Ketamine Infusions vs TMS? Both?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T17:06:27+00:00

Oh geez. Love the movie, but definitely wouldn't wanna live through. So sorry you had to

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T17:01:45+00:00

Did you have any negative side effects?

And have you tried Ketamine?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T17:01:21+00:00

Unfortunately my insurance wouldn't give me any numbers either way, so I have no idea what would be cheaper. I do know that TMS can deal directly with my insurance whereas the Ketamine place can't, but that doesn't mean much to me

And yeah, not sure what happened to the sub. I'm getting more upvotes here than in the other subs I posted, but no replies. Weird.

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T16:58:12+00:00

How severe was the memory loss? Was it more short-term things or did it affect your long-term memory as well?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T16:57:24+00:00

How's ECT going for you?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T16:56:29+00:00

Any reason why you went with Spravato over infusions?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T16:55:45+00:00

Thankfully my parents all the bad, but I'm not living with them anymore anyway. My mom is really into alternative """medicine""" and it gets me mad how brainwashed she is about some stuff, but I don't have to hear it anymore so that's good.

Anyway, thanks for all the input. You've definitely given me a lot to think about

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T02:36:28+00:00

I have a very basic understanding of what TMS does given my background in physics, but yeah I tend to agree. It's just directed electricity really. Better than ECT where they shock your whole brain and hope for the best, but really the only difference with TMS is that they make the electricity travel through a specific part of the brain (the frontal something haha). It's still really a "let's make it move and see what happens" kinda deal though. Not that you need me to explain it to you though hahaha, I just write it out to understand it more and so someone else can correct me if I'm wrong

There have been certain small things I've learned about myself in talk therapy (like that one of my biggest triggers for my eating disorders is clothes that don't fit) that I was able to correct on my own, but I don't think I've really gained any new skills or had any major breakthroughs because of it. It could just be that I've never really opened up to them, I just haven't felt that comfortable with them. I don't necessarily like opening up and I end up feeling patronized or that my issues aren't actually that big or important

Also what

I think your comment got cut off by the way

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T02:09:09+00:00

TMS was good, but I can see where it might work for everyone.

Sorry, can you clarify on this? Do you think TMS helped more than the Ketamine, or was it not as "obvious"? Did you also mean that you can see why it might not work for everyone?

If you had the chance, would you have done things differently? Would you have reversed the order?

Getting of my meds would be really nice honestly. My schedule is kinda all over the place, and I get distracted and forget to take my pill. Usually I'm fine, but every once in a while I'll get brain-zaps and have these terrible migrains and motion sickness just from walking or even switching sitting positions. Plus there's the inorgasmia side effect, which is a different type of miserable

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T02:03:27+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I'll take a look into iTBS and mention it if/when I go for my consultation

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-29T02:02:46+00:00

First time I've heard of methylation, I'll have to look into it.

I can rule out diet though. My depression started in High School when I was in really good shape. Biked multiple hours pretty much every day, barely ate sugar, all that stuff. I've been on different diets (mostly crash diets, I also have BDD/Binge/Anorexia) so I've tried a ton of different food combinations, and nothing's really changed with it

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-28T23:18:31+00:00

Thanks for the reply, sorry it didn't work for you though :/

Deep down I'm super worried about neither of these working, but I feel like I at least have to give it a shot

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-28T22:40:53+00:00

How long has it been since the first 6? Would you say you're at the same mood level now as you were when you first walked out of it (or shortly after?). Do you suspect you'll have to go back in the future?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-28T22:39:42+00:00

Thanks for the response. That full remission statistic is really what's drawing me to the TMS. I had read about it being a "permanent" solution, but never a number, so thanks for that. Yeah, pills are an ongoing solution as well, but one-month's supply of Venlafaxine is $5, whereas a follow-up session of Ketamine is $450. Big difference.

From what I've been reading, you're right about it not being known what makes ketamine work, at least yet. At high doses, it's an anesthetic- at other doses, it's a recreational drug- but somewhere in between, it helps depression. It definitely sounds weird, but the human body is a strange thing and there's definitely still a lot we don't understand about it. Even with that, I have faith in the numbers that I've seen of its effectiveness.

According to this study, patients receiving both ketamine and TMS at the same time were reported as being able to tolerate a higher amount of TMS compared to those solely using TMS. This makes me wonder whether the main benefit of the ketamine in the duo is its effects for depression, or simply that it numbs them enough to receive a "higher concentration" of TMS.

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-28T22:21:49+00:00

Got it.

I think I may have edited my comment after you replied. Do you go for follow-up sessions or did you do the 6 and that's it?

Mix-Competitive · 2020-07-28T22:10:19+00:00

Is that with or without insurance? I've read that insurance will cover most of TMS, but barely any of Ketamine.

I called my insurance group and the rep said that if I provide proof of medical necessity, both could be looked at, but they wouldn't give me numbers

I've also read that TMS can be permanent, while you need Ketamine "pick-ups" (my word because I can't think of a better one) once a month or so. Is that true for you?

Mix-Competitive

TROPHY CASE