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I am still holding onto the benefits of my treatment. I have a few down days here and there but that’s just normal life.
I reduced my antidepressants from 60 mg daily to 20 mg and feel fine with lower dosage. I also have now quit taking Abilify which was a add on to boost the antidepressant. I continue to go to regular talk therapy appointments and find that they help sort out feelings. I haven’t had the need for additional TMS treatments yet, but comforting to know they are there if I do need them. I am glad I had TMS treatments, they really did make a difference in my quality of life. Thanks for following up on me and I hope for the best for you .junebeatle.crk- I had one extremely painful treatment early on. The technician moved the magnetic head device up some and that did the trick, it became tolerable and then really didn’t bother me at all after a few times. Has your technician moved the device any? My theory, in my case I feel it was pulsing on a nerve that’s what it felt like, terrible pain. I experienced a couple depression “dips” that were disheartening but passed. I am now on my 34th treatment, currently tapering down and have 2 more taper treatments to go. In the final stretch (like the last week and a half of regular treatments) days 23-30 I finally felt a “lift” that is moderate but has stayed with me. The everyday work of warding off depressive feelings is pretty much gone. Although the treatment hasn’t yet brought about a drastic change it has offered relief and I am not nearly as depressed feeling as I was before I started it. Overall I feel it was worth the $2600 I also had to pay out of pocket in co-pays. Hope this helps.
Hi Kat 95- I would suggest that you give TMS a try, you can read through my posts here that follow my journey. Today is my last day of regular treatment # 30, then I taper down for two more weeks and I am done. In short, I was worried that I was getting nothing out of the treatment for awhile, I had bouts of depression here and there which made it hard, but finally I felt a lift and it has stayed with me so far. The lift isn’t dramatic but it’s enough that it takes away the daily feeling of depression which is a great feeling in itself. Good luck to you. And be sensible about what you read here on the forum, I let it scare me initially.
-Junebeatle, I do occasionally take Lorazepam for anxiety and haven’t found it to effect my outcome with TMS. I still have lingering issues with memory but I am thinking that may come from the antidepressants. My next step is to wean off of the antidepressants if possible.
Treatment # 28….still feeling the lift since last Thursday, tomorrow will be a full week 🙂 I start my tapering next week. I am hoping this feeling lasts.
On treatment # 26 today I am entering my final full time week of treatments. I have been up and down during this journey. The down times have been rough, doubting the TMS treatment for me. BUT I have had days of what I call a lift that seems to last the entire day. I have had a few days of the lift feeling now and I can only hope it stays with me. The lift days have been preceded by a lot of dreaming, not sure what this might mean, I am thinking that my brain is possibly working when I have the dreams and that is causing the lift. We shall see what this final week brings. It’s scary to begin my final week because if I go back to feeling depressed after all this I will be sad. I am not sure if I would be offered another round of TMS if depression returns or if I would even do another round. This treatment has been a journey and it takes a lot out of you as you all are very aware of.
Kittaykat- Well I am starting my final full time week, I am on treatment # 26. The battle has been up and down, some days feeling a lift and other days depression is back (very discouraging when it returns). I have had a lift for several days now, so I have my fingers crossed. Even yesterday when it was dreary, raining and cooler I maintained the lift all day. I say lift because it’s not a feeling like “I feel good!” it’s a lift out of the depths of depression and even if this is it, I will take it. I never expected that TMS could make me feel on top of the world everyday so as long as I can maintain this lift and not feel down for days at a time I am good. I will say that I seem to have a lot of dreaming activity at night when I feel the lift the next day. The anxiety is at bay. Hope yours calms down Kittaykat.
Junebeatle- I am hanging in there, have had a few good days that I felt some energy but I am still waiting for a bigger impact, hope I start feeling it soon on treatment number 22 today. I am hopeful. I hope your continued treatment does the trick for you.
I just finished treatment day one of week 5….I am waiting and hoping to feel the improvement. I have had a few days where I felt more energized so I am hoping that it will become the norm. I am so happy to hear good, success stories here it gives me hope. Best of luck to you for the future.
