TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)

I just wanted to give an informative post for anyone interested. I just underwent TMS for my depression symptoms. It is bizarre how much relief it has given me! I've struggled my whole life with depression, feeling like life is pointless, suicidal thoughts, etc. I've had 18 ECT treatments that didn't really help at all and that were terrifying to me. I lost a whole year of memories (which I expected), but the biggest impact is on my short term memory which is still crap 5 years later. I do believe for many people ECT saves lives so I'm not arguing against it or anything. That's just my own experience with it.

During TMS, you basically sit in a chair while a machine taps you on the head and sends a very fine tuned magnetic pulse into your right prefrontal cortex. The magnetic part is similar to an MRI and you wear earplugs and no metal above the chest area. There is no shock, seizure or electrical current like ECT. There is no sedation at all and it lasts 37 minutes. I watched TV the whole time and they actually made me stay awake for whatever reason. They measured me for 2 1/2 hours before I started the treatments, finding my motor threshold, etc. so that they aimed it at just the right spot. It is painless for most people after the first week although I was unusually sensitive and it hurt the whole 6 weeks. That is rare though and the fact that I was sensitive to it meant that I improved at a much faster pace. I can tolerate anything for 37 minutes

So after the first week or two I noticed little things like wanting to open up the blinds and windows, wanting to go out of the house, etc. I was surprised when I realized I didn't have those thoughts of being worthless or hopeless anymore. I looked forward to things and wanted to do things and be with people. Most people get a real spike in energy too and I kind of have, but it's complicated due to the crap-load of meds I have to take to control the psychotic and bipolar aspects of my disorder. I still feel great 2 weeks later. Many people don't notice much of a change until about the 4th or 5th week and then it's a dramatic change.

It's expensive if insurance doesn't cover it (it's a pretty new technology), but coverage kind of depends on what state you live in. Frankly, I paid cash because I felt so desperate for SOMETHING to help. I encourage anyone who 's depression isn't being helped by any medication or combo of meds to check it out. It feels like a miracle to me

If anyone wants more info, go to neurostar.com or Duke University's website. Or just message me for my personal thoughts or experience.

TMS is great when it works. I had two courses of it but nothing changed.

I am so happy to read your post. I am going in for my intake for TMS on Wednesday and I'm hoping that this works.

Hopefully I will be able to post much like yours about the success.

Thank you for posting this!

Hello, icinggurl. Good to hear the procedure worked for you.

I am so glad it worked for you.

I did TMS for six weeks and it did nothing for me. They only spent about 15 minutes finding my motor threshold so I am surprised to hear they took 2.5 hours to find yours. Also the machine kept coming out of alignment and not tight against my head. So now I am questioning how it was administered.

It is very non invasive. I got a head ache during treatment and the tapping is kind of annoying but nothing horrible. If I remembered to take aspirin before hand I did not get a headache.

I have heard that it works better for people who have long periods of depression and not for people like me who have very cyclical depression.

Even though it didn't work for me I am interested in seeing how effective it is over all and i am very glad it worked for you.

Thank you much for posting your experiences both of ECT and TMS! I hope you experience continued improvement.

That's horrible! Sounds like it wasn't fine tuned at all. I would always start to get a migraine during the treatment, but it quickly dissipated most of the time after about 10min. Technically, I have schizoaffective or bipolar with psychosis (depending on who you ask), but my depression symptoms have been non stop for about 3 decades. The treatment did aggravate my TMS, but I have a bite guard that I wore and it's getting better after I finished. I would grit my teeth during the procedure no matter how hard I tried not to.

I was also in an intensive outpatient program at the same time and I think both of those things combined gave me the optimal results. I'm so sorry it didn't work for you. Maybe try another doc?

This was a one time shot out of desperation that actually my brother paid big bucks for. The only doc in Northern Michigan doing it. He actually went on vacation one week and had a real estate agent who was trained on the machine do it for that week. The more I am thinking about it the more angry i am getting at the level of service I got for all that money my brother paid. I do not know if they were hitting the exact right spot or not. I really don't think it would have worked for me either way.....who knows.

I am back to my regular pdoc who I love. I have very treatment resistant cyclical depression and meds have never worked so great. But now I am on Fetzima and it is working like a miracle. I really can't believe it is working so good after 20 years of meds not working so good. We were running out of options and I was running out of hope. It would be ECT or live with the cycles next. I guess there are one or two other meds I haven't tried.

