Margaret,

Thank you for sharing your expereince. You honesty is greatly appreciated.

Take care,
la reina

As always, I have to agree with Lynne. The "daily board" helps both the staff and the patient.

As a former patient, the "daily board" has helped me try to gain more awareness of my surroundings. When reality and mood are uncontrolled... the simple things can help you try to hang on.

Thanks Lynne for stepping in on the "crazy" label.

You are very right. If someone is going to use this label on me (as a mentally ill person), they need to have earned that right by their awareness of what I deal with every minute of my life. This is a person who is respectful, supportive, and accepting. They are also individuals who "get it" by knowing that they never truly will fully "get" the personal mental illness experience.

Thanks again Lynne,
From a Random "CRAZY" Person Living in the Age of Deinstitutionalization

P.S.
As an individual that has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals over the past decade... please know that the majority of staff members are individuals who are trying the best they can to help the patient in a difficult situation.

I was on Thorazine for around a year after Haldol was not effective.

I developed tardive diskonesia (parkonsonian-type disorder) with tics and movement issues. After discontinuing the medication and usage of cogentin and Vitamin E, the symptoms lessened. I still have a few tics, but they are not as noticable.

Thorazine is a strong drug, but unfortunately you sometimes have to play the odds. Fortunately, newer drugs are available. Of course they are horribly expensive. My prescription of Seroquel is around $1300 a month.

I am not sure if the mouth gags in question were used in conjunction with ECT or not. Nontheless, I can attempt to clear some misconceptions/questions about ECT.

I went through 13 treatments of bi-lateratal ECT in late summer of 2004. Therefore, it is definately still utilized, but it is not as commonplace as it has been in the past.

My memory was severely impared. (I actually drove to another state and woke up in a hospital with no clue as to how I arrived there.) I lost most of the previous year's memory and did have to change how I learned material. In example, I am in graduate school and I had to utilize a variety of new methods to learn new coursework.

ECT is utilized when other options have been exhausted. I live with BiPolar Disorder, Psychosis, and OCD. And in 2004, I was in a major depressive/quasi-catatonic state that was medication resistant. ECT was the only option that had a possilbity of helping.

Unfortunately for me, the treatment did not have the hoped results. But, it was a matter a despiration. (as Dr. Sketch discussed)

Not sure if this helps... But I wanted to share some possible insight.

Take care........................ ~la reina~

About ECT...

I recieved 13 treatments of bi-lateral ECT in 2004. It was utilized to treat a severe depressive episode within my severe BiPolar disorder. The main side-effect was severe amnesia that led to my dissapearance for short time. (In fact, I still do not remember any details about my dissapearance.)

Untimately, ECT was not beneficial for me. I also required extensive hospitalization afterwords due to the lack of symptom relief through ECT.

I hope this helps with the questions about ECT, please feel free to ask more questions.

This one touched me.

As someone who has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for the past decade, I recognized the expression of trying to find the light from the depths of darkness.

Thank you Mr. Motts.