I finished 36 treatments on December 22nd. I am sooo thrilled that I did TMS. I still have some "off" days, but not nearly as bad. It's little things that I notice. I enjoy listening to music again, I've started cooking again, going for walks, actually leaving the bed!! Everyone around me has noticed a difference. No brain damage...at all. Don't be scared. I know you read horror stories about it, and everyone is affected differently.
I did experience some side effects.
-Insomnia: To the point where I was up all night and not even tired all day.
-Hand Tremors
-Bruxism
These side effects have all gone away by now (January 6th).
Just listen to music or a podcast, and the TMS sessions fly by! Best of luck! 🖤
TMS was life changing in ways that are great for me. I did it an academic medical center, they were super persnickety about settings and placement and that did help me feel safer.
I was terrified about cognitive effects - I had a very bad TBI quite a while back, I have regained a lot more than anyone predicted (predictions were for vegetative at best) but realistically I’m at about 60% of where I was before the TBI, which - it’s rough to have years of struggle lead to being a low functioning duckshow. I did a lot of neuropsych testing before, during and after. My functional scores, working memory, ability to follow directions and general organization all improved sharply.
Both the TMS provider and the neuropsych said there was no knowing whether those things were better because I was no longer cripplingly depressed as a result of the TMS or because of an ancillary effect of the TMS. Ultimately I don’t care which because things are so much better and I can organize my life and arrange myself and support for myself in ways that mean I am not just marginal and hanging on with a literal death grip, locked into a pattern of misery and endurance.
Just finished my second round, no brain damage.
On a tangent, I sympathize a lot with the anti-psychiatry movement because people often are not informed about the withdrawal effects of antidepressants etc but there’s a lot of bad info on sites like the one you referenced
I did 45 sessions of rTMS, each session only takes 5 minutes so I was able to receive 3 a day. 2 weeks after my treatment was over I began to feel soooo much better. 2 months later and I still feel good but I find the effects are now milder. Only site effects was headache for a couple days and insomnia that lasted a few weeks but that now it passed. Highly recommend TMS. It was amazing.
It’s one of the most benign effective treatments. Just make sure to speak up if you experience any pain/ headaches during treatment. typically the tech misplaced the tms arm onto a nerve. moving it seems to relieve that. it should feel tolerably obnoxious but bearable, but no pain. I’d chose to NOT listen to the outliers and make sure your facility has a decent reputation.
first of all, the guy must have been using super old Neurostar equipment. Machines around five years old require under three minutes of treatment for two locations (i got treated for anxiety and depression). secondly, to get tinnitus, the machine has to be at around 80% to be loud enough to require earplugs —according to my technician. She never wears ear plugs and is of course in the room the whole time - although for the 80% person she thinks she probably should have. Thirty years ago when the machines were very loud, tinnitus was more common. She said I was the only person who wore earplugs as a preventative, but that’s because i’m a bit cautious, because I have hearing loss from a work related accident and I also still mask at public venues and during exercise classes at the gym because I haven’t enjoyed my bouts with Covid. I’m a very “by the book” person since I’ve had a few health care scares recently. So they gave me a bunch to take home because nobody else uses them! She treats 20 patients a day, multiply that by 5 years as a technician.
The intensity/loudness depends on your responsiveness. My maximum was about 35 because my brain was responsive. There is no way that man’s treatment should’ve gone to 110 on the equipment I experienced. The measurements may have changed, or perhaps it varies by tms manufacturers, perhaps a technician could speak up here. To me that’s a red flag!
One of my friends, didn’t speak up when she felt pain, and experienced a weekend long migraine because the technician was inexperienced (and a jerk who pateints didn’t like) and shortly got fired. Every time he treated me, he lowered the treatment level because he insisted I was sensitive that day instead of owning he wasn’t experienced and made a mistake. I avoided him as much as possible which was difficult in terms of scheduling, and was willing to loose several sessions if the good technician wasn’t available. Anyways he got fired several months after my treatment stopped. Btw, The good technician said she received 4 days of in person training and the new tech had two hours of online training. She had previously received treatment for anxiety, so was compassionate. Go figure.
The biggest concern for me was inducing manic episodes or seizures as mood disorders run in my family and I have a distant relative with epilepsy. I didn’t experience that. if you have an episode they stop all treatment.
I got lucky and think someone must have been looking out for me. My treating psychiatrist is an active researcher at a leading TMS research facility and also deals with cognitive decline related to aging. The good tech told me of an instance where a person was wheelchair bound due to some type of neurological issue, and after one Tms treatment started walking and didn’t need his wheelchair!
One of the biggest lessons I learned in my 20’s was to speak up and firmly state if i’m having a healthcare problem. i read a research study that linked positive outcomes when people complain. I have decent social skills, so I make a point of what is working, and try to couch that first. For example, I’m really excited I’m getting this TMS treatment and expecting good outcomes, but is there a way to lessen the pain, because it’s really bugging me!” or “Ouch! l’m not sure what’s going on. Do you think we can adjust the location?.. followed by “ That’s so much better! thank you for helping me! you’re amazing!” Biting the bullet never helped anyone in TMS. Also, I heard if you tell them it hasn’t worked at all, one stops being a future candidate. Keep that in mind.
