[ChangingMyMind]

Hi All,

I started TMS and wanted to track my progress here, in case anybody else was thinking about doing it.

I have had depression since 2003 but recently had to go off the only antidepressant that worked for me: Celexa. After 11 years on it, I had started to have additional side effects that I could no longer tolerate. After going off Celexa, I tried to stay without medicine but the depression was too great. So, we tried a total of 8 other antidepressants but they all had more side effects than Celexa or they caused allergic reactions.

So I was left with little options. I tried therapy, acupuncture, healthy diet, yoga, meditation, exercise, herbals, and other supplements. Nothing worked besides medicine/supplements but the side effects were too great.

So TMS was presented to me and I did my research. It sounded like the best option for me because medicine did work for my mood but I just could not tolerate the side effects. TMS has a possibility of 2 side effects, headache or seizure and seizure is a .1% chance, so it sounded like a great option.

Yesterday was my consult and the doctors agreed I was a great candidate for TMS, so I started treatment today.

The treatment was easy, very easy. They found the spot to place the magnet within what felt like 15-20 minutes. Then they set me up and did the 38 minute treatment. The feeling was weird, not painful just different. I did start to get used to it towards the end of the session. I thought I would have a huge headache afterwards but I didn't, no headache, no pain, no seizure, nothing.

I will be going in every day until September 2nd. I plan to post my progress here weekly so others can see the process/benefit in case you're curious about doing it yourself.

I will note this is not cheap! I got extremely lucky because my insurance company is covering the cost at 100%. Granted I have already met my deductible/co-insurance, so that is why it's 100% but it's actually rare for insurance to cover TMS at all right now. Although I have heard insurance will reimburse if you pay up front. Also I have heard that Medicare does cover TMS, I am not sure at what percentage, obviously you would want to check with your insurance and the clinic doing the procedure.

[bluekoi]

ChangingMyMind, Thanks for sharing! Please keep us informed as to how the TMS treatments work for you. I sincerely hope they help you.

[jenniy122]

So jealous of you right now! I want tms, my insurance even covers it, but only for unipolar depression. The fact that I haven't had a manic episode in 6 years and have been depressed that entire time won't sway them. I hope you've found your solution to the awful depression! Keep us updated!

[ChangingMyMind]

Originally Posted by jenniy122

So jealous of you right now! I want tms, my insurance even covers it, but only for unipolar depression. The fact that I haven't had a manic episode in 6 years and have been depressed that entire time won't sway them. I hope you've found your solution to the awful depression! Keep us updated!

Jenniy122,

I am so sorry to hear that you can not go through TMS! I think it would be amazing if a bipolar dx could be included. Especially in your case since you've not had a manic episode in years.

My mother is bipolar so when I heard about TMS I was hoping it could be a solution for her but ran into the same problem.

I have heard there is an ECT option for bipolar, is that a possibility for you?

I know it's not ideal, with the possible side effects but it's better than being depressed. If TMS doesn't work for me then I'll be trying ETC... Although I hope it doesn't come to that.

[ChangingMyMind]

Wow, it's day three and I already feel better. I have had some side effects while in treatment. I have facial twitching, headache (but only during treatment), slight jaw tension, pain in neck. All very minimal. The biggest issue I have is pain in the back but I can't say it's because of the TMS. I am not sure what it is exactly. I'm thinking my GI issues may be clearing up a bit, causing pain.

I have not been able to move all the way up to full magnet strength yet. Full is 120 and I'm currently at 105, but were trying to work up to 120, gradually. I am very very sensitive.

It's not as easy as I thought it would be but it is much better than any antidepressant I've ever struggled through. Tomorrow it's the last day of this week and I get two days off, which is well welcomed! And I'll be one day closer to finishing. 😊 One day at a time.

[Forever hopeful]

Hey happy to see you found something that is working will be interesting to see how you progress . Glad you are sharing your experience here

[ChangingMyMind]

Start of 2nd week today.

