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Has anyone relapsed? I have slid down the slippery slope of a major depressive episode and need advice. Has anyone relapsed like this after such a long successful period (6 whole years of being depression free)? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I’m at a loss.
Hello tshell282! Sorry to hear about the relapse, never a fun thing to manage. Although I am in the midst of TMS treatment currently, I was wondering if going in for more rounds of TMS to help with this might be an option for you?
It sounds like you had great success for such a long period of time with is very encouraging!!
I myself have not yet felt the full effects that I will hopefully experience soon!
Peace and love.
Grifin
Griffin, thanks for the reply. Yes.. I am looking into having another round of therapy. It truly has worked very well for me until this current slip. I’ve been off antidepressants for 6 whole years!! But.. I may need to go back on them, perhaps.
Just so you know, I was at least 20+ sessions in before I began to notice a “slight” improvement. It takes a while. The people that worked at the office could tell it was working before I was able to feel or see any difference. I had a total of 36 treatments.
Hang in there! I hope you receive the relief of your depression… to me it was a Godsend!
Hi there! I am happy to talk, helps me greatly too! I guess that is what I am hoping for with TMS in that if it works then in the future I can always have additional treatments if need be. That would still certainly be better than constantly relying on SSRIs!
I am hoping to get through the 36 treatments as well and hope to see some sort of improvements with time.Question, were you on antidepressants during the TMS treatments? If so, how long did you stay on the medication until tapering off?
Peace and love.
Grifin
I was taking cymbalta during the entire treatment, and had been on it for at least 5 years until it just wasn’t working any more, no matter what dose I tried. I even tried adding ability to it to help but I couldn’t handle the side effects of it. So TMS really did feel like a last ditch effort after having failed in all of the SSRI’s.
My doctor didn’t recommend going off the cymbalta, but I truly was feeling as if I didn’t need it any more so I waened myself off… literally by taking my capsule apart and taking a grain out each day until I was totally off it completely. It worked for me! I did suffer from some withdrawal “brain zaps” from the cymbalta but it only lasted a short while.
Hi tshell:
Did your relapse happen over a period of time or quickly?My doctor told me to call him if I felt that the depression was slipping back in. Usually signs are evident over a period of time. He told me never to let it go past a few days because the quicker I had a few booster treatments the quicker I would be restored to (remission) – my degree of success with treatment. Everyone has a unique response – (this is the way it works for me). I go about once a year; springtime is when I seem to start that fog of depression. I call immediately when I realize it is happening and I have three treatments (now all in one day). I am back to remission in a short period of time. This has worked for 7 years so far.
Also treatments are now being administered in different ways. Reseaerch is finding multiple treatments in a day is having an effect on some patients who did not respond to one treatment per day. Very interesting. A friend shared this video on TMS so I am passing it along:
https://www.bbrfoundation.org/event/whats-new-tms-depression-and-other-brain-diseases
You may want to talk with your doctor and share the video to see what she/he thinks about it helping.Warmly,
ColleenHi Griffin:
Just want to send hope and optimism for successful treatment.
Meds are so different for everyone depending on how effective treatment is. TMS can be 100% effective and meds are no longer necessary to maybe TMS is 50% effective so enhanced with minimal meds, it can restore a higher level of functioning and a better quality of life.
Sending my best for positive results!
ColleenHey Colleen!
Thank you so much for the encouragement and support, I really appreciate that! So far so good on the TMS! Really keeping my head high and am actually feeling pretty darn good right now. 🙂
Thank you for being such a great asset to this forum, I hope to stay in touch as much as possible with you and the other great people here.
Grifin
Griffin:
This is great to hear! Your perspective is helpful too!!! One piece of advice I would give everyone, now that I am into this for several years is, if you start feeling like the depression is creeping back in, don’t hesitate for a moment to get a few booster treatments with doctor’s approval of course. I cannot tell you how helpful 3 treatments a year have been to keeping my remission in tack. It is a minimal effort and expense compared to the initial investment. We are so fortunate to have this option. Several of my TMS friends go for boosters and live a quality of life that would not be possible otherwise.
Thanks for your kind words. Everyone who contributes here, helps someone else. We are all in this together.
Stay in touch!
ColleenHi tshell282! I actually work in a TMS clinic, so I tend to see patients before, during, and after their respective TMS courses. It is definitely NOT uncommon to have a relapse into depression a few years down the line. The good news is that, in general, if TMS has worked successfully before, it is likely to work successfully again. Even better – insurance is more likely to improve the second course if there were documented improvements after the first.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Ben
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