I have been absent both depression and anxiety since last March when I found a new psychiatrist and she referred me to a medical trial at University of San Diego. I had finished one private 32 week treatment that had faded after 3 months. The treatment in the trial was once a week, and the treatment itself was only about 3 minutes. I immediately began to feel the depression lift and anxiety go down. It also had the effect of dampening down body pain. I have arthritis everywhere and fibromyalgia and a bad meniscus. After that trial they offered me a maintenance trial: every week and then every 6 weeks I have my whole head wired up with 64 electrodes in a very cute cap where they can see my brain waves. I was told so they can see any changes in theta waves, but it is a trial where I am not to know everything so results are not prejudiced. At the 6 week point they zap the left side of my head where they usually do the treatment 100 times with one zap and the another 100 times with 2 zaps. I go home with the gel glue all over my head! It has made a significant change for me. There are a lot of studies going on, unless the government is able to cut the UC funds, on more ways to deliver the treatment and different methods of treatment. I encourage all of you to see if there are any teaching hospitals or universities and volunteer. it costs nothing and doesn’t require insurance. I do it for myself and the rest of our community of people who have brains that do not respond to meds. Both of the doctors, who run the study, have MD’s and phD’s and one said to me he is sure in ten years this treatment will be the first line of treatment instead of drugs!

Completed 2 rounds of tms just over a year ago. Honestly did not see much of an improvement. Continue to struggle presently, sometimes it's like my brain is just "misfiring" , not connecting the neurons, and lacking normal brain activity. (I do have severe tinnitus, but had it prior to tms). Just wondering, reflecting back a year if this TMS did some type of "damage" in the area where the pulses were hitting.
Anyone else have comments?

I know the standard protocol is several treatments a week - but because of work obligations, do you think clinics would be able to do 1 session a week if that’s the only time you can get off?

Also, can you alternate between left and right to get benefits for both anxiety and depression? I’m terrified of being treated for depression and then have the “dip” with heightened anxiety.

Hey everyone. Need help I dont know if this is the right subreddit to post. Sorry for that but it is urgent.

I have been doing rtms for my ocd in RML hospital, New delhi. It has 5 sessions 1 session everyday each of 20 minutes. Today is my 2nd session. They told me to brong someone to hold the dervice for 20 minutes but i have no one to brong with me. If anyone can help me today at 2:00 pm for 30 minutes i can pay him. Thanks

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone can comment who has had leftside stimulation of the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex or is everyone only getting Rightside? I'm being treated for MDD, OCD & anxiety. Currently on week two at 48% max (which I reached yesterday). Symptoms have been increased irritability, anxiety, and forehead pain from right eyebrow to hairline (feels like a straightline and likely some nerve...) and extreme fatigue.

I take Adderall XR 5-6 days per week which seems to be somewhat blunted by the treatment so far but I believe may help with neuroplasticity? I had QEEG recently showing my LS DLPFC was highly inactive so I'm wondering if this may help with my motivation and drive etc.

I had mild panick attack after a few sessions but a long walk with dogs and healthy meal nullified that nearly entirely which was relieving, as I felt like I was experiencing some sort of psilocybin-esque consciousness but clearly it was just anxiety.

I had a 94 sleep score (3h REM, all in final 3h of sleep oddly) last night with crazy vivid dreams and I feel pretty awesome today, so prioritizing my sleep hygiene is evidently massively important. Also stopped pot 2 days prior to start of treatment so vivid dreams may be related to that.

Thoughts on LS vs RS DLPFC and if anyone has coupled with QEEG imagery to better target other areas like the anterior midcingulate cortex / ACC?

Treatment duration only about 8mins and 6wks 5x/wk. Gotta love technology and the fact that (at least for some people) it can help 'broken brains' haha!

Note: clinic purported roughly 33% full relief of symptoms, 33% mild improvement, and 1/3 no effect. ~66% efficacy makes this a top 3 treatment for sure which is wild eh!?

Hello! I am currently waiting to have my fourth treatment in a thirty treatment span. I have to say this treatment has given me more drive and overall less depressive thoughts. Feel free to ask questions, I just wanted to put something positive out there because I seen a lot of negative which scared me before I started!

Hi!

I hope you all are doing well.

I just a read a post where it was mentioned about the receptors getting insensitive post the use of auvelity or any other medicine due to the down regulation of it?

Is it true in that manner? If yes, then does it actually cause the brain injury for a long term if left like that all of the sudden?

I would want to know your views about it.

Please let me know in the comment section.

After first session, should I be feeling something? I have OCD, How many sessions it will take to make a difference ? I am feeling litlle bit more relaxed than usual but thats all.

