Posted by twinleaf on September 18, 2010, at 8:33:50
In reply to rTMS experience or knowledge please, posted by floatingbridge on September 17, 2010, at 16:44:37
I received TMS both before and after it was approved by the FDA. When I first began having it, my depression was moderate to severe. The TMS brought me out of the severe depression each time, so that I was either depression-free or only mildly depressed. Symptoms such as insomnia improved a lot. However, each time, the improvement lasted only about six weeks, and by several months I was back where I started. It is a very safe treatment with just two drawbacks: it hurts, especially at the beginning of the treatment, and it's expensive! (insurance does not pay for it yet) With the new machines, they are achieving about a 60% remission rate, roughly comparable to that for ECT.
Now, my depression is somewhere between mild and in remission, so I don't feel the need for TMS. Because I have also been having psychotherapy, and have been taking low-dose lithium and tianeptine, I'm not sure whether the TMS has had a beneficial long-term effect or not. It certainly could have.
In addition to being so safe, TMS has several neuroprotective functions, which increased my interest in trying it, For example, it tends to decrease levels of cerebral cortisol.
poster:twinleaf
thread:962770
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100917/msgs/962846.html