TMS: A Firsthand Account

    Recently, I shared a post by Stephanie Debnath, PMHNP-BC.  It provided a psychiatric nurse practitioner’s perspective and experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).  Today I would like to share my experience as a patient.  

            My psychiatrist, Dr. S, first brought up the possibility of trying TMS in 2019.  I was struggling with depression.  Medication just did not help.  We discussed TMS and I was open to trying it.  

            When I first walked into SoCal TMS I did not know much about this treatment.  I had some basic information that Dr. S had shared with me.  I knew that she thought it could help me and I trusted that.  The SoCal TMS staff explained the treatment to me.  I filled out rating forms.  I completed all the necessary steps to get started.  Still, I didn’t know what to expect as we got started.  

            I was depressed.  I could not see my life outside of the darkness of depression.  I struggled with suicidal thoughts.   I was not sure anything could help me.  But Dr. S thought TMS was worth trying as did my psychologist Dr. K.  I was ready to give it a try.

            So, what is TMS like.  First, I sat in a large chair that reclined.  The psychiatrist and techs took measurements of my head.  They situated me in the chair and fitted a pad to the top of my head.  Soon I felt tapping.  It did not hurt.  There was a sort of rhythm to it.  They measured reactions to the magnetic taps in my hand. Quickly, they found the right settings and I was set for my first treatment.

            I attended treatment daily.  At first there were no noticeable changes, but the psychiatrist and techs encouraged me to be patient.  They said it would happen.  I just had to give it time.  Each session lasted about 45-50 minutes.   They were treating both my depression and anxiety.  

            After about three weeks I noticed my mood lifting. I felt lighter.  My thoughts were not as dark.  TMS was working.  I could feel the depression lifting.  I could not believe it.  I had never felt this type of lifting of my mood before.  Over the remainder of the treatment, my mood continued to improve.  I literally felt as if a weight had been lifted off me.  No medication had ever made me feel like this.  TMS was working.

            The psychiatrist explained to me that it was not a permanent change, but that I could expect to feel this way for several months.  He told me that the lifting of the depression lasts different lengths for different people. He promised me that when the depression came back, he would use TMS again to relieve it.  

            I could not believe how I felt.  I was not clouded in darkness.  For me it lasted several months.  When the symptoms of depression returned, Dr. S sent me back to SoCal TMS.  This time I was treated by Dr. Hutton, one of the leaders in TMS treatment and the head of SoCal TMS.  I learned a lot from him.  He set me up with treatment again.  My experience the second time was similar to the first time.  Again, around the third week, I felt the depression lifting.  By the end of treatment, I was feeling good.  

            TMS has been a godsend for me. I have lived with depression for almost four decades.  Noting had ever relieved it the way TMS does.  I do not understand all the science behind it, although Stephanie has explained a lot of it to me.  The one thing I do know is that TMS works.  

            Now, I monitor my mood.  I know when it is time for TMS treatment.  I am confident TMS will help me.  So, I will return each time it is necessary.  Based on my experience, I would recommend TMS to others struggling with depression.  If you haven’t already read Stephanie Debnath’s post on this blog, Renewed and Recharged (TMS),  from October 20, I encourage you to read it.  You can also learn more about how TMS works in my memoir, Traveling the Healing Journey: Finding the Light in Mental Illness. Check out SoCal TMS’s website and social media for more information and to connect with them.  See links below.

            I am not a mental health professional, but I can speak from my own experience.  TMS works for me.  I know it works for others.  I believe in this treatment, and I encourage others to explore it for themselves.

 

Links:

 

Get more information from SoCal TMS:

https://socaltms.com/

 

Learn about TMS in my book:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/traveling-the-healing-journey-gina-capobianco/1142298691?ean=9798218067380

 

https://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Healing-Journey-Finding-Illness/dp/B0BFW7MVG5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1U96Z0EWXCQ8&keywords=gina+capobianco&qid=1698627517&sprefix=gina+capobia,aps,143&sr=8-1