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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zola on May 28, 2005, at 20:36:48
Hi, Just wondering if anyone has experience with or knowledge of rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation. It's still in the research stage in US, but is available in Canada (and maybe some other countries). I'm considering it because of lack of success with meds and am unwilling to try ect.
Thanks, Zola
Posted by MidnightBlue on May 29, 2005, at 0:34:18
In reply to rTMS, posted by zola on May 28, 2005, at 20:36:48
Zola,
I tried to get into a clinical trial here in the US, but I was having extra ventricular heart beats and they wouldn't let me in. From what I learned about it after talking to the research doc there is about a 50% chance it will help. It is somewhat painful for some people and they weren't sure if it would cause migraine headaches.I would have had to go every day for about an hour for SEVERAL weeks and then it would have been tapered. I wouldn't have known if I had gotten the real deal or sham until after the 6 weeks.
This is STILL something I would possibly consider.
MidnightBlue
Hi, Just wondering if anyone has experience with or knowledge of rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation. It's still in the research stage in US, but is available in Canada (and maybe some other countries). I'm considering it because of lack of success with meds and am unwilling to try ect.
>
> Thanks, Zola
Posted by zola on May 29, 2005, at 11:32:26
In reply to Re: rTMS » zola, posted by MidnightBlue on May 29, 2005, at 0:34:18
> Zola,
> I tried to get into a clinical trial here in the US, but I was having extra ventricular heart beats and they wouldn't let me in. From what I learned about it after talking to the research doc there is about a 50% chance it will help. It is somewhat painful for some people and they weren't sure if it would cause migraine headaches.
>
> I would have had to go every day for about an hour for SEVERAL weeks and then it would have been tapered. I wouldn't have known if I had gotten the real deal or sham until after the 6 weeks.
>
> This is STILL something I would possibly consider.
>
> MidnightBlue
>
>
>
> Hi, Just wondering if anyone has experience with or knowledge of rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation. It's still in the research stage in US, but is available in Canada (and maybe some other countries). I'm considering it because of lack of success with meds and am unwilling to try ect.
> >
> > Thanks, Zola
>
>
HI Midnight Blue, I was going to participate in a 6 week trial being done by Stanford in Southern California. Because it was about a 4 to 5 hour drive for me everyday and I didn't know if I would really be getting the treatment, I've decided to go to Canada and pay for it. It's expensive, but if it works it's worth it. I've been thru so many meds and feel like this depression is going to kill me unless I can get some relief.
Looking in the old archives, I found someone posting as Pfinstegg posting about success with rTMS. I'd be curious to know if it's still working for him. Is there anyway we can post looking for someone?Thanks, Zola
Posted by Cecilia on May 30, 2005, at 4:16:34
In reply to Re: rTMS, posted by zola on May 29, 2005, at 11:32:26
I had rTMS in Canada. It was painful and expensive, and unfortunately did nothing for my depression, but everone is different and it works great for some. I definitely think that if you can afford it it`s better to go to Canada and know for sure you`re getting the real treatment, not the "sham". (In my experience, the"sham" concept is a joke, it feels like someone is pounding nails in your head, I don`t see how you could possibly not know you were getting the real treatment if you were. But again, everyone is different, some people don`t feel it at all.) Cecilia
Posted by MidnightBlue on May 30, 2005, at 10:54:41
In reply to Re: rTMS, posted by Cecilia on May 30, 2005, at 4:16:34
I believe the sham treatment still feels like they are pounding nails in your head they just change the setting or location a bit so it isn't effective. There is a "promise" of getting the real deal for free if you get the sham treatment. So you have a 50/50 chance of getting the real deal and a 50/50 chance of it working the first time around.
MidnightBlue
I had rTMS in Canada. It was painful and expensive, and unfortunately did nothing for my depression, but everone is different and it works great for some. I definitely think that if you can afford it it`s better to go to Canada and know for sure you`re getting the real treatment, not the "sham". (In my experience, the"sham" concept is a joke, it feels like someone is pounding nails in your head, I don`t see how you could possibly not know you were getting the real treatment if you were. But again, everyone is different, some people don`t feel it at all.) Cecilia
Posted by zola on May 30, 2005, at 11:54:22
In reply to Re: rTMS, posted by Cecilia on May 30, 2005, at 4:16:34
> I had rTMS in Canada. It was painful and expensive, and unfortunately did nothing for my depression, but everone is different and it works great for some. I definitely think that if you can afford it it`s better to go to Canada and know for sure you`re getting the real treatment, not the "sham". (In my experience, the"sham" concept is a joke, it feels like someone is pounding nails in your head, I don`t see how you could possibly not know you were getting the real treatment if you were. But again, everyone is different, some people don`t feel it at all.) Cecilia
Painful how? And if you were in Vancouver can you recommend a hotel to stay in? Is there an area that's more interesting to stay in than others since I'll be there for at least two weeks alone? Did you do two or three weeks treatment? And were you getting two 1/2 hour treaments per day, 5 days a week? It's so expensive if it doesn't work. When you were having it done, did you see other people who were having success with it?
Thanks, Zola
Posted by Cecilia on May 31, 2005, at 2:12:26
In reply to Re: rTMS, posted by zola on May 30, 2005, at 11:54:22
For me, it felt literally like someone was pounding nails into my head with a hammer. The first week was the worst, it got better the second week, though still painful. Also, sometimes it would make my eyes water. I had a low grade headache off and on the whole 2 weeks, and it seemed to make me exhausted and worsen my insomnia, though maybe that was partly due to dread of the next day`s sessions. The literature describes the procedure as painless-the brochure actually suggests you could read during the sessions, so the first session was the worst, such a shock when you`re not expecting pain. I had 20 sessions-2 a day for 2 weeks at U.S.$200 a session (January 2004). Another woman there was on her second three week set of sessions. Apparently she had quite dramatic results with the first set of treatments but relapsed within 6 weeks, she said the second set of treatments helped, but not as much as the first. I`ve often wondered how she`s doing. She didn`t experience any pain with the sessions. I stayed at a Holiday Inn that was within walking distance of the clinic, it had a medical rate as it was close to a big hospital, and there were lots of restaurants and stores nearby. The treatments really made me tired. At first I would go browse at a nearby bookstore in the hour or two between sessions, but after a few days I couldn`t do that any more, all I could do was sit in a chair and listen to the loud pounding of another client getting treated. I told them they should get a quiet room with a couch for people to lie down between sessions, perhaps they have by now. But if what they told me is true, the kind of intense pain I felt is extremely rare, they really had no idea why, the doctor said maybe it was because I was on clonazepam, maybe because I was older (54), or maybe I just had a thick skull. Of course, if it had worked it would have been worth any amount of money and pain. Cecilia
This is the end of the thread.
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