u/davyjordi

i just wanted to share my experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (tms) for bipolar depression and ocd -- i have bipolar II, although it's very depression heavy. i have undergone two rounds of 38 treatments with a month break in between, and then was placed on a twice-a-week maintenance schedule before stopping treatment. i can't remember how long the maintenance treatment period lasted -- maybe six months?

prior to starting, i had SI daily. like, every single day. i had exhausted medication options, so i did some digging online and found tms. i asked my psychiatrist who agreed to let me try it out.

the first round used the neurostar machine and was kind of painful, but i stuck through it. it works gradually. i was a partial responder during this round.

my psychiatrist suggested a different machine "deep tms" using the brainsway machine. it was a lot less painful. or rather, it wasn't as jolting. i had a quicker response this time around, and the effects were a lot more apparent.

i have kaiser and am located in california. kaiser approved both rounds and the maintenance sessions without any problem. my copay per visit was 20$.

during the treatment session, medication changes weren't made to avoid introducing potential confounding variables (unless there was a true emergency). medications haven't been changed since either -- i'm taking lamotrigine, paroxetine, mirtazapine, hydroxyzine, and clonazepam.

i am really glad that i was able to find the treatment and that my psychiatrist was so supportive. we are monitoring both ocd and depressive symptoms after stopping treatment entirely, although my psychiatrist stated that a number of patients have to undergo ongoing maintenance treatments. if my state worsens, i have absolutely no qualms about undergoing more treatment sessions. this isn't to say that i have no symptoms at all, i do and i still struggle, just far less than before.

i don't know why this treatment isn't more widely available. hopefully this post helps someone.