TMS Therapy vs Antidepressants

  • How Do Antidepressants Work?

    First, let me explain how antidepressants work.  Antidepressant medications provide chemical stimulation to wake up the mood circuit. The mood circuit is a tiny area in your brain that is difficult to specifically target through chemical stimulation.

  • Antidepressants Don’t Target Depression As Efficiently As TMS Therapy

    Why? Antidepressants don’t know ‘what’ to target per se, but rather, they are absorbed through your gut and carried everywhere by your bloodstream and distributed all throughout your body – from head to toe – and hopefully, they reach and treat the relatively tiny mood circuit in your brain (where depression resides).  Your blood vessels feed your entire body – meaning that the chemicals absorbed go to all parts of your body and can potentially cause side effects in virtually every organ system in the body.

  • Antidepressants Cause More Side Effects than TMS Therapy

    For instance, too much serotonin in the gut causes nausea and loose stools. Too much in the spinal cord causes sexual side effects. Too much norepinephrine and dopamine can elevate blood pressure and heart rate. Antidepressants are not as accurate at treating depression as TMS Therapy. For this reason, antidepressants cause more side effects.

  • Antidepressant Side Effects Discourage Patients

    Due to the side effects caused by these antidepressants, sometimes, “the cure is worse than the disease.”   As you can see, this internal, widespread antidepressant distribution makes it extremely difficult to target the depression effectively and side-effect free.

  • Antidepressants Are Less Accurate & Less Effective Than TMS Therapy

    This is important to understand because it illustrates the little control we have over where the antidepressants are distributed.  While antidepressants may work wonders for some, others are left with subpar results and unbearable, negative side effects.

Comparatively, TMS Provides..

  • 1

    Electromagnetic Stimulation

    Electromagnetic stimulation ‘wakes’ up the mood circuit.  Unlike antidepressants, TMS has the technology to accurately and efficiently target the mood circuit with minimal side effects (slight head discomfort that dissipates within a week of treatment).

  • 2

    Increases Happy Brain Chemicals

    TMS uniquely stimulates the electrical system of neurons, and when neurons are electrically stimulated—just like when they are chemically stimulated—they release greater amounts of neurotransmitters—serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine—which helps reverse depression!!

  • 3

    Fewer Side Effects

    TMS uses magnetic fields to stimulate the part of the brain associated with mood control and because of this, the treatment is localized to the small area.  To clarify, TMS is not distributed all throughout your body.  Instead, it focuses on the area that is depressed which, as a result, avoids causing side effects on the body.

  • 4

    Modernizing Mental Healthcare

    Antidepressant Medications aren’t the only form of defense against the debilitating major depression disease.  If you have tried antidepressants and have had unsatisfactory results, seriously consider TMS. 

If you have any questions

Please don’t hesitate to call us. My office staff & myself want to see our patients get healthy. This is our top priority. We emphasize results & customer care because at the end of the day that’s what matters.
During my 30 years of treating depression, I’ve never seen results like TMS. The transformation from start to finish makes me happy to offer it to patients. People walk out of here depression-free.
TMS is covered by almost all insurance companies.  BUT dealing with these insurance companies can be intimidating and stressful.
My staff has put in place an efficient system that sees if you’re covered by your insurance provider.  Let us handle the insurance headache. We want to be a stepping stone in your journey to getting your life back from depression.

Free Consultation

Real TMS Experiences

Handwritten surveys

3 MINUTE DEPRESSION TEST

Instructions: Fill out the form. There is a list of questions that relate to life experiences common among people who have been diagnosed with depression. Please read each question carefully, and indicate how often you have experienced the same or similar challenges in the past few months.

FAQ’s

  • Yes! Except for Medicaid, all major Insurance plans cover TMS therapy. Dealing with insurance companies can be a daunting, overwhelming & intimidating task. For someone who is unfamiliar with the insurance coverage process, this can be a nightmare. Luckily, our practice has dealt with these insurance companies for over 30 years. We have created an efficient process that allows us to check and see if you’re covered. Let us handle the insurance headache while you fight your depression. Learn more here

  • One of the advantages of TMS therapy is its lack of annoying side effects compared to drug therapy. Sometimes antidepressants can cause sexual issues, weight gain, make you feel like a zombie or have numb feelings. TMS doesn’t come with any of that. It is safe. And it’s effective. Learn more here

  • Research has shown that when antidepressants are ineffective, TMS is the better option. Over 80% of patients benefit from TMS therapy! None of our patients get worse.. what do you have to lose?

  • No! They are completely different treatments. Unlike ECT, TMS is a non-invasive treatment. One common side effect of ECT is memory loss. TMS can actually help improve your memory as your depressive symptoms go away.

  • No! TMS can help alleviate more than just your depressive symptoms 🙂 Our TMS patients typically battle multiple diagnoses: Anxiety, Insomnia, Depression, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries, OCD & more. With customized treatments, TMS can help!

  • The best way to describe TMS benefits is by reading reviews from our TMS patients. We strongly encourage you to read the TMS success stories. We have videos, handwritten reviews, google reviews, and long-form TMS reviews. Each story displays the effective, life-changing benefits of TMS 🙂