TMS Therapy: Benefits, Risks, and more – Healthgrades

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy uses magnets to stimulate brain cells. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TMS therapy as a treatment for major depressive disorder.Doctors do not fully understand how or why TMS therapy works for some people, but they are researching the therapy more.

TMS therapy is noninvasive, which means it happens on the outside of your body. In TMS specifically, doctors place magnets on your head, and the therapy itself does not hurt.

A doctor may recommend TMS therapy if you have depression that has not responded to other therapies. It is important to remember that TMS is not right for everyone, and your doctor can best advise you.

This article will explain more about TMS therapy, its potential benefits, the side effects it may have, and how much it costs.

TMS therapy is technically a type of neuromodulation, according to 2019 research. This name comes from the fact that it involves modulating, or stimulating, your brain cells through the use of magnetic energy.

Read more about depression and its different types.

TMS is a form of brain stimulation, or neuromodulation, that doctors use as a treatment for depression. It stimulates the brain using electromagnetic fields. It is also called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) because the magnetic stimulation is delivered repeatedly, in pulses.

In TMS, magnetic fields produce electrical currents that currents pass through the brain. They stimulate cells in areas that influence mood and emotion.

As mentioned, TMS therapy is noninvasive, so you may have it in a doctors office while you are awake.Most people will receive TMS therapy for a duration of 46 weeks and a total of 2030 treatments.

During and after the treatment

Most people sit upright in a chair during their treatments. The doctor uses a machine with a moving device that resembles the type of light you might see at a dentists office, and the doctor can move it to different spots on your head.

The device generates magnetic currents around your head. It creates very fast pulses of magnetic power intended to stimulate certain areas of your brain.

Each TMS treatment takes about 45 minutes. You can resume your usual activities immediately after the treatment.

Some people may experience some slight pain in their head near the magnetic currents. You may also have a slight headache after the treatment ends.

TMS therapy has a few different benefits. These include the following:

Alternative treatment option

TMS therapy may benefit people who have major depression and want to try a different treatment.

This might be because other treatments have not helped or the person is experiencing severe side effects from the medications.

TMS therapy is noninvasive, which means it happens in a doctors office in an outpatient setting. The treatment sessions are usually less than 1 hour in length. There is no recovery period, which means you can resume your daily activities right after.

TMS therapy has minimal side effects, especially for people who find medication side effects intolerable.Doctors can also use it alongside other treatments, such as therapy.

Overall, doctors consider TMS therapy to be a very safe form of depression treatment. Yet it does have some potential side effects and risks.

The most commonly reported side effects of TMS therapy are mild pain in the areas being stimulated on the head and muscle twitching during the treatments, according to Michigan Medicine. Some people may also experience a headache or toothache after the treatment.

In very rare cases, TMS therapy can cause seizures. For that reason, doctors recommend that people with epilepsy do not use TMS therapy.

Additionally, TMS therapy may not be accessible to everyone. Some insurance plans will cover it but without insurance, it may be an expensive treatment.

According to a 2017 study, the average cost of treatment ranges from around $3,000 to over $11,000. Yet when compared to taking long-term medications, TMS therapy may actually cost less and be more effective as a depression treatment.

Typically, doctors will recommend TMS therapy to people who have major depressive disorder and have not found success in trying multiple other forms of treatment.

For instance, you may a candidate for TMS therapy if you have tried different medications for depression, but the medications have not worked.

Additionally, you may be able to get TMS therapy if you cannot tolerate the side effects of depression medications.

TMS therapy might be controversial only because it is somewhat misunderstood. For instance, some people might mistake TMS for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but the two are very different.

While doctors can use both therapies to treat mental disorders, ECT is more commonly used for severe depression and bipolar disorder, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

ECT is also much more intense than TMS. While TMS therapy involves only magnetic energy and happens as an outpatient procedure, ECT happens only if you are under anesthesia and it induces a mini seizure in the brain.

According to a 2019 research review, TMS therapy is a proven and effective treatment for depression.

Everyone is different, but people who have not been able to tolerate medications for depression and anxiety may have the most success with TMS therapy.

TMS therapy is an FDA-approved treatment for major depression that has not responded to other types of treatments, such as medication and therapy. TMS therapy involves magnetic energy to induce electrical currents that stimulate brain cells. It targets areas of the brain responsible for mood and emotion.

You can get TMS therapy in a doctors office because it does not involve anything invasive. A doctor will put a device near your head that will use magnets to produce the magnetic energy.

Doctors consider TMS therapy very safe but do not recommend it for people who have epilepsy.

Typically, TMS therapy occurs over 46 weeks and can be an effective treatment for major depression, especially if other treatments have not helped.

See the article here:

TMS Therapy: Benefits, Risks, and more - Healthgrades