Well the thought of no side effects was a beautiful one but it's not exactly the case for me! I have been having quite a bit of pain in my body both on the left side (arm/shoulder/neck/chest) and as of today on the right side (arm/back). In addition, I have experienced mild feelings of being "out of it" not that I've lost my memory or feel cognitively impaired, just "out of it" and only mildly. I feel lightheaded so that could attribute to that feeling. However, I will not be deterred! These side effects are NOTHING in comparison to what I have experienced in the past with antidepressants and I can not necessarily attribute them all to TMS. It's possible my depression is lifting and I am now more aware of my pains, not sure. Either way, I am pushing through, this is not enough to stop me now.

On the positive side I started to feel less depressed after 3 treatments and that is only getting better. Today I was singing and dancing at home to a music video and I have not had many crying spells. So I really do think this is working. I am not 100% for sure but hey I'm only in week 2!

I'll update again next week, unless anybody has any questions.

[ChangingMyMind]

So today we moved the magnet up .5 cm closer to my forehead because my arm was moving at 120% in the previous position. Well that made me twitch even at 100% so we moved it an additional .5 cm, so 1 cm total and that was much better, got to 120% without any twitching and I didn't have any additional pain. So maybe this is the spot. I am hoping my pain will go away now! If not we'll be doing another MT hunt to reposition the chair and everything else.

[ChangingMyMind]

Today I had my 2 week progress report and it was good. Based on my self evaluation I am nearly in remission. The doctor evaluation was less optimistic but that's likely because I'm having a lot of pain due to other issues. So if the pain scale wasnt a factor then I'd likely be close to remission on both, in just 2 weeks. I am hopeful the trend will continue! Although my TMJ is acting up quite a bit with the treatment, I'll have to suffer through it for my MH!

Only 4 more weeks, 1/3 of the way done, 19 treatments left! Can you tell I'm looking forward to the end?

[jjm51]

hi-

i just came back from my 2nd deep tms treatment. i used a mouth-guard today and it made a world-of-difference. just a suggestion; maybe it could help with your tmj?

glad you are feeling better. i am too.

fingers crossed for all of us...

[ChangingMyMind]

John,

Not a bad idea but the TMS pulses actually activate my muscles inside so a mouth guard wouldn't help. My teeth do not actually move. 😟 I don't know if my jaw can take it since it's getting pretty bad now. Waiting to hear back from my primary care doc to see if I can take muscle relaxers or something else to help with the vertigo that the TMJ causes. Other than that I'm doing great with treatment. 😊

[jjm51]

Originally Posted by ChangingMyMind

John,

Not a bad idea but the TMS pulses actually activate my muscles inside so a mouth guard wouldn't help. My teeth do not actually move. 😟 I don't know if my jaw can take it since it's getting pretty bad now. Waiting to hear back from my primary care doc to see if I can take muscle relaxers or something else to help with the vertigo that the TMJ causes. Other than that I'm doing great with treatment. 😊

got it.

yeah, i think the klonopin i am on actually makes things a bit more bearable for me for example. though i want off that crap. lol

good idea to talk with your doc about some options for relief.

hang-in there.

continued good luck.

john

[ChangingMyMind]

TMS and TMJ are not a good mix! Was nauseous during treatment today but I got through it. Still have pain in my head during treatment but it always goes away when I'm done. I just sit and wait for 38 minutes to pass on Mythbusters. Then I'm out of the chair looking forward to the weekend with even more desire than ever before. Gives new meaning to the saying "it's Friday!!"

Not to be a downer about it, I feel so much better and this is my personal experience and doubt many others will have similar issues, unless you also have previous TMJ issues.

2 more days of week 3!

[ChangingMyMind]

So I've been feeling pretty good mood wise for at least a week or 2 but yesterday crying spells and sadness hit. I am feeling the same way today. I am not sure why it's happening but it could very well be that my time of the month is coming. I hope that is all it is and the TMS is not failing me.

I also wonder if I should be doing more than the TMS, like therapy. I am no longer in therapy since I don't have time with the TMS schedule and work. I also wonder if my TMS team was supposed to give me some sort of instructions regarding this and other things like exercising and eating right.

They did not give me any information. I don't even know how long my treatment will be with tapering. All I know is I am setup for a 6 week full schedule and nothing after.

If you are starting or have done TMS, what information did you get when starting TMS?

[TheWell]

I have six appointments scheduled, two a week, for the three weeks after the six weeks is over. Those are my tapering appointments.

I've been pretty sad all weekend but I had only completed five TMS appointments at that point. Still sad today. They didn't say anything about therapy but I'm in group therapy and individual therapy.

