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In the winter of 2013/2014 I had bilateral NeuroStar TMS therapy and it was, in my estimation, 2/3 (66%) effective. I was able to cut way back on my klonopin medication, and completely cease my daily dose of stomach acid reducing medication and consumption of antacids (Tums). My depression and anxiety/panic lifted significantly and physical aches and pains also diminished.
One year later the effects of my TMS therapy wore off, so early this year I decided to try a new type of TMS – the Brainsway system, which is sometimes called dTMS (deep TMS). After forty-one treatment sessions, the effects were minimal and didn’t last long.
I may try NeuroStar TMS therapy again, but right now I’m experimenting with magnesium based on the research of a doctor who believes that the majority of depression is caused by magnesium deficiency.
That’s very interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience. With Brainsway hitting more markets, I’m sure a lot of people will be interested in knowing more about the differences in effects between the two.
Something I’ve noticed is that Maintenance Treatments for TMS are becoming more common, with some people getting a boost ever couple months or maybe even just once a year. It’s an area of TMS that I think a lot of doctors are exploring and debating. But maybe that is something that will work for many people, to just get a maintenance treatment after initial course.
Maintenance is a big factor in optimizing TMS therapy. We have to remember that TMS is not a cure for treatment resistant depression, it’s just another TOOL in the doctor’s toolkit that enables us to manage our depression symptoms. Just as I’d have to go to the doctor to get my medication either renewed, adjusted or changed every month, I realized after my initial 6 weeks of TMS that I needed to stay vigilant of my depression symptoms. When they started to come up again, I called my doctor and scheduled a single TMS appointment and within 24-36 hours I started to feel better. Another time I had close to a total relapse so my doctor prescribed 10 consecutive TMS treatments and by #6, I once again felt the TMS Lift.
Maintenance is different for everyone, just as degrees of depression and the symptoms are different. The main thing is to stay alert to when symptoms start taking you down and get at least one, maybe a few TMS treatments to manage those symptoms so you don’t go down the rabbit hole again.
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