Is TMS right for me?

TMS is FDA approved for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) but is being used in more clinical scenarios everyday. So if you find yourself depressed or anxious or want help with your OCD symptoms we can help.

Are you depressed?

It has been shown that using rTMS is highly effective in the treatment of MDD. This is without any medications or their inherent side effects. (Non-Pharmacological treatment).1 Treatment with rTMS is helpful in patients with treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder. Patients with Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder also respond very well with rTMS treatments.2

Have you tried many medications and failed at alleviating your Depression? Are you struggling with Treatment-Resistant Depression?

Patients who have treatment-resistant depression can be treated with rTMS. One study had the treatment group treated for 6 weeks with rTMS, after which there was a 3 week TMS taper followed by monotherapy (1 medication to maintain the patient, NOT multiple medications). Of the patients who had symptom worsening, 84% were able to reach remission via use of TMS therapy. In total (out of all 99 patients in the study), 84% reached remission (with and without adjunctive TMS therapy). This is an extremely high remission rate for any form of therapy for Depression. This shows patients who do struggle with depression can be treated with rTMS when traditional (medications and psychotherapy) options have failed.3

The acute (immediate) effect and the long-term effect (6 months) after treatment with rTMS are very promising. The Quality of Life outcomes and functional outcomes show a durable effect even 6 months after going through with rTMS treatment followed by monotherapy.4

Is a loved one afflicted with Depression? Is it causing Cognitive Dysfunction?

As you get older, Major Depression has a very strong negative effect on cognitive faculties. This treatment improves cognitive functioning tremendously as well alleviating the depression itself.

Are you worried about SSRIs and their effect on you or your loved one?

Over 500,000 patients were studied retrospectively and reached a conclusion regarding the use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and the effect it has perioperatively on patients. It was observed that patients who were on SSRIs had a higher risk for bleeding complications and hospitalizations related to bleeding.5 Though this is a retrospective study, there is enough data to see that there is an effect of SSRIs on bleeding.

Also a Meta-analysis of a number of studies has shown that there is an increased risk of stroke related with SSRIs. A safer option would be rTMS which has far fewer side effects.6

Upper Gastrointestinal bleeds are a side effect of taking SSRIs, but it is generally rare. Despite its rarity we need to be careful with older patients on multiple medications. Older patients that are taking SSRIs and multiple medications such as NSAIDS, Anticoagulants, and Antiplatelet medications have an almost doubled risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. In these patient groups, we recommend a non-pharmacological treatment of their Depression or Anxiety.7

A SSRI of particular interest was Paroxetine, it showed platelet inhibition via intraplatelet inhibition of serotonin. This prevents the platelets from forming platelet plugs during shear stresses, and this may seem like a good cardioprotective effect. However, the great downside is that it can also cause bleeding at various sites. To prevent this effect of SSRIs, we offer TMS as an option.8

Are you concerned about the side effects of medication?

There is an obvious link between the use of Warfarin and SSRIs that has been observed. Patients who were on warfarin, warfarin & aspirin, and warfarin & SSRI were observed. Of them, patients who were on SSRIs and on Warfarin at the same time suffered a higher mortality rate when afflicted with Primary Intracranial Hemorrhage (PICH). And of those patients who suffered from PICH, 78.9% of patients who were on a SSRI and Warfarin did not survive compared to patients who were taking Warfarin alone or Aspirin in conjunction with Warfarin, 50.7% and 58.8% respectively. This shows that taking SSRI along with other blood thinners increases the chance of abnormal bleeding and worsening an already existing bleeding problem.9

Are you a tobacco user that's looking to quit?

Daily TMS treatments has shown a significant decrease in cigarette cravings and use.10 Even after 1 TMS session a clear reduction in nicotine craving was found.11 Additionally a single TMS treatment session was enough for study participants had a much lower craving for nicotine, and this reduction in craving was clearly seen in the EEG results of the participants.12