after a few hours, I should be feeling a lot better!Great!Except I wasn’t feeling better, I was still vomiting.I even had a physiotherapist come into the room warning me that I’ll need to learn how to move without being sick, and that it’s probably just because my body was used to lying in the one position and my balance was going off the charts. She also said that if it’s not done soon, chances are, this will be chronic. So she sat me up, and we practiced standing. Pft, let’s just say I stood….for a second, before vomiting again.It wasn’t until that night when my partner and I were talking away through Skype. And she managed to figure out what was going on.(oh boy, don’t we all just love backstories?! I swear I’ll make this short)It was the previous year, when I was in pain, and my partner gave me one of her meds (I know, spare me the lecture!) but I ended up having an ambulance called and they put it down as constipation….and left.Anyway, she compared the ingredients in both and found that Codeine was the same ingredient and told me to stop taking the codeine.I spoke to the nurses and after being sleep deprived, I pretty much ordered them about. They were NOT to wake me up every four hours, they were to stop giving me codeine, I was going to get a nice shower, get a decent sleep, and all will be well with the world.Safe to say, I slept wonderfully that night, woke up, had my breakfast, even tidied up the room. I packed my stuff up and told the nurses I was going home. Obviously the world doesn’t work that way but they did discharge me that day.So yes, I’m allergic to codeine, so if I need a trip to the hospital with a needle sticking into my spine and being sleep deprived, I’ll be “surely” taking that drug again!Edit - 10/09/2017Okay, so now that I’ve actually finished work, I think I should add to this lovely answer, about what happened afterwards….safe to say I made a few complaints. While the cochlear implant is doing wonders for me, I am noticing sounds as more…3D rather than relying on my one ear.Email One: (To the complaints department of the hospital)Hi there,I feel this email address should really be saved as a contact with a number of times I've contacted you.Well, the journey I've had with having a cochlear implant has not been a straightforward journey even before I've even had the bloody surgery! Even after the surgery, I ended up being hospitalised a couple of days later for the weekend, during that time I had to have a lumbar puncture procedure which was not that great to have a needle stuck in your spine for 4 days straight!Urgh, so anyway as you can imagine I was more than happy to escape from that hospital when I got the first chance! But anyway, this is not what I'm going to be talking about, but instead, I'm going to be talking about what happened today (28th of November 2016)As you can imagine, this was meant to be one of the most exciting parts of the whole journey so I booked today as annual leave at my work to attend the hospital, I've spent money on transportation (taxi to get to the train station, the train tickets and a plus bus). All of these costs were not going out of my money, but my carers money as I only just started working 2 weeks ago and wouldn't have been paid in time.The original idea was that because I was getting my cochlear implant 'switched on' today, the costs would work out in our favour because this was meant to be the real beginning of being able to hear out of my right ear.So, we arrived at the hospital slightly late due to our train being delayed and we were told to wait in the waiting room but since the waiting room is not very accommodating (have you seen just how tiny that room actually is?!) so we ended up waiting in the lobby. I recognised the audiologist I saw in the first appointment I had and I saw he was scrambling around in the cochlear filing cabinet. Somehow this rang alarms in my head....(surely nothing is going to go wrong, surely everything will be smooth from now on) .....we get called into the room and I'm sitting down feeling really exciting that I'm going to be getting my cochlear implant and it'll be really exci- oh wait....suddenly I'm being told that the cochlear implant hasn't even been ordered yet.....so the appointment went from a life-changing moment to.....a complete waste of time.I wasn't able to get my cochlear implant mapped, I wasn't even able to attend the next appointment I had today which was meant to be equipment briefing. So the appointment was simply a check up on how my scar was looking.This didn't just cost money through transportation, but instead lost wages, of both myself and my carer, lost hours I could have been spending on my own university studies as that is getting seriously behind now as I've had to spend some time recovering from the operation itself.What they managed to do was refund the train tickets, but I still lost a days wage which was…frustrating.Email Two: To the complaints departmentThis was before the operation, I should have moved this to the first email, but what happened was, in the pre-operation appointment, the nurse kept blethering away while filling out the consent form and she failed to ask me if I wanted students to be present in the operation….and with me having a very rare conditon, I was having none of it, yet I wasn’t asked this and she still ticked the box which I couldn’t do anything about as by the time I read through the consent form, I was on the train heading homeSo, I sent them a lovely email.Me - “I'd also like to notify that (Nurse) never asked me if I was okay with students being involved with the procedure, I would like to decline this although on the content form she already ticked yes, would you have any suggestions on what to do in that situation? I'm sure it wasn't intentional or anything it was only after I was reading through the content form