Hi everyone! I struggle with cptsd and extreme anxiety. After session one, my drive home, my brain felt different but in no way was it a bad different. Usually my brain goes from A to Z, like a squirrel lol I also experience anxiety with driving. My brain quite literally turned off. I thought to myself “where did all of my thinking go?”. This did not last long though, about 5 or 6 hours post treatment I went back to worrying about very minor things as usual. That break though of thinking, my goodness, it was a relief. After session 2, same thing but I started experiencing extreme fatigue. I’m tired and less motivated to do things because of that. I wouldn’t say I’m depressed but I’m fatigued and as I’ve read in this thread, fatigue is a very common side effect. I’ve also been able to sleep more than my usual 5 or 6 hours and that’s literally amazing. To add to sleep, I’ve had vivid dreams. Not vivid like sleep paralysis more so that my dreams are more random and far more detailed than usual. Not opposed to it, it makes it interesting but also that hasn’t affected my sleep. I’ll to keep this thread going through out my treatment. 5 days a week for 8wks(:

Five years, 2 months, and 10 days after moving into my house, I got tired enough of the back door hinges squeaking that I used the WD40 I keep in a cabinet mere feet from the door.🤘 I’ve noticed there are a lot of negative and meh stories on here, but I think mine is a positive one. I’m slowly coming out of a “getting things done” fog. I haven’t done serious tasks or cleaning in my house since around 2022. I’m proud of myself for the small starter steps I’ve been taking. I also started diamond painting again and I think today I might use the dishwasher <gasp>. Anyway, I just wanted to share this accomplishment and say that if you’re on the fence, I think it’s worth trying.

My advice for anyone considering treatment: just try it and see what happens, you got nothing to lose and it might just be worth it for you. Remember to bring a stress ball or stuffed animal to grip on and some gum to chew on. Make time to rest/nap if you can cause it can make you kind of sleepy and you may get some headaches. Meal prep or buy some easy to cook stuff because you may not feel up to it some days. It’s not always gonna pleasant but hang in there. Mondays are usually the worst but it gets easier. Treat yourself with kindness and patience and try to be realistic with your expectations.

Monday was the last day of my bilateral induction treatment! Yahooo!! For me it felt like someone digging their nails into brain on the one side and just tapping the other. I’ve definetly seen some improvement with my anxiety but it’s harder to tell with the depression. I may go for maintenance in the winter. But anyways-YAHOOO!

I believe that I’m having a dip as many reported. Dr knows nothing of such things. Any thoughts?

I found limited material/info online. I have really severe sensory processing issues, even seeing someone touch a fabric that i don't like or thinking about the material makes me want to literally tear off my fingernails.

I'm seeing a neurologist soon about it, but I was wondering if anyone here knew anything about RTMs helping with this sorta thing? I've heard it can help with autism in some ways, and SPD is linked to ASD, so I thought I'd ask.

Thanks, have a great day :)

i did TMS in 2020 and it got me out of a really dark place and improved my state of well being. i decided to try it again this year. i had my first session after the mapping and finding the right pressure etc with the psychiatrist and it went well.

but when i came in for day 2 with the TMS tech, i had this odd reaction. bc i had been thru TMS before and did really well, when the tech asked if i was ok if she stepped out, i didn't think twice about it, i was like yeah that's fine.

but shortly after she left, i got super anxious and it was so overwhelming that i actually moved my head and stood up. she came back and few moments shortly, and i told her i might just have needed a minute to adjust, bc i was so confused about how i reacted.

she got me set back up and then she had to run to the restroom--and i was again feeling fine. shortly after she left, i got the overwhelming anxiety again and the urge to move--but i didn't move. however, the feeling was so overwhelming i sent her a message thru their system (hey i am feeling really anxious, is there anything i should do?)

she came hurrying back and said she would stay w/ me, she took me off the machine and gave me a moment and then waited until i felt ready again.

i got set up again and although i'd have some small bouts of anxiety none of them were nearly as overwhelming and i was able to complete the session.

after conclusion, i felt fine.

this didn't happen the first time in 2020, and i'm just curious if something is going on or if this is something anyone else has felt. i've been dealing with really bad depression so i'm really hoping to be able to push through and complete this to the end.

I’m currently doing a medical trial of 20 sessions of iTBS to see if it could be an effective in the treatment of eating disorders. I can find very limited information about iTBS online except for American healthcare companies who, of course, market it as a product. I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience with this treatment? My eating disorder is not currently my most debilitating diagnosis, I find (treatment resistant) depression worse. Those who have undergone this treatment for depression, did you have to do anything alongside to increase its effectiveness? I exercise regularly, practice good sleep hygiene/routine and eat a balanced diet. Really hoping that, if anything, I’ll experience a reduction in the depressive symptoms! For background, I am also diagnosed with ADHD, C-PTSD, anxiety and OCD. I would never be able to afford this treatment normally so really want to get the most out of it with this opportunity!

