TMS Therapy: Dealing with Depression & Anxiety

TMS stimulates your brain and is used to treat refractory depression. Refractory depression is a depressive episode that doesn't respond to other treatment efforts. You can receive the treatment in a certified facility like TMS in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The treatment lasts 4-6 weeks and is 5 sessions per week. The treatment is FDA approved for treating depression and mood disorders.

What Is TMS?

This is a transcranial magnetic stimulation that directs magnetic energy to specific parts of your brain responsible for mood control. It's a non-invasive treatment for mood disorders and depression. The magnetic impulses go through your skull painlessly and stimulate the brain cells to improve communication between different regions of your brain.

TMS impulses are delivered repetitively to give a lasting effect on your brain functions. The process eases depression symptoms while boosting your mood. The therapy doesn't need sedation or a post-therapy downtime. Moreover, it doesn't come with cognitive or memory side effects. In fact, TMS patients experience fewer side effects than those using antidepressant medications.

What Does TMS Treat?

The treatment is approved to treat major depressive disorders. As much as depression is treatable, TMS is only used when a standard treatment like medication, therapy, and self-help techniques are ineffective. The approved treatment is for conditions such as:

• Anxiety disorders, like OCD
• Stroke rehabilitation
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD
• Schizophrenia
• Chronic pain
• Alzheimer's disease
• Parkinson's disease
• Nicotine addiction

Besides, it has shown promising results in treating conditions such as fibromyalgia, tinnitus, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, and Tourette syndrome.

What Should You Expect During TMS Treatment?

The treatment involves a short and non-invasive treatment. The procedure doesn't involve any surgery and you don't receive anesthesia or sedation. You are awake the entire time during the treatment. Also, the therapy is non-systemic, meaning it doesn't affect other parts of your body the way antidepressants do.

You get five sessions per week for 4-6 weeks. Each session lasts approximately 20-40 minutes although some sessions can last 3 minutes with new devices.

The clinician sits you on a comfortable chair and gives you earplugs and places a magnetic coil on your head. This is placed close to the area believed to control mood, which is the prefrontal cortex under your forehead. The specialist delivers short electromagnetic pulses through the coil to stimulate your nerve cells.

You hear a clicking sound as you feel a tapping, knocking, or tingling sensation on the head. You can also feel scalp discomfort during this treatment, and for some time afterward.

After the treatment, you can go back to your normal duties, drive to work, or go home.

Are There Any Side Effects or Risks In TMS?

TMS has no effect on your mental clarity or memory. There are no negative effects of sedation since it doesn't need sedation. You may experience mild scalp discomfort which disappears after a few minutes. You can also experience facial twitching during the treatment, which diminishes a few minutes after the treatment.

Those with a history of epilepsy, head injury, or seizures are not candidates for TMS. Also, if you have dental fillings or braces, you are ineligible for TMS treatment. Other conditions that make you ineligible for this treatment include a stent, deep brain stimulators, aneurysm clips, pacemakers, metallic eye/ear implants, and bullet or shrapnel fragments.

Conclusion

TMS is ideal for people who have depressive disorders that can't be treated using other medications or treatment methods because they are ineffective. If you have metallic objects in your body like implants, pacemakers, etc., you can't receive this treatment. The treatment is highly effective and has no risks and minor side effects that disappear after a few minutes.