What a session is like
Does TMS hurt?
Most people picture something far more dramatic than it is. Here is what actually happens.
The session itself
You sit in a chair, awake, in your own clothes
A device is positioned against your head and delivers gentle magnetic pulses, roughly the strength of an MRI, to an area of the brain that tends to be under-active in depression.
It makes a tapping sound. You feel a tapping sensation on your scalp. That is the whole of it.
About 20 minutes later you get up, walk out, and drive yourself home or back to work.
The honest answer
Some discomfort at first, for some people
Some patients find the tapping uncomfortable to begin with: a tightness on the scalp, sometimes a mild headache afterward. For most people that settles within the first week as they get used to the sensation, and the intensity can be adjusted if it does not.
Ordinary over-the-counter pain relief is usually all anyone needs for the headache, and most people stop needing even that.
The most common thing patients tell us afterward is that they had built it up into something much bigger in their head.
What it is not
No anesthesia, no recovery period
- You are awake and alert the whole time
- Nothing is given to you and nothing is put to sleep
- You can read, listen to something, or simply sit
- People come in on their way to or from work
- A Medical Provider goes through what to expect in your case, and you can pause or stop at any point
The commitment, plainly
Seven weeks is the demanding part, not the treatment
36 treatments, five days a week, about 20 minutes each. The schedule is the real ask here, and it is worth knowing that before you start rather than discovering it in week three. We will work around your working hours where we can.
TMS is FDA cleared for major depressive disorder in adults and adolescents from age 16 who have not improved with prior antidepressant medication or therapy.
See it for yourself
Come and look at the room
If what you really want is to see the chair and ask the rest of your questions out loud, that is exactly what the consultation is for. It is free, it takes about 30 minutes, and it commits you to nothing.
The other two questions people ask are whether it works and whether insurance covers it.
Talk it through with a Medical Provider
The consultation is free, takes about 30 minutes, and commits you to nothing. Bring your questions.