Posted by PCB on August 18, 2020, at 6:11:09
In reply to Re: Anyone have ECT? » PCB, posted by Hugh on August 17, 2020, at 23:53:50
> You're welcome! A couple months ago, you were posting about your TMS treatment. Did you receive any lasting benefit from that?
I am on week five of bilateral rTMS. I feel about 70% on my low dose Nardil combination with lithium/lamicital. So with 4 weeks of TMS I would say I am about 10% better. My TMS doctor wants to see if I could taper down off Nardil during TMS. I tried 3 times to go down 10 mg without success last week. She wants me to try to go down 5 mg next week.
My understanding TMS is it is an augmenter of an antidepressant medication that is not working well. So I thought would get off Nardil and start something strong like effexor/lithium (what they use during ECT). I thing that would get me about 25% improved. And then we would start TMS and hopefully get me up to 60 to 80%.
But my TMS provider wants to do it backwards as I have described. She says she does it often tapering patients off meds with TMS. But Im my reading, I have yet to find any TMS talk about that. Yes, maybe they might say, patient did so well on TMS they need less of their antidepressant. But no TMS provider writes, patient is having sides effects with drug x, so I will start TMS and after 3 weeks taper them off drug x. And because TMS really does not work without medication, I will start drug y once they are off drug x(drug x is an MAOI and needs a 2 week washout). Unfortunately the patient will have completed 36 TMS and I guess will have to pay $15,000 for 36 more treatments to get drug y to possibly work. I dont get it, unless she is trying to boost her revenues by having me do TMS twice even thought I have tapered off Nardil at least 10 tens or more always without TMS.
If this doesnt work, I am going to another TMS provider and self pay for 36 more sessions and see what he suggest. I better he will agree effexor/lithium with TMS.
I havent tried thyroid because my TSH is low. But I do have the folate gene for which Deplan is suppose to help. And despite my great resistance, Im finally thinking of adding Seroquel at night. I have only tried Zyprexa 2.5 mg once and I felt almost catatonic.
poster:PCB
thread:1111708
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20200711/msgs/1111754.html