and I noticed this was on the sheet when I was never specifically asked. I just don't want to be turning up to the hospital and having to tell people that I didn't want students to reduce my anxiety. If you could let her know that I don't want students there, that would be fabulous xx”Complaints department - “That’s absolutely fine, don’t worry about it. I will talk to (nurse) myself”Me - “Hello (complaints department),Thank you so much for everything you've done, but I thought you'd appreciate an update on the situation with (Nurse)My girlfriend, phone just rung shortly after our conversation (She is my also my carer so takes phone calls on my behalf). It was (Nurse) herself who aggressively tried to advocate to have students in the room, completely disregarding or even acknowledging the fact that having students in the room would make me feel extremely anxious and scared, even more so since this is the first kind of operation I have ever had. She kept interrupting (girlfriend) saying that we have to appreciate that (Hospital) is a teaching hospital and that I should let them observe as I have a condition not often seen and that if I didn't allow it she would have to discuss this with the consultants giving me the impression that if I refused, my operation might not go ahead.I completely appreciate that (Hospital) is a teaching hospital but I just feel in this case she didn't appreciate my rights to say no. As I hung up, I felt guilty for using my own rights as a patient instead of letting (Nurse) intimidate me. She phoned shortly afterwards without a simple hello, to say that was fine and I was to tick no in the consent form before she hung up.And this was why I wasn't too keen on forwarding this to (Nurse) in the first place.Jake”Complaints department - “In terms of the other concern you raised relating to consent for medical students to be present and your experience with (Nurse) , I have now escalated these concerns to Deputy Operations Manager, Surgery. I have asked (Deputy Operations Manager, Surgery) to provide feedback regarding your experience and to confirm that students will not be present during your procedure and that you do not feel comfortable with (Nurse) being involved with your care in the future. Once again, I must apologise for your experience, once I have more information I will be in touch.”Complaints department - ““Thank-you for forwarding this onto me, it has allowed me the opportunity to feedback to (nurse) a patients experience of their interactions with her which we both used to understand our behaviours and communication seen from our patients eyes.Firstly we would like to thank Jake for raising the concern, it cannot have been an easy decision to make but we are grateful as it has allowed us both the opportunity to understand and improve the standard of care we deliver and without such feedback we risk failing our patients expectations and needs.I have spent some time with (Nurse) discussing this complaint and (Nurse) was concerned to hear that Jake was left feeling anything other than fully prepared, informed and supported throughout their treatment by her. She is particularly sorry that Jake and his partner felt under any pressure to agree to students being present. In her experience she has not come across any patients who have refused students and whilst this does not lessen the validity of the request but perhaps it was glossed over and the details not laboured on the consent form and so undoubtedly it was discussed insufficiently on this occasion. (Nurse) and I have reflected on how we can ensure that all patients wishes are actively sought, listened to and understood and then of course complied with, in particular with regard to the presence of students. I think this process serves as a reminder that we need to address this question more clearly to ensure that each patient is fully aware of their rights and that these are fully respected. In future she will ensure that patients clearly understand they are in full control of whether they have students present as part of their consent process.Additionally: there have been some factors which (Nurse) feels might help us to prevent such circumstances occurring again which perhaps were not picked up in the complaint but I felt were useful issues to be raised.-There was no interpreter available for this appointment which was deemed desirable. (just going to add here that there was actually a sign language interpreter present….never mind, apparently the person in the room flapping her hands was not my interpreter…..never mind….anyway, back to the lovely response….) (Nurse) made the decision to proceed with the appointment to avoid disappointment or delays and today we feel that the hindsight that this feedback has offered the appointment should have been rearranged with an interpreter and so helping with effective communication. The outcome may allowed extra confidence in the process and the opportunity to ask questions and so all parties were clear about what was discussed. I can see the benefits of both options for (Nurse) on that day and unfortunately proceeding without an interpreter has contributed to this patients experience and the quality and the completeness of their dialogue, and I do think (nurse) made a considered decision on that day but perhaps unaware of the consequences. This complaint forms useful feedback to help future decisions.-(Nurse) has reflected on the flow of patients she sees during her clinics and the pressure she can feel under to see the next patient. This may limit the time available to discuss the consent form properly and she will consider whether patients taking it home to read thoroughly and digest and then offer a method to answer queries prior to signing the consent form. This time away from Clinic with the consent form may have helped Jake’s involvement and absolute understanding of what he was signing , rather than what appears to have been a unsatisfactory consent process.