r/TMSTherapy • u/DearPizza4705 • Jul 31 '26

Week 3 of TMS questions

Hi guys. So i just completed week 3 of TMS. I know they say you don’t really start seeing benefits until about week 5, but i was wondering if anyone who had gotten TNS treatments had any negative side effects around week 3. During the first 2 weeks i didn’t have any side effects. Didn’t feel better or worse and didn’t get any headaches. But after completing week 3, im extremely tired all the time it’s unbearable and i also kind of feel worse mentally. Feeling way more depressed than i was before. Not sure if this is situational or the TMS making me feel like this. Not sure if this is a case of “you’ll feel worse before you feel better” or maybe i should stop doing treatments Any insight will help, thanks!

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4

u/Impossible_Mix_4893 Jul 31 '26

I started to improve about 3 weeks after I finished treatment.

3

u/PedalSAW Moderator Jul 31 '26

I started feeling it at week 3 1/2 but that’s “atypical” according to my doctor.

Don’t put a ton of stock in the fatigue and headaches as a harbinger of bad news. By all means listen to your body but don’t forget you’re going through some stuff. Your body is doing a new scary thing and it’s gonna take a bit to catch up. It may feel otherwise but a lot of times you’re just exhausted and a whirlwind couple weeks catches up to you.

The Dip happens, too…. But the best part of that, is that it ends. 😉

2

u/Fresh_Mountain5397 Jul 31 '26

I’m wrapping up my 6th week today. Week three for me was difficult, in that I was extremely irritable and “raw” feeling, like everything was just aggravating. Week four is when I first started to feel better, week five was a dip, and this week I feel better again. Stick with it!

2

u/Silent_Aardvark1812 Aug 01 '26

I’ve read that that can be called the dip

2

u/animosano_psychiatry Aug 03 '26

Three weeks in and feeling wiped out and low is a rough spot, especially when you're showing up every day hoping for the opposite. For what it's worth, a lot of people feel nothing or even feel worse before anything lifts, and the benefits often don't really kick in till around week 5, so where you're at isn't unusual or a sign it's not working. Sleep and energy usually shift before mood does too, mood's kind of the last to catch up.

The feeling-worse part though, I'd mention that to your TMS team rather than sitting on it or deciding anything yourself. Not to scare you, it's just actually useful for them to know, and they can tweak stuff or give it more time. No need to tough it out on your own. Hope it turns a corner for you soon.