Posted by Chris O on October 29, 2014, at 16:33:36
Hello, babblers:
Just thought I'd start a thread for anyone who is interested in anecdotal feedback about rTMS. My psychiatrist got a Neurostar TMS machine in his office a couple months ago, and my wife's insurance is now approving this as a treatment for people with many med failures (that would be me), so I decided to give it a try. I'll just give some general feedback and update sporadically if anyone is interested.
Well, even after one TMS treatment, I do feel slightly better, lighter. Not anything significant, mind you, but a bit easier to talk to people, do my daily tasks (which are fairly limited). I am cautiously optimistic about TMS based on what I've read here and what I've seen online, but I still do not see how this treatment can provide long-term relief. Yet, I'm so crippled by my anxiety and depression that I do not know what else to do.
Something I did not expect with TMS was the level of muscle contraction/zapping/pain in my face. Basically, when the TMS magnet activates, my face gets a mini seizure; it really contracts in a painful way. (I also just had trouble remembering how to spell "mini"; weird). The tapping noise didn't bother me at all with the earplugs in, but the level of muscle contraction in my face is greater than I thought it would be (based on watching the Neurostar marketing videos, which basically show people calmly sitting with no muscle contractions during the treatment). Also interesting is the way the magnet affected two dental crowns in my mouth. I really felt tingling in both of them, almost like they were being pulled around or electrocuted. I also had a slight headache and dizziness afterwards, but that is going away now. (I do notice myself having some trouble finding/spelling words while typing here, though. Odd.)
Anyway, my main worry with something like TMS is that it could somehow cause brain damage. As paranoia and anxiety are the main feature of my mental health issues though, I try to put this worry out of my mind.
There are other things I can share, but I will save that for future updates if anyone is interested. Happy to answer questions if anyone has them as well.
Hope everyone is doing well here.
Chris
poster:Chris O
thread:1072998
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20141017/msgs/1072998.html