Depression and treatment

I suffer from extreme severe clinical depression - life threatening. Medication keeps me away from a gun, but even that is becoming too close at hand.

I met with my Veteran's Administration counselor earlier this week and she offered me something called 'Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation'. You can read a bit about the procedure here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation).

It will be free (small fee) and has a good success record in getting veterans off their couches and back to actually wanting to live and be productive.

So, my question here is does anyone have, or know of someone, who has received this treatment.

I am willing to try almost anything. If this doesn't work, my next step will be Electroconvulsive Therapy. I don't know if the VA covers this and maybe not Medicare - but I will sell what I can to get better.

60 Minutes did a full segment about Kitty Dukakis (wife of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis) last year. She received effective treatment with ECT with very good results. Effectively rid her of her depression.

So, if anyone here has had either Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or Electroconvulsive Therapy, please PM me so I can ask you about your results.

Mikki,

I don't know if the VA does this, but ask about treatment with ketamine. It's an off label use, but there's a mounting body of evidence that it can improve otherwise severe treatment-resistant depression.


Liz

I don't know anything about depression being someone who only suffers from it because life throws the odd curveball and I get over it in 24 hours most of the time.

But I've seen it close up in other people. Plus I've stood on the edge a couple of time, literally I mean. Being trans puts you there. Sell the gun, seriously. The problem and a good friend nearly went there because when you get into the state of mind when it becomes the only thing. She was talked off the bridge over the motorway by a young cop. She told me he was so cute that she felt she couldn't do it to him. The Motherly instinct cut it. I hugged her and asked why she thought doing it to me was appropriate. But I say that and honestly without my kids. I have nothing to live for.

Anyway, I read the article and it seems it might be something worthwhile. Once again is proves that depression is actually a clinical issue, a medical issue, like having any illness. There should be no shame for being ill whether it's mental or physical.


Glad you can see that. Don't want you disappearing from this forum. I like your style.

Hi Miki,

I know little of ECT and it's effectiveness. I do know what it is and I do believe that your counsellor knows best. Personally, I will not advise anything, not knowing enough about it, your particular condition or your medical history. I can give an objective view, would it be offered to me.

I read the article and from what I do know it appears a little hit and miss, but I guess as I said that your professional knows what might be best for you and seeing that it is not expensive or dangerous, were I you, I would have the treatment. But, not before a lot of research upon the side effects, which include memory loss to some extent I believe, before I made such a decision. This is the only thing I do advise, do some research.

My Mother, her Mother and my Niece are all bipolar and I have my moments too. Luckily for me, I rarely experience depression, I have my kooky time, when I am quite not myself for a few weeks, but I am not quite as affected as my Mother is. I can function, with application, through those times. So I cannot, for one moment, understand how you feel Miki, but I do feel for you and hope that this may work for you, should you decide to go ahead with it after careful consideration. Take care, Celia xx

Thanks guys for your help. I do not have access to a gun. My Son has two pistols and he keeps them in a locked gun safe. This is good.

Celia, I have known two individuals with bi-polar disorder. I sometimes wish I could find the mania side just once or twice - but that escapes me. I guess that is good, because the falloff from a manic episode often leads to a much deeper depressive episode. It is a gnarly disease and I hope your relatives have found some respite from the pain.

I hoping for final approval to start the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. I will jump in my car and probably get a ticket for driving at 100 mph to get to the clinic. It is a painless procedure done a couple of times a week and the outlook is very positive.

Electroconvulsive Treatment is nothing like what happened in 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest'. It is mostly painless and the most prominent of its side effects is short-term memory loss. If I do this I **WON'T FORGET YOU**

MichaelaSJ wrote:I suffer from extreme severe clinical depression - life threatening. Medication keeps me away from a gun, but even that is becoming too close at hand.

I met with my Veteran's Administration counselor earlier this week and she offered me something called 'Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation'. You can read a bit about the procedure here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation).

It will be free (small fee) and has a good success record in getting veterans off their couches and back to actually wanting to live and be productive.

So, my question here is does anyone have, or know of someone, who has received this treatment.

I am willing to try almost anything. If this doesn't work, my next step will be Electroconvulsive Therapy. I don't know if the VA covers this and maybe not Medicare - but I will sell what I can to get better.

60 Minutes did a full segment about Kitty Dukakis (wife of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis) last year. She received effective treatment with ECT with very good results. Effectively rid her of her depression.

So, if anyone here has had either Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or Electroconvulsive Therapy, please PM me so I can ask you about your results.

Did estrogen help reduce your depression or make it worse.

Hard to tell as my non-GD health is compelling in my depression.

Suffered depression and agisity for decades, on and off medication for years. Main issue was the gender stuff. HRT helped, thankfully the estrogen did not make it worse, which is also a risk. It's "under"control with medication, but therapy is helpful. Not really about talking about the main issues but with trigger points, and downward spirals. The suicidal asspect has reduced, but jumps out still at points. If you not tried it, CBT (congitive behavale therapy) helps a lot and I know friends who it works well with to. Certainly worth a go. I have come a cross TMS in the literature, better than ECT which is a last resort kind of thing as it can alter you. Another mild electronic therapy which is an off shoot TENs. (Trandermal electrical nerve stimulation) but has unknown long term effects. I am so sorry to hear that you suffer from this, my nonGD related pain is a trigger.