Shock Therapy for OCD

OCD is a difficult disorder to treat. The disorder is associated with distressing obtrusive thoughts, which so far have only been partially controlled with drug therapy. Well, there is something new now. Shock therapy, similar to one that is used to treat depression is now being used to treat certain patients with OCD. However, there is one major difference between the device that is used to treat depression. The latest devices made by Cyberonics and Medtronic’s are the size of a small pacemaker that is implanted in the body. The pacemaker does not cause seizures but delivers stimulation to certain nerves that relieves the disturbing thoughts. The first Medtronic’s Reclaim Deep Brain Stimulator has just been approved for use on people with chronic OCD.

Even though there are millions of people who suffer from OCD, this device is only available for individuals with severe OCD who have failed drug therapy. At present, the Medtronic’s device is set to be inserted in less than 4,000 individuals per year.

However, the question is does this device work? Well, from the limited clinical studies, the device has relieved obtrusive thoughts in some individuals but patients still need to continue to take their medications.

Reclaim is not a cure for OCD but just another modality of treatment that is more invasive. 

For the consumer, it is important to understand that this procedure requires surgery, which is not only prohibitively expensive but also associated with serious complications. Similar devices used to treat Parkinson disease but the results have been mediocre at best. 

It seems that whenever medical therapy fails to treat patients with mental disorders, someone always comes up with a surgical treatment. Do not be a sucker and fall for this BS. Read about the device and talk to people who have had the procedure done. After all medicine is big business and patient welfare is not always a priority.