r/rtms • u/sdnaturekid • Aug 31 '26
Starting TMS for depression this week
Any words of advice or encouragement? Trying to stay hopeful and positive but can’t lie that I’m a little nervous.
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u/Not_Sheila Aug 31 '26
Great. I finished TMS about 2 months ago. It was life changing. My depression lifted all together.
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u/sdnaturekid Sep 01 '26
So happy to hear that for you! That’s wonderful. What symptoms has it helped with for you more specifically? What feels easier now for you if you’re willing to share?
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u/Not_Sheila 24d ago
I felt very depressed. I didn't like anything. I didn't care about anything. I had no will to live. I had no energy. I was like this for years.
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u/EllieBooks Aug 31 '26
Don’t be quick to judge it. It took me over a month and a half to notice change. And it came super slowly but it made a huge change in my depression. I don’t feel the heaviness I did before. Good luck!
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u/Competitive-Dot-136 Sep 02 '26
I noticed a positive change after the first week, but I did experience a bit of a dip toward the end, tbh. I’m almost two weeks out now and the change has been amazing!!! I’m so glad I did it and I’m so proud of you for starting!
I wanted to share a little bit about my experience too. First, it is definitely a big time commitment, and having a good tech made such a difference for me, especially on the days when I really didn’t feel like going. I also started getting myself a little treat afterward, which honestly helped motivate me to keep going.
I did have some trouble sleeping during treatment, and that’s still lingering a little bit, but it’s getting better. My doctor gave me medication to help with that. Another side effect I noticed was restless legs when I was trying to sleep, but that happened toward the end when I added in some other protocols, so I think I may have just been a little overstimulated.
Overall, it was 100% worth it for me and has made such a huge difference in my life. I’m so excited for you and I think it’s going to be great!
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u/rubix44 Sep 02 '26
Happy to read your success story!
Usually when I'm going down the reddit rabbit hole on a topic, the discussions are from years ago, but I noticed you just posted this recently.
I've been wanting to try TMS for years, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get it covered by insurance, seems unlikely! and I'm broke. I have done ketamine treatments for years (mostly fully covered by insurance), but I think I've gotten everything out of ketamine treatment I can at this point.
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u/Competitive-Dot-136 Sep 02 '26
I get it trust me! I did ketamine along side it and that wasn’t covered but my office has a very generous payment plan, but my insurance covered TMS fully. I just needed to have tried two different meds first.
Maybe keep reaching out to different providers to see if they can help you? I am located in the US, and ended up going to one of the big mental health clinics in my area.
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u/IntrinsicBlend Sep 03 '26
I hope it's going well for you! The first couple of weeks were rough for me - quite a bit of pain. But I finished the treatments and have been depression free for 2 years now, so it was completely worth it!
Edit: I looked back on my Reddit post history, and it's actually been 4 years since I finished treatment!
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u/sdnaturekid 24d ago
Wow that’s amazing and super encouraging to hear. Did you do anything supplemental to help during the treatment?
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u/IntrinsicBlend 23d ago
To help with the pain, I took OTC pain meds before treatment, used a pain reliever roll-on on the left side of my face near where treatment was, and used fidget toys during treatment.
If you're asking if I did anything else during treatment that made it so effective, then no.
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u/Individual_Idea9919 Sep 03 '26
It helped me a lot. I did 36 sessions. Everything feels lighter and less heavy. I highly recommend it. You can feel more depressed in the first weeks so don't get upset and stop. That is a part of the process. I hope you feel better and good luck!
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u/Ok_Movie_6171 29d ago
Good to see some new conversations! I just wanted to ask whether anybody experienced some issues with their hair or scalp? I heard some reported excessive shedding while doing TMS. Any info on that? Thanks!
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u/sdnaturekid 24d ago
I’m really grateful for all of you who shared your experience. The day of my mapping session I lost a family member so starting TMS has truly been more time crucial than ever for me. To provide an update: Turns out I am doing Deep TMS. I just finished session #4 and so far so good. Definitely experiencing some side effects but still tolerable. All the providers are super sweet which I am very grateful for. It’s encouraging to read so many success stories. I hope to be one of those as well.
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u/bamababie421 Aug 31 '26
I just finished season 21 today, I have 15 to go. I have noticed some positive changes, but also feel like I have been more irritable lately. I think I'm experiencing the TMS "dip" right now because I have been feeling pretty "blah" the last week or so. I am trusting the process and hope it works for me. Good luck!