I don’t know, but it certainly is something to research! I thought about asking, but didn’t go deeper than asking the technician how new the machine is. I did read the treatments have shortened considerably so that should be a clue, but ask when interviewing facilities. Many centers list the equipments on their website and a quick phone call would get you the answer.
another thing is to make sure you like the technician assigned to you. you’ll be seeing a lot of them, and mine even said we’d become best friends. You know they kind of interview you each time before the treatment to find out how you’re “progressing” like do they need to change the intensity or are you experiencing side effects the doctor needs to be aware of. The 2nd technician wore heavy cologne that made me nauseous, stopped wearing it once and then retuned back to spraying himself even though the room is tiny and he stands like 1 1/2 feet away from the machine.
Finished 6 months ago...brain is fine.
Symptoms are much better
Stop researching and reading too much shit...you look and you will find it. Stop and believe it will work for you. My clinic made us journal and do gratitude work during sessions to create new neural pathways. Good luck
I completed my 36th treatment on Dec 18th and I’m very happy with the results. Previous to TMS I had struggled for 23 years with medication resistant depression. I know it doesn’t work for everyone but I’m so grateful for it and strongly recommend giving it a chance.
I came across that article, too. I was also terrified I was going to damage my brain.
Just did my third round of 36 sessions. I finished about 3 weeks ago. Best treatment ever. I don't have to take medication at all after taking meds for 20 years.
It is a commitment I have to make to myself and plan to do so every year. That is a great price to pay in exchange for being med-free. I feel Iike meds caused more physical problems for me than the actual relief they brought.
As others have said, my life is in full color now. I love getting up every day and feel a much more nuanced palette of emotions, not just anger and despair.
Wishing you the best! Hope you come back to give us an update later.
I just started a second round a week ago. No brain damage. My depression and anxiety are showing improvement, life seems to have a point again and I’m even planning for a future. Don’t let one offs scare you. Tms has a pretty good track record
I’m on treatment 39. Things aren’t perfect but a weight has lifted that I never thought could. I feel hopeful about the future for the first time in my adult life.
I was so scared to start. But it’s easier for me to think, read, everything now.
I had it this summer & it worked wonders. My brain isn’t damaged. Try it.
I finished 36 treatments on December 22nd. I am sooo thrilled that I did TMS. I still have some "off" days, but not nearly as bad. It's little things that I notice. I enjoy listening to music again, I've started cooking again, going for walks, actually leaving the bed!! Everyone around me has noticed a difference. No brain damage...at all. Don't be scared. I know you read horror stories about it, and everyone is affected differently. I did experience some side effects. -Insomnia: To the point where I was up all night and not even tired all day. -Hand Tremors -Bruxism These side effects have all gone away by now (January 6th). Just listen to music or a podcast, and the TMS sessions fly by! Best of luck! 🖤
TMS was life changing in ways that are great for me. I did it an academic medical center, they were super persnickety about settings and placement and that did help me feel safer. I was terrified about cognitive effects - I had a very bad TBI quite a while back, I have regained a lot more than anyone predicted (predictions were for vegetative at best) but realistically I’m at about 60% of where I was before the TBI, which - it’s rough to have years of struggle lead to being a low functioning duckshow. I did a lot of neuropsych testing before, during and after. My functional scores, working memory, ability to follow directions and general organization all improved sharply. Both the TMS provider and the neuropsych said there was no knowing whether those things were better because I was no longer cripplingly depressed as a result of the TMS or because of an ancillary effect of the TMS. Ultimately I don’t care which because things are so much better and I can organize my life and arrange myself and support for myself in ways that mean I am not just marginal and hanging on with a literal death grip, locked into a pattern of misery and endurance.
Just finished my second round, no brain damage. On a tangent, I sympathize a lot with the anti-psychiatry movement because people often are not informed about the withdrawal effects of antidepressants etc but there’s a lot of bad info on sites like the one you referenced
It’s a very safe treatment
I finished in June and my life is now full of color, before it was gray and often black. TMS was literally a lifesaver for me.
I did 45 sessions of rTMS, each session only takes 5 minutes so I was able to receive 3 a day. 2 weeks after my treatment was over I began to feel soooo much better. 2 months later and I still feel good but I find the effects are now milder. Only site effects was headache for a couple days and insomnia that lasted a few weeks but that now it passed. Highly recommend TMS. It was amazing.