(Nurse) and I discussed the follow up call with Jake’s partner and in particular the terms: abrupt, aggressively and intimidate. (Nurse) was alarmed to hear these words and her concern was solely for how she had made Jake feel like this at such a stressful time. (Nurse) reflected that her manner could have been seen as abrupt and that this feedback has allowed us to discuss styles that we can adopt to try and avoid this . (Nurse) will aim to be mindful of her patient’s needs and feelings, their response to her during consultations and to obtain feedback at the end of consultations to ensure both parties are clear about what has been discussed and that all questions have been covered satisfactorily. I am sorry that you were under any pressure or feeling that your surgery was not going to go ahead, this would absolutely not be the case at all and you are perfectly within your rights to refuse students being present, your right to refuse anything will not affect your access to other services available. I am sorry you were left feeling like this. I hope that I can reassure you that your request for no students present has been communicated clearly with the team ahead of your surgery.I do hope that this helps illuminate the way forward with our own thoughts on the interactions referred to. (Nurse) and I wish Jake well with his surgery next week. It must be both an extremely exciting yet anxious time and (Nurse) and I are profoundly sorry if this time has been made harder by (Nurse) actions or words. We look forward to seeing you here at Addenbrooke’s in the future and we hope that your future experiences are entirely positive”With best wishes”Safe to say that my journey hasn’t been easy, but I’m glad I managed to get through it. Barely though! :DI now have a full time job, 39 hours and I am coping a lot better than I did in my previous job which was only 18 hours. It’s much less lip-reading, and more being in the moment! :D

A number of answers have mentioned the £9 prescription fee but, as the question does ask about “UK” medical costs, it should be pointed out that Prescription Charges are only relevant in England. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, doctors’ prescriptions are free. In addition, within Wales (I am not sure about N.I. and Scotland) hospital parking is also free (if you can find a space).I would like to add two more “Actual Stories” as, a few years ago, I used NHS in-patient hospital services twice in a six month period. I have NO personal “Medical Insurance”.Shortly after the New Year (2016) I started feeling unwell and eventually made an appointment to go and see my G.P. (General Practitioner: our “local” family doctor) at his surgery (the doctor’s office). I wasn’t in a particular hurry, so I booked a ‘normal’ appointment which meant waiting two or three days.On meeting the doctor I explained my symptoms and, after tests, I was given a prescription for medication and a blood sample was taken for testing. Thirty six hours later I received a telephone call at home and the doctor asked if my wife would drive me to the hospital “straight away” because the blood test results indicated probable diabetic ketoacidosis.I was a hospital in-patient for four days while being subjected to numerous IV tubes, x-rays, and tests while my newly discovered Type 1 diabetes was stabilised. Then I was sent home, equipped with the necessary bits and pieces to monitor my blood glucose levels and self-administer insulin. For the next three weeks I received daily calls from the hospital until my insulin and diet regime were confirmed as stable and safe.A few months later I found myself feeling weak, tired, and had loss of appetite. As I was familiar enough with the diabetes by this time to know it wasn’t related, I just carried-on, hoping it was “just a bug” and I’d get over it fairly quickly.However, I grew rapidly worse and when I found myself completely exhausted just walking from one room to another, my wife called the G.P. surgery. Within a couple of hours, our Doctor arrived at my home and diagnosed a fairly severe “bleed”, or peptic ulcer.He called for an ambulance which took me to hospital where I was admitted. I ended up with a line in each arm and (I think) eight units of whole blood (along with various other I.V. meds) over a period of two days before being pronounced fit enough for an endoscopy. Two more days later I was released and, as my wife was unable to come and collect me at that time, a transport ambulance brought me home.Just like my previous trip to hospital some years previously for a bilateral hip replacement, the net cost billed to me for those events in 2016 was nothing… nada… a big fat zero… £0 and $0.No bill was tendered, no telephone calls were necessary and no paperwork was involved other than (if I remember correctly) a consent form for the hip replacement and a similar form for the endoscopy.There was no charge levied for the G.P. consultations at his surgery, the home-visit by the G.P., the ambulances, the hospital doctors and nurses, the blood transfusions, medication, tests, nor the “bed and board”. Subsequent and ongoing medication (including daily insulin and blood-glucose testing kits) costs me nothing. My wife did not even have to pay for parking while visiting me in hospital.This was all covered by taxes. I can also confirm that my taxes in 2016 were the same as those I paid in 2014 and 2015, and have remained the same through 2017, 2018 and 2019 to today. I have no “co pay”, no “deductable” and no limitations due to what would now be considered a “preexisting condition” in the USA.Original question: Do all of your medications and doctors visits cost a lot, or does your insurance in the UK cover most of the cost?