I need to revise my post about TMS. My doctor tried to decrease my meds and that black cloud slammed down on me. Doc told me to go back to my usual dose. I'm scared now because if this doesn't work, what else on earth is left for me to try?

Another update on how TMS is working - basically it's worn off. My depression score jumped from 2 to 15. I feel like my illness is completely hopeless. Doc has me starting maintenance TMS. She said since it helped last time, it's still an effective treatment for me. She's just going to up the strength.

Just wanted to update because I don't want anyone thinking this is a great thing for everybody. It works for patients most of the time, but not a 100% of the time. I'd really like a brain transplant

Thank you all for your posts. All are very helpful. I saw a pdoc who does TMS on Monday. He said it has only been approved/tested for people who have tried only one antidepressant that had not been effective. Has anybody else heard this? I am leaning toward "why bother" since I have been on more than 25 different antidepressants and multiple courses of E C T (also with severe short and long term memory and concentration consequences). Also, can anyone share what your cost would be? He quoted about $11,000+.

That's weird because one of the reasons my doc promotes TMS is because taking a bunch of different antidepressants over a lifetime tends to reduce the overall effectiveness of them. I think after the 3rd med change, the chance they will be effective is about 3% of the time. I've probably been on over a dozen myself, so I can't imagine how poorly they must work by now. Actually, I can imagine because I'm still in this non-stop hell! I can't even remember all the different meds I've tried and that's not even including the mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, etc.

My TMS was $9000, but I was told that was a bargain. My doc has the only machine in the Kansas City area, which is where I live. I know insurance covers some of it depending on which one you have and what state it's from. Blue Cross/Shield Illinois covered mine. I'm just lucky my husband is in Teamsters cuz they have amazing benefits.

I understand that "what's the point?" kind of thinking. I feel hopeless about it. It's probably another symptom of depression too.

The website I was referred to for more info is neurostar.com. Also there have been some good research done at John Hopkin's (I think that's the place) so you could also check there.

This doesn't seem to be true for me. I have taken just about all of them over the last twenty years but my most recent one, Fetzima, has worked better than any other ever. Maybe it is statistically true but I had not heard that before.

My TMS was $9000, but that was a bargain. I have a rare kind of psych who sincerely tries to help us and takes a whole person kind of approach. She reduces her fees to accomplish that. Before I started TMS she showed me some literature that talked about patients who had been on multiple antidepressants and how that gradually decreases their effectiveness. This was I've prob taken more than a dozen different antidepressant

I hade TMS therapy earlier this year in May. I am feeling less depressed, but I don't think its worth the side effects. There aren't long term studies yet on all of the side effects for everyone. One thing that I noticed was neck pain after a few weeks. Then a month later, I experienced stabbing pain in my left arm/back. My therapist said it was probably just a "pinched nerve" and gave me a few neurologists numbers. I've never felt worse pain before this procedure though. Which makes me believe this damage is due to my treatment. Now, it's November and I have nerve damage to both shoulders, my left arm and back. After an MRI and various X-rays I have been given no conclusive information what is causing my pain. They initially thought it was a bulging disc pushing on a nerve in my neck, but a spine surgeon has determined that is not the case. I have more tests (EMG) to go through later this month. I can only warn others. I wouldn't say this is worth the long term pain. Sure, maybe I'm wrong, but neck pain is one of the "rare" side effects. I bet it's more common than we think. I only see testimonies online. I see no bad press about this treatment and that worries me. Also, be careful who you go to. I went to a place that had never used a TMS machine before. I was their first victim. The technician even said "I don't know what I'm doing." Comforting right? Maybe that's why I'm in such great pain now.

I’m new to the forum and glad to finally have found it. I’m considering TMS and expecting to be scheduled next week for mapping. Last night I dreamed my psychological state turned for the worse after procedure. Like many of you, I’ve had depression for at least 30 years and have taken too many medications to list or remember. It seems many of the post of procedure are negative although I’ve read some positive ones too. I’m just still anxious about it but feel I’ve no options left. I just want a better quality of life. Any input would be appreciated.

I will be starting TMS most likely by the end of this week. My insurance now covers it at 100%, where just a year ago it was not covered. I figure I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Glad to hear it worked for some and sorry it didn't work for others.