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My psychiatrist referred me to another doc in the office who runs their tms program. I had a one hour consult with this doc. The next time I saw him was for my brain mapping and first treatment. I completed my 30th treatment in mid-October. I didn’t have any contact with this doc throughout the treatment and I haven’t heard from him since. I’ve seen my personal psychiatrist but she is not addressing this at all beyond “I’m sorry the tms didn’t work”. What kind of follow-up did you have? Did you see the ordering doc during treatment? I’m at a loss.
I saw a pcychiatrist at the mapping. That’s all. It was a concern if something happened: convulsions, etc. there is no doctor in the office. I saw him at the mapping and never saw him again. I finished all 36 treatments and no one has ever followed up, asked if I think I’m better – they just told me where to forward my insurance checks to,
Yes, I have had the same experience. It sure would be nice after getting done to have someone ask howyou feel, and maybe make some suggestions. This is where TMS might get a bad rap, no followup. I t would help to know that someone gave a hoot.
I get my psych treatment thru a large, prestigious university and there is one doc that does TMS. He also runs the treatment-resistant depression clinic which includes ketamine treatment. My personal psychiatrist is a 4th-year resident. I sent a message to the TMS doc after completing treatment requesting feedback and asked if I would be a candidate for the TRD clinic. That was 4 months ago. My p-doc said not to feel bad because he hasn’t gotten back to her either. I said we both know this is completely unacceptable and poor patient care. I was a nurse for 20 years until I retired a year ago because of my depression. I’d have been in deep shit if I didn’t respond to a message within 24 hours. Considering she told me that when she was on her rotation with this doc she cried every day I don’t expect much now. So I have a doc that is intimidated and can’t advocate for me. The doc that has the most power to help me is AWOL. What are my chances now? Reading about and listening to others makes me think that a part of the TRD problem is provider apathy, provider resistance to treat aggressively, providers protecting their territory. Do I take it up with the university or do I take it up with my insurance provider? Do I let my insurance provider know that for $12,000 I got 1.5 hours total with the doc, the treatment was administered by a $20/hr tech, and I never heard from the doc again? Though the treatment didn’t work for me I wouldn’t want to decrease the odds of someone else receiving it. Rant over. I’m sorry you didn’t receive any follow-up either. Did you go to a free-standing TMS clinic?
Wow, this is so different than my experience. My TMS doctor has met with me roughly every two weeks and will meet with me on my last session. I believe the tech mentioned the other day that I will also schedule a followup for about a month after my last session. I’m sorry that you guys haven’t had the same experience. 🙁
Your experience was very different from mine as well. I’ve had multiple rounds of TMS (right & left side). My doctor has multiple offices and has additional psychiatrists working with him. The nurses, who actually administer the treatment, let me know what days the doctors will be in at the offices I’m getting treatment so I can schedule a time to get treatment and meet with the doctor. So, I basically would see a doctor every week of treatment. The doctor spends anywhere between 10-30 minutes with me each time.
It’s crucial the doctor see you throughout TMS treatment. If something isn’t working they need to be able to adjust accordingly. Example, in my initial treatment, after about 4-5 treatments for depression I began having incredible anxiety. They were actually panic attacks. The doctor knew what was going on and immediately started treatment for anxiety concurrently. A nurse cannot make these decisions. Not because they may not be qualified but insurance won’t allow it.
When I hear about doctor lack of care, it really stuns me. If your in Los Angeles and decide to try again, let me know. My doctor and his entire staff are truly amazing.
NeuroStar is just there to make a profit like a salon owner renting a laser hair removal machine, . At least where i go to the staff is really nice but otherwise your just there to make them a profit. If it works great, but so far i’m not seeing results after my 5th week.
I’m going to go get my hormones checked I hear making them balanced can help.
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This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by
beachgal1124.
Thanks zsazsa, LDD1979, and beachgal1124. Your feedback is appreciated.
I have had much the same experience and because I was on no meds my emotions were raw, upclose and personal. I cried all the time, my tolerance level to frustration was at an all time low, anxiety rampant, poor sleep, plus all the other manifestations of depression. The only time I ‘saw’ a psychiatrist was via telemedicine (like Skype) for about five minutes when he asked my history with medications and my treatment resistance. The mapping was done not by MD’s but by technicians and each treatment, about thirty five, was administered by a technician who would ask how I was feeling before and after the treatment, but never addressed all the tough emotional aspects I was going through and continue to go through post treatment. It was all ‘blown off’. The head psychiatrist manages three centers where TMS is done each an hour apart from the other and his is the only name I have been given as a psychiatrist in this group. There have not been any strivings by this one psychiatrist to help those of us who have been hit hard with full fledged depression symptoms while taking this treatment and no support system given for this either.
This is inhumane treatment. Major treatment resistant depression is a serious illness, with long marked periods of suicidal ideation, being only one of the symptoms. How is it that no support system during and after treatment is on hand, or even offered? How can this be FDA approved if it leads to such deepening of the original problem? A psychiatrist knows this full well and chooses to allow his patients to go through TMS treatments with no psychological support? Somehow this leads me to believe it’s all just a money grab.hopeful@53:
That whole operation sounds sketchy to me and I would contact the Better Business Bureau and maybe the state or local medical society. Do you have a personal psychiatrist and did he/she refer you to this TMS clinic? I hate to think of you going without any care. You deserve better. Seriously, this is obviously being run as a for-profit business and you should have some recourse. It seems kind of 50/50 in the responses to my original post, some are getting excellent customer service and others are just having their pockets picked. That said, we all deserve excellent medical care.I am having the same experience as you, @pas02. I saw the TMS doc for 30 minutes during initial consult, once for left-side mapping, and once for right. I’ve communicated to the technicians during the Dip I was experiencing, as well as medication side effects. They told me they’d “let the doctor know” but the doctor himself seems too busy running his regular practice. TMS feels like it’s his side-hustle; if it works, great, if not, too bad…he’s not actively getting involved.
@hopeful53 – agree 100%
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This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by
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