3 ms·

I have some questions if you don't mind: Was it expensive? Are there any downsides? Do you think TMS is, like psychedelic therapy, potentially useful for peo

I have some questions if you don't mind: Was it expensive? Are there any downsides? Do you think TMS is, like psychedelic therapy, potentially useful for people without depression (i.e. the "betterment of well people")?

serverlessmom 5y ago
Hi! TMS is at a baseline very expensive. Luckily(hah, sort of) because I had both suffered terrible side effects with several medications and I carry a sustained diagnosis from a very young age that was documented as being massively detrimental to my ability to function, my insurance was willing to cover the treatment. The head coordinator of the program actually advocated very heavily on my behalf for me and spent a lot of time working with my insurance to get me covered. The main downside of TMS is simply that you have to be fully dedicated to the treatment. For six weeks I had to go Monday through Friday to a special clinic that was a half an hour drive from my house. This was a point that they brought up repeatedly in my interviews to get the treatment, so I think it must be common that people decide that it is too much dedication. For me though, by the time I was interviewing to receive TMS I had really tried everything and I was absolutely desperate to follow any path that would offer relief from my symptoms. I had gone through multiple medications, had been in talk therapy for several years, tried CBT, DBT, self medication, meditation, yoga, exercising three times or more a week, different diets, spiritualism... Really the works. I could sometimes stave off my symptoms but eventually I would suffer a huge crash and totally burn out again. One of the other possible side effects is also seizure during treatment(very rare) and because of this they ask that you abstain totally from substance use during the time as it can lower your seizure threshold, which I agreed to happily. While the idea of having a seizure was scary, I had already experienced so many horrible side effects from medications that didn't even alleviate my symptoms I was willing to try anything. I am not an expert in the field but I do think that there is a lot of use that could be gained for any person who decided to try TMS, for me some of the things I noticed was that my brain fog started to lift and suddenly I was able to learn much more quickly. I started practicing languages and instruments to really help foster this growth in my brain. The TMS helped me break the patterns of my mental illness and start forming healthier ones...I really do credit it with saving my life.
astronautjones 5y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BKSWnuF3pA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BKSWnuF3pA
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
raindeer2 5y ago
Re. How expensive it is. There are cheap home-use alternatives to TMS. For instance tDCS. Here is a great comparison of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques for depression treatment: https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l1079 https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l1079 A company that offers tDCS as a home treatment for depression can be found here: https://flowneuroscience.com/ https://flowneuroscience.com/
- smaddox 5y ago
  Very interesting. And there are tDCS home kits for $149, e.g. https://apexdevice.net/shop/apex-type-a-4ma-std/ https://apexdevice.net/shop/apex-type-a-4ma-std/. This is low cost enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. Worst case, I end up with a decent DC current source that I'm sure I can find a use for at some point.
  - smaddox 5y ago
    Okay, sounds like some people trying this at home have had seriously bad side effects. So will definitely have to do some reading before giving this a shot.
    - raindeer2 5y ago
      How so? tDCS is considered very safe. Here is a good review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007190/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007190/

serverlessmom 5y ago

Hi! TMS is at a baseline very expensive. Luckily(hah, sort of) because I had both suffered terrible side effects with several medications and I carry a sustained diagnosis from a very young age that was documented as being massively detrimental to my ability to function, my insurance was willing to cover the treatment. The head coordinator of the program actually advocated very heavily on my behalf for me and spent a lot of time working with my insurance to get me covered. The main downside of TMS is simply that you have to be fully dedicated to the treatment. For six weeks I had to go Monday through Friday to a special clinic that was a half an hour drive from my house. This was a point that they brought up repeatedly in my interviews to get the treatment, so I think it must be common that people decide that it is too much dedication. For me though, by the time I was interviewing to receive TMS I had really tried everything and I was absolutely desperate to follow any path that would offer relief from my symptoms. I had gone through multiple medications, had been in talk therapy for several years, tried CBT, DBT, self medication, meditation, yoga, exercising three times or more a week, different diets, spiritualism... Really the works. I could sometimes stave off my symptoms but eventually I would suffer a huge crash and totally burn out again. One of the other possible side effects is also seizure during treatment(very rare) and because of this they ask that you abstain totally from substance use during the time as it can lower your seizure threshold, which I agreed to happily. While the idea of having a seizure was scary, I had already experienced so many horrible side effects from medications that didn't even alleviate my symptoms I was willing to try anything. I am not an expert in the field but I do think that there is a lot of use that could be gained for any person who decided to try TMS, for me some of the things I noticed was that my brain fog started to lift and suddenly I was able to learn much more quickly. I started practicing languages and instruments to really help foster this growth in my brain. The TMS helped me break the patterns of my mental illness and start forming healthier ones...I really do credit it with saving my life.

astronautjones 5y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BKSWnuF3pA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BKSWnuF3pA

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

raindeer2 5y ago

Re. How expensive it is. There are cheap home-use alternatives to TMS. For instance tDCS. Here is a great comparison of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques for depression treatment: https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l1079 https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l1079 A company that offers tDCS as a home treatment for depression can be found here: https://flowneuroscience.com/ https://flowneuroscience.com/

smaddox 5y ago
Very interesting. And there are tDCS home kits for $149, e.g. https://apexdevice.net/shop/apex-type-a-4ma-std/ https://apexdevice.net/shop/apex-type-a-4ma-std/. This is low cost enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. Worst case, I end up with a decent DC current source that I'm sure I can find a use for at some point.
- smaddox 5y ago
  Okay, sounds like some people trying this at home have had seriously bad side effects. So will definitely have to do some reading before giving this a shot.
  - raindeer2 5y ago
    How so? tDCS is considered very safe. Here is a good review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007190/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007190/