Major depression is the fourth leading cause of world disability, affecting more than 19 million American adults every year. Treatment is available but only one-third of those people will get treated fully. But there is a treatment that is helping zap depression without side effects.
Melissa Schultz enjoys spending time with her two best friends. But at one time, just playing a game of fetch with dog, Ava, was too much for her to handle.
"You just feel like you're up to your knees in mud," said Schultz.
She felt the first symptoms of depression at just 12 years old. At 33, an accidental sleeping pill overdose landed her in the hospital for several days.
"What we find is If someone's had one episode of depression, there's a 50-percent chance of it coming back," said H. J. Schulte, MD, FAPA, a board certified Psychiatrist and addictionologist with the Schulte Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Now, a new one of its kind treatment is offering hope by zapping the problem away.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS is FDA approved to treat patients who have failed on anti-depression medication like Steve. He was diagnosed three years ago after realizing the disease was ruining his life.
"Everything I looked at I just hated, I wanted nothing more than wish to die the sooner the better," said Steve.
Sick of medications that didn't work, Steve decided to try something new. TMS works by placing a magnet about the size of a hockey puck over the left front part of the brain. Four seconds of pulses per minute -- for 37 minutes a day -- of rapid electricity is pulsed to the magnet creating a cascade of lectrochemical changes in the brain that help to heal depression.
"Now, we have a consistent way of finding the right spot of how much energy we give, and over what time," said Dr. Schulte.
Patients need to have the treatment five days a week for four to six weeks. The long process didn't stop Steve, who hopes this treatment will help him improve his mood and ease his depression.
TMS is not FDA approved for bipolar depression. A small percent of those who've tried it have suffered seizures as a result of the treatment.
BACKGROUND: An estimated 19 million American adults are living with major depression. Some people describe depression as "living in a black hole" or having a feeling of impending doom. However, some depressed people don't feel sad at all-instead, they feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic. (Source: Helpguide.org)
SIGNS: Whatever the symptoms, depression is different from normal sadness in that it engulfs your day-to-day life, interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun:
- you can't concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult
- you feel hopeless and helpless
- you can't control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try
- you have lost your appetite or you can't stop eating
- you are much more irritable and short-tempered than usual
- you have thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately if this is the case)
NEW TREATMENT: Studies show that a combination of therapy and medication usually works better than using either one alone, but a new treatment is zapping the problem away. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) activates certain parts of the brain by using electrical energy passed through a coil of wires to create a powerful magnetic field. During the procedure, energy from this magnetic field is transferred into a patient's brain by means of the coil device applied to the head. Unlike direct electrical energy, energy from the magnetic field passes through skin and skull, activating the brain painlessly and without surgery or sedation.
SIDE EFFECTS: Studies show that about one in five people will develop a mild headache after they receive TMS that goes away with aspirin or acetaminophen. The effects of TMS on depression over time are currently being studied. Like other treatments for depression, such as medication and electro-convulsive therapy, once TMS is stopped, patients may or may not relapse back into depression. TMS has been shown to yield effective short-term results, but it's unclear how long the effects of TMS continue to work after initial treatment and improvement. (Source: DiscoveryHealth.com interview with Dr. Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Henry J. Schulte, MD
TMS of the Valley
hjschulte@gmail.com
480-941-9004
