TMS Trials

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Days 25 to 36 of TMS

Day 25 Today I was struggling to eat before treatment. My tech had been speaking with others and doing research to make sure it would be safe for me to skip eating or eat less before treatment. It was comforting to know I didn't have to force myself to eat. Day 26 Today treatment went very smoothly today. We have a nice routine going. I usually come early, heat up my pop tart and eat it while we go through daily questions, then get in the chair and adjust myself. After that we put my favorite show on the TV and do high frequency [20 minutes] and low frequency [8 minutes] of treatment. Before we start there is always a test pulse which calibrates the machine. Day 27 I did a MT check today, which is usual. They happen about once a week and there are fast or long ones on the neurostar machine. When it comes to the motor threshold you do have to report your daily meds & any med changes. However, only a small group of meds change your MT. ...

Comparing TMS Machines

An Introduction Apollo : The Apollo TMS therapy system is developed and manufactured in Germany by Mag& More, a TMS specialist with more than 15 years of experience. Apollo is designed to make TMS therapy easy and intuitive to use for the operator. In May 2018, Apollo received FDA clearance for the 37.5 and 19 minutes treatment of Major Depressive Disorder [MDD] in adult patients who have failed to receive satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode. Bransway Deep : In January 2013, the FDA approved Deep TMS therapy developed by BrainsWay. Deep TMS therapy penetrates a deeper and boarder area of the brain than traditional TMS treatment. It treats adult patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement through various antidepressant medication treatments. In August of 2018, BrainsWay became the only TMS provider FDA-cleared for treatment of OCD using Deep TMS therapy. It...

Days 20 to 24 of TMS

Day 20 Today I got up to 110% which was really good, and my hand movements were almost nonexistent! We started on a slightly lower power setting and slowly worked up to 120% power, which is where I was the week before last. I was talking to my TMS tech about training and found out some pretty cool things! We filled up more PHQ 9 & GAD 7 forms today to track my depression and anxiety and its definitely getting better. My depression went from 24 [severe] to 18 [moderately severe] to 13 [moderate] in 20 days. My anxiety went from 20 [severe] to 10 [moderate] to 12 [moderate] in 20 days! If you're worried about safety when it comes to TMS, this may comfort you: TMS technicians [who see with patients during every treatment] must be certified in CPR and basic life support. They know what to do in case of a seizure, they can operate a defibrillator, give CPR, and deal with other life threatening emergencies and serious side effects of TMS. Also my tech told me if you are nervous abou...

Days 16 to 19 of TMS

Monday I was very sick over the weekend, and contacted the TMS center to see if I should come in. Having a cold or flu shouldn't impact treatment, but to make sure I don't spread it they asked me not to come in. Day 16 I have been on full power for a while, but today I was having a lot of hand movements on our normal power setting. I thought it was from the break, but this didn't happen before and the issues continued during the week so we think it may be due to increased inflammation from my health conditions and/or temporary illness. My tech was great and very patient. We tried lowering the power multiple times, then did an MT check, and contacted my provider to see what's the appropriate power. We ended up lowering our power from 120% to 70% just so I could do treatment and it was much better. Day 17 Today I continued to have hand movements, but I did not feel as sensitive to the train as I did yesterday. We slowly raised my power and carefully watched fo...

What is Treatment Resistant Depression?

First you need to be diagnosed with depression and have the symptoms of any kind of depression. If you tried treatment for your depression but symptoms never improved, you may have treatment-resistant depression. Taking an antidepressant or going to psychological counseling helps reduce symptoms for mamy people. But with treatment-resistant depression, standard treatments aren't enough. They may not help much at all, or may improve your symptoms, only for them to keep coming back. This shouldn't be confused with persistent depression, which requires you have had depression for at least two years [in a single span of time]. While many people with treatment resistant depression do have chronic or persistent depression, it typically isn't their main diagnosis. My personal experience is that medication does not help, from anxiety to depression to insomnia meds, and I've been in therapy for 6 years but it certainly hasnt relieved my symptoms to the point I...

Comparing the Two Main Treatment Options for Treatment Resistant Depression [TMS & Ketamine]

Time Commitment Ketamine infusions work very quickly — often within hours — to ease depressive symptoms. The relief from Ketamine, in 99% of cases, will be felt more quickly than TMS. TMS fast and safe for adolescents For the average patient, ketamine infusion therapy consists of a series of six infusions spaced out over the course of two or three weeks, so the time frame is could be 2 weeks or almost the same This initial treatment is followed by a long-term maintenance phase that includes occasional booster infusions as needed. While TMS also has a maintenance phase it is not standard to do a maintenance dose for every TMS patient. Once a patient reaches the maintenance phase, it is quite varied how often they will need these “booster” infusions. Some patients prefer to get 1 or 2 infusions per month in order to proactively prevent the resurgence of their depression. Others come back for their booster infusions 3 or 4 months after the completion of their initial 6-12 infu...