Help with Maintenance TMS?

Hi Sheba, I completely understand where your at. The lack of maintenance has been my issue as well. I’m on round 3 of TMS. And the dip between round 1 and round 2 was horrific. It was like having my hope taken away. So, between round 2 and 3, my doctor and I made sure that didn’t happen again.

At this time insurance will not cover maintenance. It’s a catch 22: they claim there are no tests to show maintenance works, but the tests would be too expensive, so…However, your doctor should have attempted to get you covered for maintenance so that there is a record. Enough recorded proof that maintenance would help and eventually it may be covered. My doctor applies for maintenance with each patient who would benefit from it so there is a history for each patient and a cumulative history of denials – and then repeat rounds of treatment. The insurance companies are paying more not providing maintenance.

If your paying out of pocket then your doctor should offer a discounted rate. I have paid out of pocket for some maintenance, but my doctor charges me about 1/3 of what is billed to insurance. Not because he’s overfilling insurance but as a courtesy to his patient. Insurance should pay for another round after three months of the end date of your last round if you become depressed enough. Perhaps talk to your doctor about some sort of discount for a once a week or every other week treatment to tide you over until the next round. The combo that has worked for me has been: one, making sure I have a maintenance plan (i.e. a discounted rate I can afford) so when I start feeling the dip I can go in for a treatment. One treatment can make a difference, but catch that dip right away. Two, preparing to apply for another round if I’m not getting better. Three, I started taking SAM-e, which has been beneficial to me. Lifts my mood a bit without the side effects of medication.