If you are someone with depression, then you might want to know more about this therapy. To give you a brief background, check out the following items. 

You can do some things to ensure that you will maximise the benefits of TMS therapy. These include:

While TMS treatment is extremely safe, there are quite some exceptions. Be aware of any precautions or contraindications associated with TMS. Some people should not undergo the procedure, including those with metal implants in the head. Tell your doctor if you have any implantable devices, stents, and bullet fragments, or aneurysm clips near your head or neck area.

In general, TMS treatment is safe as long as the provided guidelines are being followed. After undergoing TMS, you may have headaches, feel sleepy, and experience other mild, short-term symptoms.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation sessions last approximately 18 minutes each and take place in a comfortable setting. TMS uses magnetic waves to activate certain areas of the brain. During a TMS session, patients do not require anaesthesia. An electromagnetic coil is placed against the patient’s forehead, and small, electromagnetic pulses are generated through the coil. The pulses pass through the skull and stimulate the area of the brain thought to regulate mood.

Over 3,500 papers have been published speaking to the efficacy of TMS. One report in particular states that TMS aided people who had treatment-resistant depression. They saw a 58 per cent positive response rate and a 37 per cent remissions rate. Another trial in 2010 showed that TMS led to a 14 per cent remission rate compared to 5 per cent without it. A second phase of the trial allowed all patients to receive proper TMS and, astonishingly, remission rates rose to almost 30 per cent. Of the patients who’ve claimed improvement from TMS, most state the benefits are still there three years later. TMS therapy has been so far successful and has proof for it.

Both are similar but rTMS treatment is more popular. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation uses a magnet referred to by professionals as a ‘figure of eight coil’. This coil emits repetitive magnetic pulses to the specific area of the brain known to cause the condition being treated. In comparison, deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or dTMS, uses an ‘H-coil’, which looks like a helmet. The magnetic pulses are emitted on a much larger area of the brain as it’s much less focused than TMS.

Today, rTMS treatment is being used for patients with depression who aren’t successful with other treatments. There is research underway, however, to see whether TMS can work effectively on other disorders, including ADHD, schizophrenia, and OCD, to name a few.

Now that you have read this article, it would be easier for you to decide whether TMS therapy is for you or not. Whatever your decision would be, there’s no doubt that this treatment has brought a lot of people to benefit from their depression disorder. Some may have lessened their symptoms with it, others enjoyed a full recovery. If you are interested in acquiring this treatment, you have to make sure that you only consult a professional doctor. You surely don’t want your condition to worsen due to an unreliable doctor.