TMS-Ohio FAQ
TMS or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation treats depression with patients that have treatment resistant depression. Meaning that you have tried medications, therapy, or counseling and despite those eorts, you are still experiencing negative symptoms.
When a person is experiencing depressive symptoms, neurons that are involved with mood are dormant or not operating at their full capacity. TMS sends magnetic pulses to regions of the brain to stimulate these areas to help reactivate those neurons. Stimulating these areas can relieve depressive and anxious symptoms.
The standard protocol is 36 20-minute treatments. The first 6 weeks, the treatments take place Monday-Friday and the last 3 weeks, they take place 2-3 times a week for a total of 9 weeks. Patients are normally in and out of the oce within 25-30 minutes.
Most major insurance carriers will cover 70-100 percent of the treatment cost.
Noninvasive procedures do not involve tools that break the skin or physically enter the body. Examples include TMS, x-rays, a standard eye exam, CT scan, MRI, ECG, etc..
A medical procedure that doesn’t travel through your body. TMS targets to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
It is not a guarantee that your depression will go away. Real clinical settings have shown 60%-70 have a profound benefit from TMS.
Some patients see benefits within the first weeks, towards the end, or even months after the treatment protocol has been completed
TMS is FDA approved to treat depression, anxious depression, OCD, & Smoking cessation. Insurance typically only approves TMS for Depression and OCD currently.
TMS is covered by all major commercial insurance companies as well as Medicare. In most cases, insurance covers anywhere between 70-100% of the total cost of treatment.
The majority of TMS clinics recommend coming in for treatment 3-5 days a week. Studies have shown that taking gaps less than 14 days do not have a direct impact on the efficacy of the treatment protocol. Example: vacation for a week is fine.
The only contraindications for TMS are metal in the head and history of seizures. Any metal in or around the head area will prevent a patient from being a good candidate for TMS. Dental work is considered non ferromagnetic and is not an issue. Any history of seizures should be discussed thoroughly with the provider to determine eligibility.
These are different than medical policy guidelines. For example, someone with Bipolar can get treatment if they do an o-label procedure and if the doctor prescribes it.
During TMS treatment, a patient does not discontinue any of their active medications (unless agreed upon by the doctor). In fact, it is best to keep everything as consistent as possible. A patient’s medication regimen, sleep schedule, caeine intake, water intake and alcohol intake should be kept as consistent as possible from the initial mapping to the completion of the TMS protocol. If a patient changes medication mid treatment, it becomes dicult to dierentiate if any benefits are caused by the treatment or the change in medications.
A standard treatment of TMS lasts 20 minutes. The patient sits comfortably in a chair for the duration of the treatment and typically is in and out in ~ 25 minutes. Most patients enjoy listening to music, reading a book, and even watching T.V. during the daily treatments.
Most TMS patients experience no side effects, but some do report mild headaches or tingling sensations in the jaw, face, or scalp. These side eects generally subside within a couple of weeks of treatment completion. Most patients who experience these side effects find them mild and tolerable enough to complete their treatment without interruption.