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Category: TMS

Alternative Treatments for Depression–TMS and IV Ketamine Treatments

More than 264 million people around the world have depression, making it one of the most common mental health disorders. Depression has also been the leading cause of suicide among teenagers and young adults, known to disrupt the lives of patients who have it.

The more common treatments for depression are psychotherapy and antidepressants, but their inability to treat all patients led to research for alternative treatments. These researches resulted in the discovery of two successful alternate treatments for depression, more commonly known as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and IV Ketamine Treatments.

However, before explaining how these two methods help treat depression, let’s first briefly explore what depression is.

Depression

Depression is one of the most common mood disorders, which leads patients to experience persistent sadness and loss of interest in routine life. In severe cases, it can seriously disrupt the patient’s ability to engage in daily tasks and functioning.

Common Symptoms

Depression can make the patient experience a range of symptoms, the most common of which are listed below:

  • Sadness and emptiness
  • Loss of interest in hobbies and routine activities
  • Insomnia or disturbed sleeping patterns
  • Anxiety and restlessness
  • Chronic physical pain

In its most severe form, depression can also make patients suicidal, which makes it especially dangerous.

Treating Depression through TMS

TMS is an alternate treatment for depression that uses electromagnetic waves to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to alleviate symptoms of depression.

How it Works

Since depression largely impacts the amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus, treating depression through TMS involves directing electromagnetic waves towards these areas of the brain. The stimulation pushes the nerve cells in the region to help ease symptoms.

Treating Depression Through IV Ketamine Treatments

Ketamine is a notorious drug that became popular for its misuse in clubs and during parties. However, during various studies regarding mental health, researchers discovered that Ketamine effectively treats mood disorders.

How it Works

Ketamine treatment involves injecting IV ketamine into the patient during a session that lasts 40 minutes. Ketamine treatment is effective because it immediately alleviates the symptoms and blocks NMDA receptors to activate glutamate, repairing areas of the brain causing depressive symptoms. Hence, the patient does not need ketamine to always be present in the system to find relief.

Important Advice

Both these treatments are employed only when a patient does not respond to regular treatments for depression and should only be done under a certified doctor’s supervision.

Conclusion

To conclude, alternate treatments for depression like TMS and IV Ketamine Treatments have successfully  helped patients who were unable to find relief through the regular methods. They work by stimulating the dorsolateral frontal cortex of the brain as with TMS, or blocking NMDA receptors to active glutamate, as with IV ketamine treatments.

If you are suffering from depression and seeking help, please contact us and schedule a session with us.

 

TMS Kansas City

TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It’s a recent treatment for depression that has been revolutionizing the field of clinical psychiatry. It’s FDA Approved for the treatment of depression since 2008. It’s now used extensively across the world as a successful treatment for depression.

At times there are patients that don’t respond to standard medical treatment for depression such as antidepressants, or patients who have side effects that are frequently caused by these types of medications that they just don’t want to experience any longer. The treatment consists of 6 weeks of non-invasive, in-office treatments that take place 5 days a week for a total of 30 treatments.

This non-invasive method of treatment stimulates the neuromuscular tissue using strong, time-varying magnetic fields to induce electrical currents. Instead of using invasive electrical currents like in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), TMS stimulates the dorsolateral precontral cortex. The pulse that you will experience is much like what you would experience in a regular MRI. It works to help depression in both short-term and long-term, and the benefits have been proven to last for many years.    

TMS is an effective and non-invasive treatment that patients can drive home after. One of the biggest advantages of TMS treatment is that there are no side effects like you find with medications, such as nausea, weight gain, dry mouth or decreased sex drive.  As a result of TMS, many patients’ mood, energy, and concentration have significantly improved, and many patients have been able to taper off medications after finishing TMS, no longer needing to be on a long list of medications. TMS is FDA-approved and covered by all insurances, and has dramatically improved depression for tens of thousands of patients over the years.

What is TMS and Does it Work?

Depression affects more than 17 million adults in America. It’s one of the leading causes of disability in the country. Many people start the treatment for it, but at times, end up feeling more miserable than before. That happens because antidepressants and psychotherapy do not work for everyone. Approximately two-thirds of people who try antidepressants don’t get enough relief.

In some cases, depression can be so severe and stubborn that it doesn’t dissipate even after a patient has been on antidepressants for months. For such patients, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a ray of sunshine.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS is a noninvasive procedure that exposes some parts of the brain to electromagnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells. The process is typically performed by a doctor who holds up an electromagnetic coil near the front of the patient’s head. This creates a magnetic field around the left prefrontal cortex in the brain, which is responsible for the symptoms of depression in a person.

The field that’s generated through the coil sends an electric current to the brain and helps release certain chemicals. Those chemicals, over time, elevate the mood.

This therapy is usually performed five times a week. And doctors recommend patients to get at least 30 sessions for better results. It has proven to be effective in the past. About 50-60% of people with depression, who had failed to receive any form of relief through the old methods to treat it, experienced a reduction in their symptoms after using TMS therapy.

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