[ChangingMyMind]

After TMS today and having a fully numb head I decided it was time to do the MT hunt again because the position I am sitting in is just not comfortable my head is not resting in the head rest it's on the neck rest and my neck is in the air. I only realized this by moving my hand under there while in session.

So MT hunt Monday because the pain and numbness is too much to bare any more even just for 2 more weeks.

Hopefully this will do the trick and the head pain and more importantly the numbness will go away!

On a positive note, I felt normal pretty much all day. I went to a movie and laughed a lot really enjoyed myself. Had more energy and didn't once feel depressed. I am tired now but its 11:40pm and I'm typically in bed no later than 10:30 so that sounds about right.

[ChangingMyMind]

Woke up feeling the same way I did yesterday - great! I actually have interest in doing things again. I want to go workout (which is something I used to do everyday before depression hit). I am excited for my cousins upcoming wedding, which I was going to skip because of the depression. I could really get used to this. I still have 11 sessions of TMS left, not sure that I need them, will see what doc says but for now they are scheduled and I plan on doing them.

[ChangingMyMind]

I'm frusterated right now. I'm in week 5 and I still have pain in my body and depression still sneaks in sometimes. Don't get me wrong I'm much better than I was before I started. I can actually function now. But I still get tired easy and have the pain. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon? I still have 2 full weeks left.

Another reason I'm upset is because I want to adjust my head rest since I have this pain in my neck and back and because my head goes numb during treatment. But it seems like the doctor doesn't want to do it. I have asked to talk to the doctor three different times and he's never available for me, he's too busy with other patients.

Thing is this is the only in network TMS place in the area so I have to deal with it... Just wish I could get some support. 😔

[TheWell]

If they move the headrest they have to remap your brain. Might be why they don't want to move it.

[ChangingMyMind]

So they did another MT hunt today and I did treatment after and it was so much easier. I had no neck or head pain and my head was not numb at all. Such a big difference and the doctor was very nice about it. What a relief now I can complete treatment without dreading every moment. Also if I need to do additional weeks I can absolutely do that without issue.

[ChangingMyMind]

Originally Posted by TheWell

If they move the headrest they have to remap your brain. Might be why they don't want to move it.

Well they did have to remap the device because the headrest moved but mostly I moved. Its so much better now. It's great. My doctor had no problem doing the MT hunt it was just that he had a busy schedule, I had to wait about 45 min for the doctor after arriving but it was worth it!

[bluekoi]

ChangingMyMind, That's excellent!

[ChangingMyMind]

So today wasnt as good, head went numb again. Guess I'm just sensitive to the pulses. My mood is down as well but it's weird. I'm having crying spells but feel apathetic, definitely not where I thought I'd be in week 5. Also had pain in back and neck and cognitive impairment today, much like I did when I first started TMS. It went away last time, hopefully it does this time as well. I think I am just really sensitive. Not very hopeful now that I'm near 6 weeks and feel pretty much empty and sad that I might not get the relief I was hopeful for. Not sure what to do now. I noticed today the crying spells didn't start until after treatment.

Sigh.

[TheWell]

Sorry to hear that

[ChangingMyMind]

So I'm still going to TMS but not much improvement. I am in pain everyday. Back pain that started up with TMS. I still have crying spells and feel tired and lightheaded most of the time. Had extremely disturbed sleep last night like something was off but wasn't sure what. Ugh, doc pretty much keeps encuraging me telling me I've seen improvement so each time should help me get better but I haven't seen it yet. I do my assessment with him tomorrow if he has time and I'm sure it will show I'm depressed still, I know I am. At that point I wonder if he will still encourage me... Probably so... They are getting their 10k after all.

A few weird things to mention. My vision has been weird. First my right eye was completely blurry for about 15 min on Friday, then sometimes when I look at something with multiple shades my vision vibrates... Hard to explain. Also having vibrating sensation in my body, like internally. Really weird. Anyway.

How I long to be rid of this disease. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I can only hope that I find solace soon.

To all my friends on here struggling. I wish you only the best and have hope we all find that piece of paradise were looking for. It's funny how "normal" is my paradise, but these are my cards and I'm trying to keep a straight face even though I have a crap hand.

Sigh.

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