“Absolutely Life Changing”: Amazing Success Stories Trickle out as TMS Therapy Grows More Popular

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Is Giving Desperate People with Depression Hope

I am currently doing a round of TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) therapy — a newer treatment for depression and some other mental disorders — and as I am going through it, I keep up with others’ stories of how it helped them. While not everyone has benefited from it, the success rate is high -- approximately 70% by one statistic -- and the positive stories I’ve come across have been nothing short of amazing.

“This has been absolutely life-changing for me,” reported one person on a Reddit sub for the therapy. “It took my depression score from 27 out of 29 to 2,” they said, adding, “I have never felt this way in my life. I wake up happy and I enjoy my days.”

Several people told of years of failed medications, then finally finding success with this one, a non-drug treatment that uses a large magnet placed atop the head in a targeted spot which then stimulates neuronal growth and brain health.

One person had gone through three failed years of medication and therapy. (Many others have been struggling with ineffective or “pooped-out” meds for years and even decades, like me).

They had attempted suicide twice and were “drowning deeper in the sea of depression than ever before.” They felt TMS was their final chance.

The Crushing Weight of Carrying the Safe of Depression Gets Lighter and Lighter

“With each day of your treatment passing, you will notice something has been taken out of that safe you’ve carried with you,” they advised a worried user considering the therapy. “You may as I did walk out of the office and realize the fresh air feels just a bit better, or the sunset is more beautiful than the day before.”

This echoes some of the effects I felt after walking out of an early session — colors actually looked more vibrant. I had more energy to do the projects I wanted to do and do the chores I needed to do. I was feeling more resilient and like my old self.

“In time you might even realize you can look yourself in the mirror, you can look your loved ones in the eyes again and give them an ever so slight smile,” the person continued. “You may realize that unlike before, there is meaning behind this smile now, it is no longer a lie you tell to protect them,” they continued, saying they found themselves eager to do the things they once loved to do that the depression took so long ago.

“TMS gave me my wife back!”

Some folks were writing not about themselves but about the success their loved ones had.

“TMS gave me my wife back!” wrote one relieved husband.

She had been severely depressed; her mother was ill and then passed away and she was trying to get a leave of absence for her TMS treatment. Then her company fired her, making the situation even more dire.

He was very worried they’d have no chance after that. But turns out he needn’t have. “Well…her treatment was a RESOUNDING success!” he wrote. “Week after week, her score continued to drop. I believe her starting depression score was a 24. Her very last follow up appointment post treatment...WAS A 2!!!”

He has watched his wife return to him more and more. “Does she still have days where she feels down? Of course. She's human. Trying to find a job had been incredibly stressful. But she remained optimistic and when she would get really down about it, she always bounced right back. She's dancing again. Singing again. Cracking jokes again. Her sex drive has gotten better. She's herself again. TMS gave me my wife back.”

Helped with Smoking Cessation and Weight Loss

Getting your mental health back is huge, but a side benefit from that is better impulse control, which can help with losing weight and quitting smoking.

One person had success with both.

“Has anyone else noticed other positive effects in their life besides reduced depression symptoms after completing TMS treatment?” she wrote.

“I have been vaping (nicotine) for about four years, and tried quitting multiple times within the past year or two using multiple methods with no success. However, about four weeks ago I decided to try and quit again, cold turkey, and found it to be extremely easy compared to the other times I tried to quit.”

She said she was pretty sure it was due to the TMS, because she had read when researching TMS that it helps with smoking cessation.

“I was just surprised because I completed my treatment in March and vaped all throughout the treatment process, and up until four weeks ago, I didn't think it would still have an effect but I’m super glad it did,” she added.

She also lost around 50 pounds since the beginning of her treatment, which started in December 2023.

“I understand this may not be positive for some people,” she wrote, “but I am happy that I am losing some of the weight that I gained due to medication side effects/depression in general.”

It’s been so nice to read the success stories that are posted regularly. Could it be this type of magnetic/electric treatment is the new wave in psychiatry, a sea change akin to when Prozac and other SSRIs debuted?

It’s still early days in the psych world (which is historically glacial in its progressiveness, a real travesty imo as depression is so debilitating and can be fatal).

But with the evidence and stories pouring out, I would bet dollars to doughnuts it is.

One of the patients put it more eloquently than I:

“You may find yourself eager to do the things you once loved to do that the depression took from you so long ago. You truly for the first time in far too many years may be feeling happiness, hope, and excitement for life. I now write this to you as a man who finds nothing but the blessings of life. One no longer shrouded by self hatred and darkness but by happiness and self-forgiveness. You will find this too, you will find it difficult to comprehend, let alone put into words for another. But one word comes close to defining it, beautiful. And the beauty of this procedure is why you live, this is why you choose to come here everyday and fight this battle. Because you have hope, and with that you will triumph. You will take back everything from the darkness.”

Have you heard of TMS therapy? Have you tried it? would you consider trying it? Post a comment here!

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