Posted by adamie on July 29, 2001, at 13:15:55
In reply to loosing hope, posted by Anna Laura on July 29, 2001, at 6:11:07
Here in Canada we have the VNS, Vegus Nerve Stimulation approved for treatment of depression. It is supossed to create a true response in 40% of all treatment resistant cases.
I may have suffered through depression only a short while. 2.5 months. But in this period I have had a few 'up' moments were everything in life was great and amazing. expecially when stopping my paxil. then it got a bit worse. if i dont find relief in 1 year I will deffinetly get this VNS operation.
It is supossed to be approved in the US in 1 or 2 years. What it does is sends a very mild electric pulse to your vegus nerve which is a nerve in the neck. the pulse is very hard to notice and happens once for 30 seconds every 3-6 minutes depending on the individual specifications of the product for the specific individual.
The operation involves them putting a very small flat box into your upper left chest and something to connect to your vegus nerve. If you are feel you are trully treatment resistant and losing hope then I would deffinetly say try VNS. What is there to lose? The only negatives with VNS is that you will have a device in your body but it is no different than someone having a Pace Maker. This is simply a pace maker for the brain. There are absolutely no side effects except that during the moments when the very mild pulse is active it can slightly change the tone of your voice due to the fact that the vagus nerve is near the vocal cord.
It seems most people are not willing to try VNS but there is really no difference in what VNS does for a depressed person's brain than what a Pace Maker does to a person with heart trouble. VNS slowly over a period of months can make someone feel more and more normal. Many people with very severe depression were able to return to work and resume old enjoyable life activities.
Perhaps you may want to try research on this if you are interested. There are many new treatments for depression in the works. we'll all just have to be patient. take care. I myself think the VNS could be an amazing product. Big deal if you have a little box inside your body. take care
poster:adamie
thread:72328
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/72369.html