Mayo Clinic Article on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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Link to TMS Article

For those of you who have been following various conversations on TMS, the linked-to Mayo Clinic article provides useful information in plain, ordinary English.  Here are some excerpts:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression.  TMS is typically used when other depression treatments haven't been effective.

Depression is a treatable condition, but for some people, standard treatments aren't effective. Repetitive TMS is typically used when standard treatments such as medications and talk therapy (psychotherapy) don't work.

Generally, TMS is considered safe and well-tolerated.  However, it can cause some side effects ... generally mild to moderate and improve shortly after an individual session and decrease over time with additional sessions. They may include:

• Headache
• Scalp discomfort at the site of stimulation
• Tingling, spasms or twitching of facial muscles
• Lightheadedness

Serious side effects are rare. They may include:

• Seizures
• Mania, particularly in people with bipolar disorder
• Hearing loss if there is inadequate ear protection during treatment

More study is needed to determine whether TMS may have any long-term side effects.

I still find the idea of this less scary than ECT.

The hope is that this will be a jumpstart leading to other positive changes.

With situational depression, the situation needs to change in order for it to improve, though...

It would not be good to try this then to move on to ECT or heavier duty medications if the desired result isn’t achieved.

Probably the doctors know what they are doing.

Sorry Marknis! Members of the community are just concerned.

I did a session at NIH as part of a study on muscle movement while hooked up to an EEG study. It wasn't painful but it gave me bizarre dreams.

Side note, the EEG showed I have minimal alpha wave activity both during waking hours and what little sleep I get. Neurotypical brains show a pyramid pattern during thought and muscle response, and mine looked like a football.

I'd definitely try this. Seems a lot less invasive/less serious in terms of side effects than ECT.

I talked to my psychiatrist about this before like 15 years ago & she said it didn't really work. She didn't listen to me that much thou & this thing was still new back then so it's quite possible she's wrong. I'm curious about this for my girlfriend cuz she tried aLOT of antidepressants over the last 6 & half years & nothing has majorly helped her.