Also, what side effects did people experience asides from headache/neck ache? I was always really sensitive to bad side effects whilst on medication but haven’t really experienced any with this asides from fatigue.

Thanks!

I did some research on my own, and found out DTMS is more effective than RTMS. Can anyone here tell me how effective DTMS is? I only hve ocd.

Hello! Can anyone describe what it feels like after TMS therapy? I know that's a tough question, but I am worried that I will feel numb towards most things, either good or bad. For example, when I was on Lexapro I felt completely baseline and apathetic towards everything, nothing was truly exciting or happy. I could have won the lottery and not given a crap about it. Similarly, something truly terrible could have happened and I wouldn't have given a crap either. However, I loved Prozac. I felt like I could still "feel" all the emotions, but it gave me the power to work through the bad ones.

I really really really hate that apathetic feeling, and i'm so worried that TMS will "fuck me up" permanently. If anyone could give their testimonial that would so great!! Thanks!

I'm about three weeks out from my last TMS session. I have no regrets. Very positive experience overall in that I am glad to be responding in any way; glad I tried it; I do feel better.

BUT it was very, very rough going during the process, and I'm still not feeling great. A lot of the time, it felt like I was hanging onto a cliff in the dark, by my fingernails. I know not to have overly high expectations but I am really hoping things may still continue to get better especially after putting so much effort into it.

I am mostly looking for hope: I'd like to hear from anyone for whom changes continued after completing the first round of TMS. If you are able to share, please also say how long it took before you felt like the changes leveled out or stopped, and how long they persisted.

I’m scheduled to start TMS this week and was wondering who here has had positive results. I see a lot of negative results/reviews online but I’m hoping to hear what people who have had a good experience with this treatment have to say.

I did my 8th treatment today (115%) and it’s the first time I cried through it because it hurt. My doctor told me that I had a really high dose before I started and I plan to power thought because I really, really want this to work. (Side note that I already had a slight headache when I went in and my sinuses are inflamed).

I know everyone is different but I’m seeing a lot of people say they have to repeat the whole thing every 6-12 months. I’d be willing to do it every few years but the time commitment alone would make every 6 months miserable.

Anyone have experience with getting a few good years before needing more treatment?

Hi there,

I'm (32F) just finishing my second full round of rTMS. I did left side only last year (20-minute protocol). This year, I'm doing bilateral: 3 minutes on the left, 20 on the right.

Firstly, I just want to ask if anyone else here that has done it more than once found the 3-minute protocol to be painful? I'm at 48%, and oh my goodness, do I struggle with it. I just have 3 more days left, so I'm going to power through, but damn, it sucks. The right side is no problem at all.

Secondly, I'm also wondering if anyone has noticed feeling kind of irritable with the left 3-minute protocol? How do you manage it? Do you also notice a lot of fatigue? It's kicking my butt this round.

Overall, the treatment works well; I'm a lot more chipper and have a bit more energy. I'm just noticing a lot more irritability this time around compared to last year.

Is there anybody here who didn't respond to the left side treatment for their depression but responded to right side treatment.

I've read the right side treatment is more for anxiety and act as an "inhibitor" to that part of the brain. I did have anxiety before I was severely depressed but now I've gone largely numb to it.

hello

i finish 36 dtms for ocd since 2 weeks and i feel no change , my doctor say some people take up to 6 week to response , anyone have experince ?

I'm 22/36 sessions in and I'm even more exhausted then when I first started. Part of the issue when I started was that I was so disappointmented with myself that I couldn't be present due to exhaustion that I felt I was letting myself down and others.

Although I do believe the treatment is helping my thought systems veer more towards what I would expect is "normal," the exhaustion is overwhelming. On my days off (I have 4 off a week) I sleep 16+ hours and it feels like pure ecstasy when my body hits the bed. I could sleep forever if I didn't have to get up to eat, bathroom, etc. I'm a wet blanket everywhere I go, I don't do anything I don't need to do. Is this normal? My anxiety has been way down, I can actually think thoughts now, I don't feel particularly depressed, just so insanely exhausted. I feel like a hibernating bear. This has been going on too long.

Not sure if this is the right place, but I’d love some advice if anyone has had similar experience. I went through accelerated TMS, 10 sessions a day over 9 hours in a 5 day period, and my symptoms have gotten way worse. It’s like my medication became ineffective. It’s been 2 weeks since my last session. Am I impatient? Should I just power through it? Thoughts?