I do not.I underwent more than twenty sessions of ECT back in 2016–17 during my three month stay in a psychiatric hospital. But, before I discuss my lack of improvement, and the damage I have suffered since I had treatment, I want to provide a little background. If you’re already aware of the process and procedures of ECT, please scroll down. The intent of my answer is to provide insight to anyone who is considering this treatment. Thus, I’ll explain my experience with ECT from start to finish, and perhaps more important, my experiences after my treatment was completed.To begin, I was highly pressured into doing ECT, interestingly, not by my psychiatrist, but by a medical student who was working a rotation in the ECT Department.She came into my room to visit me just a few days into my stay. She was very pretty and tried to use this to her advantage. She sat down on the edge of my bed and got all touchy-feely with me. She spent about a half hour explaining the benefits and successes of ECT. It was like she was trying to seduce me into signing the consent form that was required for me to have the treatment. I told her that I wanted to do a little research myself and then give it more thought before I made a decision.The next day, the same thing happened. Instead, this time, she was telling me personal things about herself, and asking similar questions to me. I had absolutely no idea what any of this had to do with ECT. None of it did, actually. Nevertheless, I played along and have to admit that I enjoyed the attention. It was a great pick-me-up during an awful time for me. Again, she asked me to sign the consent form just before she left. And I again told her I needed to look into it further and think more about it.On the third day, things were dramatically different. She came in rather frustrated, even seeming angered. She told me I need to make a decision and make it right now. Then she shoved the consent form right in my face. Shocked and flustered from seeing this other side of her, I clumsily signed the form. She immediately snatched it out of my hands and stormed off. The next day, when my treatment finally began, she didn’t even look at me.Actually, you have to prep for the treatment the night before. You cannot eat anything after 9pm. You cannot drink any liquids after midnight. Difficult? Not really, but kind of annoying if you want a late-night snack or drink (If you’re doing ECT as an outpatient the rules and procedures apply the same.). My veins “float” and “roll” and thus are difficult to access, so I also have to have my IV inserted the night before.They wake you around 6am, and you have to change into a clean gown. (If you come in as an outpatient, you’ll do the same once your inside. And don’t forget, you have to have someone bring you, wait for you, and drive you home. You will be given anasthesia just before the ECT is started, so you definitely need someone to drive you home.).You will then be put onto a gurney and an IV will be placed in your arm. Then, you lay and wait. Usually not long, but it can run over an hour. During this time, one of the doctors or residents who will be involved in, or observing, your treatment will usually stop by to check on you and discuss and try to ease any concerns you might have. A nurse or two will definitely do the same.Next, they wheel you into the middle of the treatment room. There will be four or five people hovering over you and and a couple who are either performing other necessary functions or simply observing. One or more of the nurses will place “leads” on your forehead, chest, stomach and upper back. They will connect wires to these leads that run into a machine that allows them to monitor your brain activity during the actual ECT itself.Then, the big dog (head doctor) will step forward and say in a loud voice: “Are we ready for time out?” Once everyone acknowledges that they are, the same doctor will say your name and your date of birth. Someone will confirm this, then you’re good to go.The same doctor will then state the drugs that they are going to inject into you, usually something like Etomidate and Succinylcholine. The first, is to put you out and paralyze your muscles. The second, though sometimes used as a muscle relaxant, is used in ECT as a paralytic agent. Both drugs are very dangerous and must be monitored closely. A couple of times, I couldn’t go out, so they had to introduce another drug into me, the well-known Fentanyl, which is a sedative sometimes used to cause unconsciousness in a patient. This is also a very dangerous drug that requires