When May TMS Be Recommended as a Depression Treatment

When May TMS Be Recommended as a Depression Treatment?

Many people suffer from the debilitating symptoms of depression. While it is normal to feel
sadness from time to time, clinical depression is persistent. The best treatment for
depression will depend on the patient’s history, along with the severity of the symptoms. In
some cases, dTMS protocols such as SAINT TMS may be the best solution.

What Are the Symptoms of Depression?

Depression goes beyond feeling unhappy. People often experience:
A loss of interest in activities

 Sleep changes
 Fatigue
 Difficulty concentrating
 Weight changes
 Appetite changes
 Hopelessness or thoughts of suicide
In some cases, depression will be accompanied by other conditions such as PTSD or OCD.
When medication does not improve patient symptoms, interventional therapies, such as
BrainsWay dTMS™, are highly recommended. The FDA has approved dTMS for treatment-
resistant depression and anxious depression, as well as an OCD TMS protocol.

TMS and Depression

At Pasadena Neuropsychiatry, we use BrainsWay dTMS, which has the ability to activate the
neural networks using the patented H-Coil. Targeting specific areas of the brain means that
results appear much faster than taking medications and implementing simple lifestyle
changes. Finding the proper medication and dosage takes time, leaving people to struggle in
the meantime. Additionally, patient compliance will fail if they see no progress in the
treatment, and give up hope of finding relief.
dTMS, on the other hand, is a safe and non-invasive office procedure with very few reported
side effects. dTMS and medication show a 60 percent remission rate compared to an 11
percent remission rate with medications alone. The success rate of dTMS is so great that
both doctors and patients are doing their research on the topic. Considering how low the
remission rate is with medication alone, TMS is vital to the mental health of many. When it
comes to depression, time is always an essential factor for doctors to consider.

Treatment-Resistant Depression and SAINT TMS

When depression leads to suicidal ideation, action must be taken as quickly as possible,
particularly if medication and other treatments have failed. Recently, the SAINT
TMS protocol with Brainsway has come forward as a treatment with great potential.
Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy is based on the BrainsWay’s
Theta Burst™ protocol that uses shorter, more powerful bursts of magnetic frequencies.
SAINT TMS studies implemented intermittent theta-burst stimulation for longer sessions,
but the treatment lasted five days. A study from Stanford showed remission for 80 percent
of patients within days of their treatments. These quick results are promising because
suicide is the leading cause of death for those under the age of 24 and the 10th leading cause
of death globally.
While interventional treatments such as OCD TMS are not necessary in every case of
depression, they are effective for those who need them. Both FDA-approved and promising
new protocols have the potential to help people when traditional treatment cannot. If you
have any questions about dTMS Pasadena or any of the other interventional treatments that
our team provides, we would be happy to answer them for you. Please feel free to contact us.

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