Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a cutting-edge treatment for depression that is secure, successful, FDA-approved, non-invasive, and non-convulsive. Despite the fact that TMS has been around for a while, Dr. Johnston is pleased to be the first clinic in San Antonio to offer Deep TMS by Brainsway, a newer and more potent form of TMS. In a clinical investigation, deep TMS performed better than standard TMS against the symptoms of depression. Deep TMS treatment activates many brain regions considered to be involved in depression and enhances their general functioning by delivering magnetic pulses similar to those from an MRI machine. Deep TMS uses an H-coil magnet design in comparison to standard TMS to penetrate deeper brain areas as well as larger surface area of the brain, which probably explains its superior efficacy. For the duration of the therapy session, you will be awake and attentive. After the operation, you’ll be able to carry on with your day as usual without any loss of mental clarity or alertness. Treatments shouldn’t hurt during them. We provide complimentary bite-guards to those who require them because patients may feel modest facial muscle twitches and/or jaw clenching over the course of the procedure. Patients may also have moderate scalp itching and headaches, although these side effects typically go away after the first few sessions as the body adjusts to the medication. Seizures and other more severe adverse effects are uncommon.
Duration of Deep TMS Treatment:
Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or Deep TMSTM, is a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to safely control neuronal activity. Depending on the therapy type and the mental health condition being targeted, the total Deep TMS treatment course can span several weeks and lasts about 20 minutes every Deep TMS session. A longer continuation phase with two sessions per week is occasionally included in the treatment cycle after the shorter acute phase, which typically consists of daily therapy sessions (five times per week). In an endeavour to considerably lessen symptom severity and prevalence, the acute phase often activates and regulates brain activity. The treatment’s regulatory impact on a person’s brain activity, which had started during the acute phase, is to be maintained during the continuation phase. A licenced mental health professional conducts a 20–30 minute first adjustment procedure called as Motor Threshold Mapping during the acute phase’s first therapy session. As a result, the Deep TMS device can calibrate the patient’s locations of the pertinent brain structures and change the magnetic field’s intensity in response to those structures’ responses. To further calibrate the treatment, a shorter adjustment stage is repeated once a week. Each Deep TMS session, with the exception of the first treatment session, lasts about 20 minutes. After the session, the patient can drive themselves home and resume their regular activities because it is a non-invasive treatment. To “activate” the patient’s neurological pathways for the treatment, a preliminary, three- to five-minute provocation step is carried out when treating OCD.