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Read other letters about this article
A close friend of mine was given ECT and did experience the full horror story. She lost portions of her memory (there are still several months that are foggy for her) and on one occasion received burns from poorly placed electrodes. So my immediate reaction is to argue against this treatment.
However my friend had also not been given a formal diagnosis (she is now believed to be bipolar) and was on the receiving end of the "mud on the wall" theory of medicine. Her story may say more about the poor treatment of mental health problems on the NHS (I'm in the UK).
In general I think that it's a treatment that should be considered, but only when other treatments aren't going to be effective, as in this case.
I hope the author's son has as good a recovery as possible. This must have been a horribly traumatic experience, I can't imagine how bad.
