TMS: my true life experience

foundthelight,

I was just reading up today on treatment for patients with medication/therapy resistance.  Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was one of the options I read about.

The information I found stated that  Four weeks of TMS treatment five days a week and most feel better. There may be need for follow up treatments. The only downside is the cost ... about $300 per session, nearly $9,000 total. And even though the therapy is FDA approved, it is new so most often not covered by insurance.

Did your insurance company cover any of your treatments ?  Just wondering as $9,000 is not in my budget.

I am so glad you have improved using TMS.

Kindly,

Kitt 

Hi, hope I can help.  Treatment cost are correlated to the time needed in the 'chair.'  In Southern California where I live, it's around $400 a treatment, 5 days a week, with average 6 week treatment plan, to my understanding.  If they were to scale up the number of pulses I would receive, it would take more time (and more personnel's time, etc) and anything over an hour would be an additional $100.

Once you reach the point when you feel like yourself, they recommend 5 more days.  Many feel improvements after 3 weeks, for me it was 4.  I don't expect to be reimbursed, but will surely try.  My insurance co. gave a flat NO when the practice called prior to treatment.   That did not surprise the TMS practice.  However, they work with you to appeal and have found some success with reimbursement. 

While very substantial in cost, the recovery was rapid, and startling to those around me who had seen me so weepy, fatigued, hopeless and confused.  I did not jump in to TMS due to its high price point, but now that I am recently re-engaged with life, I wish I had started it earlier.  The TMS psychiatrist did not push it, quite the contrary.  She tried to find nuanced thyroid supplementation, for example, after reviewing my blood work.

My intial, primary psychiatrist who IS on my coverage plan did not know about TMS, so I searched for someone who had expertise.

I was trying to avoid ECT.    TMS has no side effects, so that was the big factor.

Take care,

Naomi

I have done the treatment for TMS and it has worked. I have even cut back on my meds and I feel like I can live a normal life again. It is pricey but to feel like you are out of that dark cloud, it is worth it!