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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ideopath on July 24, 2018, at 18:45:39
I have had horrific anxiety and depression my whole life. Truly unbearable. I am 65 years old. I started with SSRIs maybe 25 years ago which made things definitely better, but not great.
I then added other drugs and supplements and was doing very well. But I didn't like the sexual side effects from SSRIs (most recent was Lexapro). My insurance covered TMS so I tried that on my pdoc's advise and it worked! I was actually surprised that it worked. It got rid of the depression but I still need drugs and supplements for anxiety. So far the TMS series of 30 treatments has worked for about 4 months since my last session with no booster treatments needed. And my insurance covered it.
As a result, I now take no more SSRIs, the sexual dysfunction went away almost immediately after discontinuation, I reduced Remeron from 30 mg to 15 mg, and I reduced Abilify from 5 mg to 2 mg. No other changes. All in all I feel a lot better in addition to losing the side effects.
Of course what works for me might not work for others. But here are my meds and supplements.
ELIMINATED [Lexapro (escitalopram): 20 mg 1x per day]
Xanax (alprazolam): 0.5 mg 5x per day (every 3 hours) immediate release
Buspar (buspirone): 30 mg 2x per day (I actually take 2 15 mg pills at a time, twice a day instead of a 30 mg pill due to a pricing glitch)
Remeron (mirtazapine): NOW 15 mg [30 mg] 1x before bed
Provigil (modafinil): 200 mg 2x (morning and at 3 pm)
Abilify - now 5 mg
That's it for Rx drugs. Here are the supplements:
Gotu Kola: Nature's Way 475 mg. I take 2 pills at a time, 3x per day- 9am, 3pm, 9pm
Aloe Vera: Solaray Super Aloe Vera- 2 pills at a time 4x per day- 9am, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm
Acetyl L-Carnatine: Doctor's Best 500 mg- I take 2 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 12pm, 3pm
Free and Easy Wanderer Plus- Plum Flower brand- 10 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 3pm, 9pm
For acetyl l-carnatine I would recommend Doctor's Best. It is only brand with Biostint sigma tau carnatine. That is the one used in a clinical trial.
For Free and Easy Wanderer Plus by Plum Flower- make sure it has the word "Plus". There is another version without the "plus". The "plus" adds 1 or 2 additional herbs. The "plus" version is the one that worked in a clinical trial to augment Zoloft.
For Aloe Vera, I tried a few brands. I felt that Solaray seemed to work the best. I was surprised to read the Amazon ratings to see that very few people use Aloe Vera for mental health. It is used for other purposes. But I read about it for mental health and it definitely helps me.
All of the above really help. I don't feel that I am taking any Rx drugs or supplements that I don't need. I get all supplements from Amazon.
The TMS was pretty easy to do. Non-invasive. No pain or discomfort. Each session takes only 18 minutes. So I was in and out of the office in about 25 minutes.
It was about 30 sessions. But if and when I need a booster, I believe it would be only about 3 sessions.
Thanks.
Posted by ideopath on July 25, 2018, at 8:05:02
In reply to TMS worked!, posted by ideopath on July 24, 2018, at 18:45:39
I left out 2 supplements that I take. Here is the corrected post:
> I have had horrific anxiety and depression my whole life. Truly unbearable. I am 65 years old. I started with SSRIs maybe 25 years ago which made things definitely better, but not great.
>
> I then added other drugs and supplements and was doing very well. But I didn't like the sexual side effects from SSRIs (most recent was Lexapro). My insurance covered TMS so I tried that on my pdoc's advise and it worked! I was actually surprised that it worked. It got rid of the depression but I still need drugs and supplements for anxiety. So far the TMS series of 30 treatments has worked for about 4 months since my last session with no booster treatments needed. And with my insurance coverage my out of pocket was less than $1,000 (US).My pdoc sent me to the pdoc who is in charge of the TMS clinic. That pdoc determined that I needed the less deep TMS as opposed to the more deep kind. 2 different TMS machines are used depending on which type and the facility had each type of machine. Since I was in and out of the office within 25 minutes for each session, and the office is close to my home, the sessions serve as my lunch break from work. Patients may drive themselves home from each session so they may go by themselves.
