WHAT IS TMS THERAPY?

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) also known as rTMS (Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is an alternative treatment for depression and anxiety. TMS therapy is one of the few depression treatments without medications or drugs. Cleared for use by the FDA in October 2008, TMS is a non-invasive, non-systemic treatment that utilizes MRI strength magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain known to be underactive in depression.

TMS is a powerfully effective and safe depression treatment without medication for all types of depression. TMS is non-systemic (not through the whole body like medication) and non-invasive (not entering the body). It is non-invasive and requires no medications (which helps patients avoid nasty side-effects they tend to experience with antidepressants and other depression medication). As a result, patients’ lives continue as normal during treatment.

Administered in our depression centers without anesthesia, rTMS treatments last about 30 minutes and are typically given five days a week for six to eight weeks. Side effects are minimal and usually only involve discomfort at the site of treatment. Patients are able to work, go to school, or continue any of their daily activities.

TMS treatment is an FDA approved, outpatient procedure performed in our TMS depression treatment centers or clinics.

Does TMS Therapy Work?

TMS has the potential to successfully treat an ever-growing number of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression including persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, and atypical depression, especially when coupled with a high number of treatment sessions.

TMS treatment for depression patients usually begins to notice a marked improvement after only a week of treatment.

How Does TMS Therapy Work?

It has long been known that certain critical areas of the frontal lobe of the brain are underactive in depression. TMS delivers a very fast but very strong pulse of electromagnetic energy (on the scale of a small MRI machine) that causes the neurons in the brain to fire as the pulse passes through them. This increased firing has been demonstrated to trigger the released Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Growth Factor (BDNF) and increased activity in the areas stimulated, as well as the brain regions connected to the area stimulated. Research has shown increased blood flow to the stimulated areas as well as increased neuronal connections and cellular growth. It’s the equivalent of exercising this part of the brain, and just as a muscle responds to being exercised by getting bigger, so does the brain.

What Does TMS Treat?

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) treatment started as a breakthrough for major depression but has since evolved. We treat all forms of depression at all of our local clinics in the Lake Forest area  including:

  • • Teen Depression
  • • Manic Depression
  • • Anxiety And Depression
  • • Childhood Depression
  • • Treatment Resistant Depression
  • • Chronic Depression
  • • Major Depression
  • • Postnatal Depression
  • • Persistent Depressive Disorder
  • • Depressive Disorder
  • • Atypical Depression
  • • Clinical Depression
  • • Adult Depression
  • • Deep Depression
  • • Situational Depression
  • • Severe Depression
  • • Psychotic Depression
  • • Postpartum Depression
  • • OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

New TMS studies are being developed every year, and we are always exploring TMS as an alternative treatment for other mental and medical disorders. As it stands now we offer TMS as an off-label treatment for:

  • • PTSD
  • • Chronic Pain
  • • Bipolar Disorder

WHY TMS THERAPY IS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE DEPRESSION TREATMENT

In the extreme cases of depression, the only way to treat it, after a patient has exhausted traditional pill based methods, is through transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment. TMS Therapy is suited for those who are not responding well to traditional anti-depression treatment. TMS treatment is an FDA approved alterative treatment for depression that is proven to treat depression without the negative side effects of using pills. Each transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment session takes less than one hour and the procedure is non-invase. TMS is highly recommended by experts to treat depression effectively and in conjunction with general therapy, TMS is highly effective for those looking for a solution that doesn’t involve medication. Research shows that for individuals who did not find significant relief from other first line treatments such as prescription antidepressants, upwards of 50-60% experience a meaningful reaction to TMS within their first session, with many more of those individuals continuing with treatment sessions experiencing a full remission of depression related symptoms.

Our TMS Specialist

Todd-Hutton

Dr. Todd Hutton is one of the nation’s leading TMS providers and depression specialists. He has been treating TMS patients in the Lake Forest area for over a decade and has helped thousands of patients battling depression.

As a renowned industry expert and depression doctor, Dr. Hutton has appeared on the TV show Doctors, CBS, featured in American News Report, and multiple other TV and radio stations. In fact, he was the expert commentator on KTLA radio during the 911 crisis in 2001.

He is a board-certified Psychiatrist and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the USC Keck School of Medicine where he teaches residents in Psychiatry and is on staff at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, CA. Dr. Hutton completed his advanced TMS Therapy Fellowship to become a TMS Doctor at Duke University Medical Center.

How Does TMS Therapy Compare To Other Depression Treatments?

Every year the number of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression is rising. Traditional depression treatments involving antidepressants, medications, natural depression therapies, and even holistic depression treatments are not as effective or as cost-effective as they have been in the past. Over the last 15 years, new treatments have emerged but not all treatments are equally as safe or effective.

TMS is often confused with ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) and Deep TMS. While it shares similarities TMS is more different than similar and substantially more effective and safer than either.  Deep TMS has a higher documented seizure rate than normal TMS, and ECT commonly leaves patients with short term memory loss and confusion. TMS over 10 years of clinical experience has shown to be extremely safe and is by far the best treatment for depression.

How Much Does TMS Therapy Cost?

Most patients come to SoCal TMS thinking TMS is going to be too expensive and not covered by insurance, but that is not the case. TMS is not like other depression therapies and treatments. The cost of TMS is much more affordable than most assume and it is covered by insurance.

At SoCal TMS, we have a dedicated team in place at all of our locations serving Lake Forest to make the often overwhelming insurance process manageable. Our goal is to assist you in gaining access to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy for depression as quickly as possible by working with your insurance provider and securing coverage. Contact us today at our depression center in Lake Forest (or any of our other convenient clinics in Southern California) to get started on a new treatment plan for depression.

Is TMS Treatment Right For Me?

TMS therapy has helped thousands of people who are struggling with depression and can help you. If you are not sure if TMS is right for you, ask yourself the questions below. If you answered “Yes” to any of them, then TMS can help. It is time to get your life back on track. Contact us today for a free consultation and appointment

    • • Have you taken more than 1 antidepressant medication?
    • • Have medications failed to provide adequate benefit for your depression?
    • • Do the side effects of medication outweigh the benefits?
    • • Has depression increased your doctor visits for other healthcare conditions?
    • • Is depression affecting your ability to make a living?
    • • Does depression still have too much control over your life?

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