I have had a few depressing days, I suppose I am experiencing “the dip”. Just a general feeling of being down, no motivation, anxiety and sleep disturbances. I am looking forward to getting back to treatments tomorrow, have been off them 3 days (the office was closed for Good Friday). I will start on treatment 16 tomorrow, hoping for some real relief soon, so tired of feeling down. I know you can all relate to that statement.
Catnip123- Are you having NeuroStar treatment? Or a different manufacturer? I was told I needed to get to 120 with my NeuroStar treatment and I have been at that for about a week and a half or so. These numbers could be different depending on system being used or maybe how hard headed you are (just kidding). Getting better is tough but staying where we are at is tougher try to think of that, might help. Another thing is you might want to take a anxiety med if you have one before treatment, you might be tensing up and getting discomfort from that aspect to (I had this happen to a degree in the beginning). Kuddo’s to you for hanging in there.
Junebeatle- keep trying everyday, that’s all you can do is keep up the fight. All of us want to get back to who we were before depression and medicine. It gets to where you don’t know what is a cause or an effect.
Alafiia- hoping your treatments are getting easier.
Catnip- same to you- hoping the treatments are going smoother.
Better days for everyone 🙂
Every so often I have a treatment that makes my left eye water throughout treatment.
catnip123- How was today’s treatment? Hoping they made an adjustment and it was better.
I had a bad session early on, it was almost unbearable. I told the technician and she moved the device a bit and all has been well since. See if they can readjust the headpiece a bit I am thinking mine might have been hitting a nerve, yours might be too. If he says he can’t move it I would ask to see the Dr who did your mapping because they can move it slightly and for me it made all the difference. Good luck. Oh, I take Tylenol prior to my treatment it helps.
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Deb.
gig- happy to hear you are feeling calmer and hope that it does nothing but improve over time. 🙂
Great news! Hope you continue to feel improvements and feel good.
I was never told to remain active after a treatment. In general I feel fine after a treatment.
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Sunnybrook- here’s to your success! How long ago did you finish your treatments? Did you continue to see improvements in the few months after treatments were over? And finally, are you off the medications now? That is a goal of mine to either reduce or get rid of completely the medications I am on. Thank you for your response.
jlc- great recommendation for gig. Meditation and anxiety therapy may help also. Getting a handle on anxiety issues is difficult as I know and have suffered with anxiety also.
gig- hope something from what has been suggested helps you.
Sunnybrook- So glad to hear it worked for you. Enjoy your life. Your success gives me hope.
gig- Sorry to hear your treatment led to the panic attacks and anxiety, has your TMS Dr. offered any help with your outcome? Have you tried any medication for your anxiety?
Update: had treatment #7 today, happy to report that as far as the treatment itself goes all is going well, no pain, just minor irritation during treatment. I did experience some out of the blue anxiety while off treatments over the weekend. I took a nerve pill and got it under control. I have been feeling better in the evenings, I don’t feel like I want to go to bed at 7:30 anymore, which was how I was feeling. I am thankful for that change, attributing it to TMS but who really knows. I am trying to patiently wait for more good feelings to come my way and positive outcomes from therapy. I find myself wishing I could have a longer treatment each day to get to relief sooner. I know there are many of you on the forum who are having a very rough time, a couple have posted here, I am thinking of you and wish you well.
