Is ECT less risky than antidepressants?

i get my antidepressant prescriptions from a nurse practitioner, she said ECT is actually less risky than drugs despite its reputation, can anyone verify this?

wow i didn't know it could put me in a comma, thats even worse than a question mark.

good god no...ect can kill you..put you in a comma...cause permant memory loss..cause complete short term memory loss

would you stick you finger in a plug socket...

my doc wanted me to do it and after reading the material i was horrified...just google it. wow...

personally, i would rather go with antidepressants any day, because the thought of any electric current going through my body would scare the daylights out of me. i have read alot about ECT and it seems so...last resort. oftentimes it is a last resort - when antidepressants and therapy dont work, ECT is offered. personally, i would try meds first. especially a med from the class of SSRIs, something like prozac, zoloft, or celexa. SSRIs actually have low side effects, i think one of the most major side effects being a feeling of being awake (so take it first thing in the morning), decreased appetite, anxiety/nervousness (which comes with the feeling of being awake, almost like drinking coffee), and trouble sleeping (but only if you take it too late in the day, i think). so i would save ECT for later and try meds first.

ECT treatment's can be life-saving for people who have not responded well to medication or are so deeply depressed that ECT is recommended as a faster type acting therapy than medications which can take weeks to respond. There are risks associated with any treatment. ECT induces a seizure within a controlled environment, with treatments intially given 1-3 times a week for up to 12-15 treatments typically. There are some mild side effects imediately following such as a headache or muscle aches. The other side effect that can be more prominent is memory loss. My dad was treated with ECT because he was so severely depressed and paranoid that medications were too slow in helpin him. The ECT worked really well, althought he complained for months following that it ruined his memory.