Posted by Pfinstegg on June 19, 2004, at 10:21:13
In reply to Re: rTMS'rs out there ???, posted by poop'd-out on June 19, 2004, at 2:31:21
I looked into all the studies being done in 2003, but the left-handedness precluded me from joining any of them. Through Emory University, which has been doing studies of its own, I was given the names of two psychiatrists who use it "off-label" They were Dr, Steven Best, just west of Chicago and Dr Mark Hutto of Atlanta. I go to him brcause he's the closest to where Iive, He's very experienced with it, having studied with Dr. Mark George at the University of South Carolina.Dr. Hutto informed me that he was having about a 65% success rate with it, that he did not consider it as powerful a treatment as ECT, but that the side effects were very minimal- at most some discomfort while it's being done and a slight headache afterwards- I don't even have those, and I can drive myself there, as no anesthesia or short-term memory loss is involved. It doesn't give you permanent relief from depression- you do need *boosters* usually, but I do think, for me, it's tremendously helpful. Not being FDA-approved, no insurance will cover it, but I was able to take it as a tax deduction, including travel, accomodations and the cost of the treatments themselves, which are roughly $170 per session.
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:357593
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040614/msgs/358056.html