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.