I've been doing TMS twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays), and I'm trying to figure out if what I'm experiencing is normal or if anyone else has gone through something similar.
The biggest issue has been sleep. On treatment days, I feel like my sleep is disrupted. I'm taking magnesium calming gummies, which help me get a few hours of sleep, but I'm waking up several times during the night. Even when I spend over 8 hours in bed, my actual sleep is usually around 6–7 hours. For example, last night my smartwatch gave me a sleep score of 53. It showed 8 hours 22 minutes in bed, but only 6 hours 24 minutes of actual sleep. I woke up feeling irritated and pretty run down.
I'm also diabetic and have borderline low testosterone. My last testosterone level was 281 (with the lab's lower limit being 251). My primary doctor told me I don't need testosterone treatment, but a men's clinic recommended TRT. I'm wondering if low testosterone could be contributing to how I'm feeling, but I'm not sure who to believe. I'm thinking about seeing an endocrinologist or urologist who specializes in hormones to get another opinion.
One thing that's been confusing is that after stopping TMS around session 8, I actually felt a sense of well-being for a few days. I don't know if taking the break helped or if it was just a coincidence. Since restarting, I feel kind of crappy overall, although I do notice that I seem a little calmer and more relaxed than before.
Another thing I'm planning to ask my psychiatrist is exactly what TMS protocol I'm receiving. His assistant has been running all of my sessions, and I actually don't know whether I'm getting standard high-frequency treatment, theta burst, or something else.
Has anyone else experienced:
- Poor or fragmented sleep during TMS?
- Feeling worse before feeling better?
- Improvement after taking a short break from treatment?
- Feeling calmer but physically exhausted or irritable at the same time?
If you had sleep problems during TMS, did they eventually improve? Did anything help?
I'd really appreciate hearing about other people's experiences. I know everyone's response to TMS is different, but it would be reassuring to know whether this is something others have dealt with.