TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)

Hi Ocean Girl,

I've been in private hospital for three weeks now and have spoken to a lot of people who are having TMS. They seem very happy with the results. TMS takes longer to emerge from depression but there is no anaesthetic as there is with ECT.

My depression is very severe. That is why I went straight for the ECT but a lot of people with milder, less entrenched depression swear by TMS.

There is less known about TMS than ECT because the former has not been around for too long - but there doesn't seem to be any horror stories about TMS in here - and people go home to life full, active lives.

I hope my reports from "TMS Central" might help allay your fears. Also you can stop treatment any time you like. You are the one in control.

Cheers,

Ginger

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@oceangirl73 wrote:

I went to see my Dr yesterday and she suggested to me about trying TMS, and I am just a bit apprehensive about it, because their is not a lot of information about it or more importantly people sharing their experiences about this form of physical treatment.

I know their is some information from the Black Dog Institute, and its basically a fact sheet about the treatment including what it is, when is TMS used, using TMS to treat depression and how long is the treatment etc.

I have quite mixed feelings about this kind of treatment and particularly about changing brain activity by either increasing or decreasing activity. Most articles suggest that it is experimental and my concerns is potential side effects- not so much now(short term) but if it could affect someone in years to come - 10 plus years (memory problems etc). I think, what I am trying to work out in my mind,and could the treatment be worse then what I am experiencing now and could the side effects remain dormat for years to come. I think the worse case scanerio would be having any permant problem from this form of treatment.

I would love hear what other people think about this treatment and what their concerns maybe about this regiment?

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Hi @Former-Member

You might want to chat with @BlackPoodle who was also considering TMS. They've written about it here. @celadonrose also has learned a bit about it uni, so may they can also offer some insights here too,

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@GingerWhinger wrote:

Hi Ocean Girl,

I've been in private hospital for three weeks now and have spoken to a lot of people who are having TMS. They seem very happy with the results. TMS takes longer to emerge from depression but there is no anaesthetic as there is with ECT.

My depression is very severe. That is why I went straight for the ECT but a lot of people with milder, less entrenched depression swear by TMS.

There is less known about TMS than ECT because the former has not been around for too long - but there doesn't seem to be any horror stories about TMS in here - and people go home to life full, active lives.

I hope my reports from "TMS Central" might help allay your fears. Also you can stop treatment any time you like. You are the one in control.

Cheers,

Ginger

---

@oceangirl73 wrote:

I went to see my Dr yesterday and she suggested to me about trying TMS, and I am just a bit apprehensive about it, because their is not a lot of information about it or more importantly people sharing their experiences about this form of physical treatment.

I know their is some information from the Black Dog Institute, and its basically a fact sheet about the treatment including what it is, when is TMS used, using TMS to treat depression and how long is the treatment etc.

I have quite mixed feelings about this kind of treatment and particularly about changing brain activity by either increasing or decreasing activity. Most articles suggest that it is experimental and my concerns is potential side effects- not so much now(short term) but if it could affect someone in years to come - 10 plus years (memory problems etc). I think, what I am trying to work out in my mind,and could the treatment be worse then what I am experiencing now and could the side effects remain dormat for years to come. I think the worse case scanerio would be having any permant problem from this form of treatment.

I would love hear what other people think about this treatment and what their concerns maybe about this regiment?

---

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Thanks Ginger for shaing your thoughts and giving me some personal accounts of TMS

I think its something I can sit on for a bit longer atm, its not something I want to rush into. For me, I have a major factor contributing to my depression, and I would like to see that treated first. The Dr did give me some data about the success rate and it was not that high, it was similar to medication. But I have heard it does work for some patients.

I think my concern is the lack of study of TMS and the risks have not been establised.

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@CherryBomb wrote:

Hi @Former-Member

You might want to chat with @BlackPoodle who was also considering TMS. They've written about it here. @celadonrose also has learned a bit about it uni, so may they can also offer some insights here too,

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Hi @CherryBomb

Thanks for your message and connecting me with other people for some support and advice- much appreciated. I will have a read of their posts and hopefully be able to chat with them some more.