Skip to main content

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 for hand movements. I was talking to my tech about how people get so freaked out when they hear there is a [very slight] risk of seizures, and found out Wellbutrin [antidepressant] has a higher rate of seizures than TMS therapy. Me and my tech chatted so time went by faster, and we finished with low frequency as usual. With the placement of low frequency, there is no risk of hand movements which is nice. 

Day 18
Today treatment went well. We continued to watch for hand movements and slowly increase the power. Our goal is to get me back to full power so TMS can be as effective [as quickly] as possible. Also today, while talking with my tech about the MT check and safety, I found out some interesting things! So if you did a full treatment but at the position of your motor cortex, it would significantly increase your risk of seizures. However, the MT check is safe because its a single pulse, which is much less stimulating. When the motor cortex is stimulated and the motor threshold is crossed you will have a hand movement. The goal of an MT check is to find your motor cortex and your motor threshold. This is also why techs watch out for hand movements during therapy. It may indicate the coil angle/placement is off and your motor cortex is being stimulated as well as the target area of treatment. 

Day 19
Today was a really good day. I had no hand movements at all and we continued to work up to full power again. Since my re-mapping where the tech got me a seat cushion [I have issues sitting up tall] positioning myself for treatment has been very easy. We had a slight issue, though, when the coil arm got locked and wouldn't move. My tech called multiple people to try and troubleshoot the issue, and reset the neurostar, but did not get anywhere. Due to this we had to cancel low frequency treatment. It shouldn't impact how I respond to high frequency treatment, which is good. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
1 comment
Read more

A Year of Remission

For my first full round of TMS therapy, I was approved for 32 days of TMS for anxiety [which also helps depression] and I noticed small mood changes my the end of the 7th treatment. Things like having less anxiety and racing thoughts, laughing more, slightly better sleep, less fatigue, and more motivation. By the end of the 14th day I noticed some moderate mood changes, like reaching less to hypotheticals I would normally have anxiety about, and things happening in my real life making me happy. It was also easier to cope with mood swings and difficult days. By my 21st day, I noticed a much bigger difference in my quality of sleep as well as in my mood. I had a clarity of mind I had never experienced, and everything felt light and calm, for once. Every day after that- my mood got significantly better once I finished each treatment. I would notice that it was like watching storm clouds clear away and seeing a sunny blue sky after a long storm. I had more plans for my future, everybody ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Days 11-15 of TMS Therapy

Day 11 Since I did not do treatment on Friday, this was my Day 11. I was a little restless during treatment, but fidgeting a little is fine as long as I do not move enough to loose coil contact. If you fidget a lot, moving your hands and legs is fine just do not move your neck/head too much since it could change the coil angle. I always bring my favorite fidget toy to treatment, and also some treatment centers have basic fidgets like stress balls you can use. This weekend I noticed more subtle changes from TMS its easier to stand up for myself and face my fears.  Day 12 Today I was very tired during treatment. I was curious if anybody ever managed to sleep during treatment and asked my TMS tech. Apparently there are no studies on how/if sleep impacts the TMS treatment so if you fall asleep they will wake you up, and if you are sleep deprived they will cancel treatment [for multiple reasons]. Due to this, if you consistently get less than 5 hours of sleep at night I would su...
Post a Comment
Read more