close monitoring.Finally, they’re ready to begin. I never noticed, but one of the doctors would inject the aforementioned drugs into my IV line. When I didn’t go out quickly, they would hold one of those masks over my mouth and nose. The kind with the bubbly balloon-type of thing attached to it. They then would squeeze the thing intermittently, while telling you to breathe deeply. Soon, I’d be out.This is when the fun begins. In my case, they started my treatment by using unilateral ECT. This means they only hold the device that will surge — or charge — your brain to one side of your head.They will also charge you with a specific amount of “juice.” The more the juice, the higher the intensity — or potency — the higher the effect. I started off on the low-to-medium amount. As you are charged, you will seize, supposedly just mildly in one of your lower legs. You’re out, so you’re unaware that this ever happened.You will wake up in the recovery room, maybe a little groggy and nauseous. Then, you’ll likely ask the nurse when the treatment is going to start. At least that’s what I did. “Oh, David, dear, you’ve just finished the treatment and are in recovery now.” I would be shocked. The first time, I told them that nothing had happened, and that if it, did, I demanded to see the video. Laughing, but somewhat offended at my steadfastness that nothing had occurred, the nurse explained to me that the treatments were not recorded, and I just wouldn’t remember them because I was out cold.I felt nothing, save for a wee bit of nausea and a tad of a headache. So, they would offer me a variety of juices and a Zofran for my mild nausea and a Tylenol for my slight headache. But, other than that, there’s no real after-effects or pain. No tingling in my brain as I had expected. Nothing. I really thought that nothing happened, and I had been duped.I was told it would take a few treatments to notice any positive effects. But it never did. By the tenth treatment, they decided to go bilateral (meaning they will place the surging devices on both sides of my head) and give me full juice. Still nothing.After the twenty-first treatment, I violently tried to escape the floor of the hospital that I was locked on. Apparently, I assaulted two cleaning workers and it took more than five other workers, including a former wrestler, to subdue me, so that they could finally inject me with a sedative. I also pulled one of the the fire alarms. I have absolutely no memory of any of this.The next day, I was told that they were immediately stopping my ECT treatments. They were certain that it was the switch to bilateral, and the amping up to full juice, which caused my violence.Needless to say, I received zero benefit from my ECT treatments.To the contrary, I have suffered immensely since them.Throughout the nearly four years since, up until today, I am far more depressed. I have since been diagnosed as Bipolar. I have terrible headaches. Pounding ones. And they never go away. I’ve been placed on multiple medications. None have helped.Even worse, my short-term memory is shot. Long gone. I can’t remember what my last meal was thirty minutes after I ate it. A television or a movie? Forget about it. I can’t remember the beginning by the end. You can ask me what the plot was five minutes after the show ended, and I’ll stare at you blindly. The only shows I can watch are news-like documentaries, such as Dateline and forty eight hours. They run linearly and have no plot, so they’re a bit easier to follow. I still struggle, but I can make it through (most of) the episodes, though, again, I literally cannot remember them fifteen minutes after they end.There are additional after-effects, such as tiredness and lethargy, but the headaches and short-term memory loss are by far the worst.Please understand that this is only my experience with ECT. I obviously don’t recommend it. Many others will. Many have had great success with ECT and will even claim it saved their life. Consider their opinions too. It’s just like medications. Works for some, not for others, many of whom end up suffering from harmful side effects.Talk to your own doctors and other mental health professionals. Do as much research on ECT as you can. Then make an informed decision. Just don’t rush it.I’ve tried to give you a pretty good description of what ECT is all about, before, during and after. If you still have any questions, please feel free to send me a private message.Whatever you decide to do, I sincerely hope things work out for you. It’s a difficult journey either way you go. Good luck to you.