NeuroStar TMS therapy is commonly used for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety symptoms related to depression. When you live with overwhelming feelings of sadness or hopelessness that do not respond to medication, you may have treatment-resistant depression.
For those who have treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, NeuroStar TMS therapy offers hope, but you may wonder, do NeuroStar treatments hurt?
NeuroStar TMS is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also called shock therapy. NeuroStar uses transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). These are electromagnetic waves like those employed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
A full session of NeuroStar TMS therapy includes six weeks of treatment for five days each week. Each treatment session lasts about 20 minutes. How much NeuroStar treatments hurt or are uncomfortable depends on where you are in your six-week treatment cycle.
Some people experience discomfort near or on the treatment site during the first week of treatment. The pain can be mild to moderate and usually subsides in the following sessions.
Less than five percent of people in NeuroStar clinical trials stopped treatment because of adverse events, the most common of which was temporary pain at the treatment site. This side effect usually disappears after the first week of treatment. Other side effects that have been reported include muscle twitching, pain on the skin, eye pain, toothache, or facial pain.
Anesthesia is not used during NeuroStar TMS treatment. It is not a drug; it is noninvasive, and there is no sedation. During the treatment, you are fully awake. When the treatment session ends, you can go about your normal daily activities. Because the treatment sessions typically are no longer than 20 minutes, you can have the treatment during your lunch hour and return to work in the afternoon.
The electromagnetic pulses delivered by NeuroStar TMS therapy are designed to help activate or stimulate the nerve cells in your brain that are responsible for mood. Because NeuroStar is not a drug, you do not experience the side effects that are usually associated with antidepressant medications.
Most major insurance companies cover NeuroStar TMS therapy to treat depression or depression-related anxiety. The treatment is FDA-approved for these conditions and for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Because it has been proven to be safe and effective in clinical trials and in real-world treatment, many insurance providers are considering adding treatment of OCD with NeuroStar TMS to their list of covered conditions. If you have OCD, check with your insurance provider to see if they cover treatment with TMS.
Every insurance provider has different benefits and limitations on their insurance policies, and even health insurance policies can vary within the same insurance company. It is important to check with your provider’s member services or customer service to determine if prior authorization is needed before treatment begins.
To receive prior authorization when it is needed, you will likely be required to submit a record of the antidepressant medications you have tried and the results you experienced. These documents may include records from the prescribing physician and any journal or log you kept.
Call us today to schedule an appointment to talk about NeuroStar TMS treatments, how they may help your mental health condition, and to answer the question, do NeuroStar treatments hurt? For most people, the side effects are mild and do not affect their decision to continue treatment.
