Life-changing treatment program in Ohio expanding for veterans and first responders – WTRF

CADIZ, Ohio (WTRF) What would you do to change your life?

For the far too many veterans and first responders caught in the struggles of PTSD, the answer is just about anything.

Last year 7News brought you to a small room inside the Harrison County Sheriffs Department where a ground-breaking treatment was pulling people away from the lingering trauma of military service and towards a new-life.And because of the life-altering success, the program is expanding across Ohio.

I just reached the point in my life, you know, I couldnt stand what I was doing. I tried to commit suicide once. My daughter just ran to the basement screaming no daddy no.

For 50-years, Marine Corps veteran Terry Wildman carried what happened in the jungles of Vietnam with him.

He sought treatment, and it helped, but it wasnt enough.Then Wildman found TMS in Harrison County.

A lot of guys are coming in here having post-traumatic stress to severe levels, I mean, to where theyre thinking about doing bad things and this gives them hope.

Dirk Harkins has faced his own struggles with PTSD.

He too had TMS treatment change his life, but had to travel to Texas for it.

To know that I had brothers and sisters back here in Ohio struggling from the same thing that didnt have the ability to get this like I did, the fight was on.

The fight continues to expand the treatment in Ohio, but its getting easier.

First, this program was made possible through a collaboration with Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center. It allowed the TMS treatment to come to the Harrison County Sheriffs Department for veterans.

30 days, life-changing results: The new treatment available to veterans in the Ohio Valley

When that contract ended; Harkins, Ohio State Senator Frank Hoagland, and others got to work grying to get funding from the state. They did, and now TMS will be more widely available; not just to veterans, but first responders too.

You may be able to be better focused, better response times. We work with people all over the country and we hear my wife likes me again, my children tolerate me again, Im able to sleep better, focus better, concentrate. Then, how does that impact your work?

TMS treatments work with magnets. As Harkins describes it, it re-boots the brain.

There are two types of TMS treatment, and what a veteran or first responder needs is determined by medical experts and an initial EEG.

Currently, sTMS is whats available at the Harrison County Sheriffs Department. Its 30-minute sessions, five days a week for 30-days. With this new program, eTMS will be a possibility. Its 100-times the output and lasts about 14-16 minutes at a time, with one session a day for 30-days.

Some parts of the program may also pair counseling with TMS treatments.

The treatment is FDA approved for migraines, anxiety and OCD, but its also helping participants with a critical basic function.

They go from restless nights to a more sound sleep.

I havent slept for 50-years. Every night of my life Im back in the jungle. Somethings wrong. I couldnt do what I wanted to do.

I couldnt believe what was happening (after the treatment). I thought my God, where has this been years and years ago.

While the treatments are five-days a week for 30-days, the initial results come fairly quickly.

Even after youre done, the program has a way to make sure the benefits of TMS And eTMS dont wear off.

Charles company developed technology that works like a watch, to track data and notify doctors when a veteran may be slipping backwards.

Lets say in a couple months your sleep starts going down. We are notified by our technology and the doctors are notified. The peer support people are notified. Well give you a call and say is something going on in your life?.

Harkins calls it a quality of life machine.

He explained all it takes is commitment to the program to get life-changing results.

Were seeing that its reducing opioid cravings, alcohol, its relieving pain, mobility. Its amazing some of the things Im seeing how its working.

TMS treatments will be available in Barnesville, New Lexington, Columbus and Youngstown at the end of this month.

The initial center at the Harrison County Sheriffs Department will be there too.

Veterans or first responders who think they could benefit from this treatment can call Dirk Harkins at 740-491-7125.

There will also be a website up and running soon where veterans and first responders can sign up for the TMS program. When its active, 7News will be sure to link it here.

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Life-changing treatment program in Ohio expanding for veterans and first responders - WTRF