Hi all, I just wanted to reach out to let you know we’ve just passed 10,544 signatures on our petition! Thank you so much for your support! 

My triumphant video (with personal update) can be seen here. (Transcript below.)

We've made it to TEN THOUSAND signatures! More than 90% of the people who view our petition, sign it! Sharing our petition is one of the most important ways you can help us get help for other people and prevent harm. More than 4 thousand of those signatures came after I published an article with "Mad in America" discussing the lack of oversight in American shock treatment. And the controversy surrounding the reimbursements and the level of negligence in providing appropriate oversight.

Today our  petition was highlighted in MedScape. MedScape! That is so exciting that people are beginning to take our concerns more seriously. I'll put the link for that article in the description. Just to give you an update on me. I have my notes *Laughs.* Um. I began neuro optemetric rehabilitation. They completed an assessment which identified multiple problems with my eyes and visual processing as a result of ECT. I'd never been tested for any of that in the decade since ECT. And so it's been very exciting to participate in the rehabilitation for that. Hopefully we can improve my visual processing and the problems that I'm having with my sight.

Let's see... We're also looking into the research on how electrical energy with a "high field strength" can cause what's called "Channelopathies" or "Acquired Channelopathies" because it alters how your body processes voltage-gated ion channels (which are your electrolytes--how your muscles use your electrolytes) so my doctor has been researching that. And we feel that I have acquired channelopathies because of ECT. So we're looking into how to best address that. I just wanted to do a little comment for the people who have had ECT and feel that it has helped them. I am not here to criticize you or to belittle the experience that you had. I have no doubt you feel it did help you. Please understand that this is a treatment which has more than seven variables in its administration so we could be comparing something with the equivalent of your experience like a Mercedes Class 5 awesome 2020 car with my experience which would be the equivalent of a 1967 Ford Pinto. So we're not discussing the same treatment. So that's why this petition is so important because we're highlighting the fact that the treatment has never had safety studies to establish how to safely administer it with the dosing. So not all shock treatment is created equal. This petition is designed to highlight the need to standardize, audit, regulate those standards of administration and provide baseline testing for people before treatment--even as simple as a fMRI (if the person is unable to complete neuropsych testing beforehand), an fMRI and EEG and whatever testing is possible before and then using appropriate measures to assess for brain injury afterwards. Currently they're using the MMSE or the MoCA which can be passed by people who've had lobotomies *laughs* so it's not really an effective measure of whether or not someone has a brain injury after ECT. Anyway... um...I just want you to understand that this is a procedure which uses up to 450 volts of electricity, 1200 millicoulombs of electricity, and 900 milliamps of electricity. That's a LOT of charge and electricity! Yes, it is a millisecond or a couple seconds depending on the variables they use, but again those variables are not standardized. They're not regulated and that's why you will see people like Kitty Dukakis who is still able to speak clearly and who believes ECT saved her life, and then you'll also meet people like me who feel ECT has destroyed their life. You can prevent this by signing our petition and helping us get the appropriate support that we need after we've been injured and also prevent injury from happening to others. Because we deserve to be fully informed of the treatment risks. We deserve to know that this treatment has never been safety tested and has never had any kind of dosing or *studdering* administration standards established universally. Thank you so much for helping us get the word out there. We need your help so bad! There are so many people that are in my situation. I am acting like the voice for many who do not have the strength or wherewithal to be able to organize these things with the significant brain injury. Thank you so much for your help. I hope you have a fantastic day. Please share our petition with others! Bye!

Will you help me to get more support by sharing this petition with ten other people? If enough of us sign we can’t be ignored! Here’s a link to share https://www.change.org/p/standardize-regulate-audit-shock-treatments-electroconvulsive-therapy-or-ect