TMS is FDA approved for patients with major depression who have not benefit from standard antidepressant treatment and for those who cannot tolerate antidepressants.
Most common side effects include mild headache, discomfort that the stimulation site, transient twitches in the muscles near the stimulation site.
Although rare, the main risk of TMS is inducing a seizure. We follow specific safety guidelines to decrease chances of this complication.
No cognitive side effects such as loss of memory nor changes in concentration have been reported with TMS.
You will be asked to wear ear plugs during your treatment to protect your hearing.
TMS should not be used under these circumstances:
- The presence of metal anywhere in the head, excluding the mouth. This includes shrapnel, and screws and clips from surgical procedures.
- Presence of electrodes inside the heart which might provide a low-resistance current path to electrically sensitive tissue.
- Persons with increased intracranial pressure, as in acute large intracranial infarctions or trauma, due to increased seizure risk.
- Great caution is needed when using TMS in patients with a personal history of seizures.