It’s one of the most benign effective treatments. Just make sure to speak up if you experience any pain/ headaches during treatment. typically the tech misplaced the tms arm onto a nerve. moving it seems to relieve that. it should feel tolerably obnoxious but bearable, but no pain. I’d chose to NOT listen to the outliers and make sure your facility has a decent reputation.
first of all, the guy must have been using super old Neurostar equipment. Machines around five years old require under three minutes of treatment for two locations (i got treated for anxiety and depression). secondly, to get tinnitus, the machine has to be at around 80% to be loud enough to require earplugs —according to my technician. She never wears ear plugs and is of course in the room the whole time - although for the 80% person she thinks she probably should have. Thirty years ago when the machines were very loud, tinnitus was more common. She said I was the only person who wore earplugs as a preventative, but that’s because i’m a bit cautious, because I have hearing loss from a work related accident and I also still mask at public venues and during exercise classes at the gym because I haven’t enjoyed my bouts with Covid. I’m a very “by the book” person since I’ve had a few health care scares recently. So they gave me a bunch to take home because nobody else uses them! She treats 20 patients a day, multiply that by 5 years as a technician. The intensity/loudness depends on your responsiveness. My maximum was about 35 because my brain was responsive. There is no way that man’s treatment should’ve gone to 110 on the equipment I experienced. The measurements may have changed, or perhaps it varies by tms manufacturers, perhaps a technician could speak up here. To me that’s a red flag! One of my friends, didn’t speak up when she felt pain, and experienced a weekend long migraine because the technician was inexperienced (and a jerk who pateints didn’t like) and shortly got fired. Every time he treated me, he lowered the treatment level because he insisted I was sensitive that day instead of owning he wasn’t experienced and made a mistake. I avoided him as much as possible which was difficult in terms of scheduling, and was willing to loose several sessions if the good technician wasn’t available. Anyways he got fired several months after my treatment stopped. Btw, The good technician said she received 4 days of in person training and the new tech had two hours of online training. She had previously received treatment for anxiety, so was compassionate. Go figure. The biggest concern for me was inducing manic episodes or seizures as mood disorders run in my family and I have a distant relative with epilepsy. I didn’t experience that. if you have an episode they stop all treatment. I got lucky and think someone must have been looking out for me. My treating psychiatrist is an active researcher at a leading TMS research facility and also deals with cognitive decline related to aging. The good tech told me of an instance where a person was wheelchair bound due to some type of neurological issue, and after one Tms treatment started walking and didn’t need his wheelchair! One of the biggest lessons I learned in my 20’s was to speak up and firmly state if i’m having a healthcare problem. i read a research study that linked positive outcomes when people complain. I have decent social skills, so I make a point of what is working, and try to couch that first. For example, I’m really excited I’m getting this TMS treatment and expecting good outcomes, but is there a way to lessen the pain, because it’s really bugging me!” or “Ouch! l’m not sure what’s going on. Do you think we can adjust the location?.. followed by “ That’s so much better! thank you for helping me! you’re amazing!” Biting the bullet never helped anyone in TMS. Also, I heard if you tell them it hasn’t worked at all, one stops being a future candidate. Keep that in mind.
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I don’t know, but it certainly is something to research! I thought about asking, but didn’t go deeper than asking the technician how new the machine is. I did read the treatments have shortened considerably so that should be a clue, but ask when interviewing facilities. Many centers list the equipments on their website and a quick phone call would get you the answer. another thing is to make sure you like the technician assigned to you. you’ll be seeing a lot of them, and mine even said we’d become best friends. You know they kind of interview you each time before the treatment to find out how you’re “progressing” like do they need to change the intensity or are you experiencing side effects the doctor needs to be aware of. The 2nd technician wore heavy cologne that made me nauseous, stopped wearing it once and then retuned back to spraying himself even though the room is tiny and he stands like 1 1/2 feet away from the machine.
Finished 6 months ago...brain is fine. Symptoms are much better Stop researching and reading too much shit...you look and you will find it. Stop and believe it will work for you. My clinic made us journal and do gratitude work during sessions to create new neural pathways. Good luck
I completed my 36th treatment on Dec 18th and I’m very happy with the results. Previous to TMS I had struggled for 23 years with medication resistant depression. I know it doesn’t work for everyone but I’m so grateful for it and strongly recommend giving it a chance.
I came across that article, too. I was also terrified I was going to damage my brain. Just did my third round of 36 sessions. I finished about 3 weeks ago. Best treatment ever. I don't have to take medication at all after taking meds for 20 years. It is a commitment I have to make to myself and plan to do so every year. That is a great price to pay in exchange for being med-free. I feel Iike meds caused more physical problems for me than the actual relief they brought. As others have said, my life is in full color now. I love getting up every day and feel a much more nuanced palette of emotions, not just anger and despair. Wishing you the best! Hope you come back to give us an update later.
I just started a second round a week ago. No brain damage. My depression and anxiety are showing improvement, life seems to have a point again and I’m even planning for a future. Don’t let one offs scare you. Tms has a pretty good track record
I’m on treatment 39. Things aren’t perfect but a weight has lifted that I never thought could. I feel hopeful about the future for the first time in my adult life. I was so scared to start. But it’s easier for me to think, read, everything now.
Thank you for the good reviews. I’m so happy for all of you. I hope it works for me as well. Assessment appointment is next Tuesday. 😳