>
> As a result, I now take no more SSRIs, the sexual dysfunction went away almost immediately after discontinuation, I reduced Remeron from 30 mg to 15 mg, and I reduced Abilify from 5 mg to 2 mg. No other changes. All in all I feel a lot better in addition to losing the side effects.
>
> Of course what works for me might not work for others. But here are my meds and supplements.
>
> ELIMINATED [Lexapro (escitalopram): 20 mg 1x per day]
>
> Xanax (alprazolam): 0.5 mg 5x per day (every 3 hours) immediate release
>
> Buspar (buspirone): 30 mg 2x per day (I actually take 2 15 mg pills at a time, twice a day instead of a 30 mg pill due to a pricing glitch)
>
> Remeron (mirtazapine): Now 15 mg [was 30 mg] 1x before bed
>
> Provigil (modafinil): 200 mg 2x (morning and at 3 pm)
>
> Abilify - Was 5 mg; now 2 mg
>
> That's it for Rx drugs. Here are the supplements:
>
> Gotu Kola: Nature's Way 475 mg. I take 2 pills at a time, 3x per day- 9am, 3pm, 9pm
>
> Aloe Vera: Solaray Super Aloe Vera- 2 pills at a time 4x per day- 9am, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm
>
> Acetyl L-Carnatine: Doctor's Best 500 mg- I take 2 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 12pm, 3pm
>
> Free and Easy Wanderer Plus- Plum Flower brand- 10 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 3pm, 9pmAshwagandha- NutraHerbals 1,200 mg once per day (sometimes twice if needed)- for chest discomfort from anxiety
5 HTP - Nutricost 100 mg once per day
>
> For acetyl l-carnatine I would recommend Doctor's Best. It is only brand with Biostint sigma tau carnatine. That is the one used in a clinical trial.
>
> For Free and Easy Wanderer Plus by Plum Flower- make sure it has the word "Plus". There is another version without the "plus". The "plus" adds 1 or 2 additional herbs. The "plus" version is the one that worked in a clinical trial to augment Zoloft.
>
> For Aloe Vera, I tried a few brands. I felt that Solaray seemed to work the best. I was surprised to read the Amazon ratings to see that very few people use Aloe Vera for mental health. It is used for other purposes. But I read about it for mental health and it definitely helps me.
>
> All of the above really help. I don't feel that I am taking any Rx drugs or supplements that I don't need. I get all supplements from Amazon.
>
> The TMS was pretty easy to do. Non-invasive. No pain or discomfort. Each session takes only 18 minutes. So as per above, I was in and out of the office in about 25 minutes.
>
> It was about 30 sessions. But if and when I need a booster, I believe it would be only about 3 sessions.
>
> Thanks.
Posted by Hugh on July 26, 2018, at 13:01:59
In reply to Re: TMS worked! - corrected, posted by ideopath on July 25, 2018, at 8:05:02
It sounds like TMS helped your depression significantly and helped your anxiety somewhat. A treatment that helped my depression somewhat and helped my anxiety significantly is neurofeedback.
Posted by ideopath on July 26, 2018, at 13:55:07
In reply to Re: TMS worked! - corrected, posted by Hugh on July 26, 2018, at 13:01:59
> It sounds like TMS helped your depression significantly and helped your anxiety somewhat. A treatment that helped my depression somewhat and helped my anxiety significantly is neurofeedback.
Thanks for sharing! I'll look into that.
Posted by Hugh on July 27, 2018, at 12:21:14
In reply to Re: TMS worked! - corrected, posted by ideopath on July 26, 2018, at 13:55:07
A good book about neurofeedback is A Symphony in the Brain by Jim Robbins.
There are several neurofeedback protocols. If you need any help trying to figure out which protocol you'd like to try, or which clinician to go to, I'd be happy to help.
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