I am going to a depression group offered where I get my TMS treatment this coming Thursday. I feel like some others have expressed, talk therapy, some sort of therapy needs to happen while you are having treatments, I am going to see if this particular group will help. All of this “getting better” is such hard work as you all know.Caleb,
I am on treatment 6 so I have very little experience to share. I have only had one bad treatment that was very painful, the rest have been fine. With that aside, I did notice that one of your tags is suicide, I am thinking that you are either thinking about it or about a previous experience with thoughts of suicide. If this is indeed the case I think it would be a good idea if you try to contact your doctor or go to the ER. Who can really say what TMS might trigger in your brain, the brain is so complex that even the experts don’t really know all that they are dealing with. If your repressed memories are causing you pain seek out help and don’t let things get so out of control that you think of hurting yourself. Best to you.-junebeatle I have been told that it might be well after treatment like a month or two before maximum benefit is realized. I feel like it’s a individual thing, no two patients experience the same treatment feelings or outcome. I am trying not to compare myself to others treatment because I feel that would be counter productive for me. I am very happy when I hear that others have had positive results. When I first read through the forum it seemed all I saw were negative posts, it scared me, because it seemed to rock my “hope” that this treatment would help me. But here and there I have found reports of good outcomes which help so much. I did find some good You Tube videos that patients have taken the time to make that give real insight to their journey which also helps. 23 sessions is just a bit over 4 weeks and a lot of what I have read states that most who respond well to treatment start to recognize results after 4 weeks. Your there….any day that depression feeling may lift, how wonderful, it may take longer, just have to hang in there and remain positive. Hope what I have had to say here helps.
Smichelle- I had nausea after experiencing a painful treatment but not with the others i will have my 6th treatment today. My doctor has not touched any of my medications, I am still taking all, at the same dosages so I am not experiencing any ups and downs from medication changes. I think remaining on the meds until after completing TMS treatment seems the best, we have enough to deal with already. I look forward to coming off the meds eventually I think that will lift a second veil of depressed feelings and intensify everything around me. Best of luck to you. Steady as she goes…….
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-Sunnybrook
Thank you for responding to my post and offering your story and support. I am SO happy to hear that TMS did work for you I wish you continued relief.-Junebeatle
I am only guessing that when we receive TMS treatments we are stiring the pot so to say which brings up the good and bad stored where we are receiving our pulses. I hope that the remainder of your treatments show continued improvement that leads to success. Thank you for the support.Yesterdays treatment was totally bearable, I met my targeted goal for strength of the treatment at day 5. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when the treatment didn’t hurt. The day before with pain I experienced I thought I would have to stop treatments. I have had my hopes set on TMS since last August when I started researching it online. My psychiatrist/psychologist team had never mentioned TMS as a treatment, they only kept trying various pills with nasty side effects and little relief. When I asked about the possibility of seeking TMS treatment they said sure, but were not very helpful, I don’t think they knew too much about it. Today is day 6 of treatment and I will go as I have been to treatment with my best foot forward, ready for the battle with my target on my goal of getting the old me back. I believe I have been somewhat depressed my whole life, with major depression for the past 7 years.
Thank you for this forum. Next week I am joining a Depression group meeting at the facility I go to for my TMS therapy. I am hoping to meet a fellow TMS warrior there. But so far this forum has been great, scared the heck out of me initially but I am now finding hope here.
mhick321- your post has a lot of validity. TMS is not for everyone,if you are experiencing TMS induced anxiety, etc. it shall pass. Bottom line is know your not alone and that others are on a similar journey and sharing your experience can help others. TMS is hard work and not a miracle cure. Your statement “Be gentle with yourself and allow the time to return to your baseline state.” is a good thing to keep in mind. Best to you and all who are on this journey.
I talked to my technician about my concerns and found that yes the “dip” can happen but that it’s not what happens to everyone. We also discussed my other concerns about anxiety and memory, she gave me some information based on her experience as a technician in the field for 5 years. While there were some cases where treatment increased anxiety, how a few have experienced a dip and how for a few more the treatment did not work for them. Overall I calmed down when I realized that these reactions to treatment were possible but not the norm.Then I had my treatment and boy was it a hard one. Pain increased to almost unbearable, tried breathing techniques to no avail. After about 15 minutes the magnet device was re positioned slightly and the pain became manageable. But the treatment was a hard one I left wiped out and nauseated. The pain I experienced shocked me as my previous treatments had all been moderate and manageable. I hope today’s experience is better. I am quickly learning that TMS therapy is not exactly a walk in the park, it’s unpredictable, painful at times and different for each patient. I maintain my hope that TMS will help me reach my goal of depression relief but it is not easy.
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