MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN — It is a disease that affects millions of people. And for people living with depression, treatment is difficult.
Treatments for depression that you may not be aware of are having great results.
It's called transcranial magnetic stimulation, and it sounds much scarier than it actually is. It's not a new treatment, but doctors are working to spread the word because it can actually help treat people with what psychiatrists call “treatment-resistant depression.”
W.C.C.O.
Dr. Susannah Jasberg is the Senior Director of Adult Psychiatry at Erie Mental Health.
“As doctors, we are very stubborn and we never stop trying. There's always something else we can do,” Jasberg said. “People with depression feel sad. They feel hopeless and helpless. They feel worthless, they feel very guilty, they have low energy and low motivation. They think about death and suicide. Often, all the symptoms we hope will improve with treatment, if not disappear completely.”
This FDA-approved treatment has been around for more than a decade.
“My job as a doctor is to keep people hopeful when they don't have it, but it's really rewarding to have a treatment in my pocket that works most of the time.” said Jasberg.
But for some reason, Jasberg says, it's less well known.
“We send out a series of pulses with a 20-second break in between, and we repeat that over and over again for 20 minutes,” Jasberg said.
read more: New study from U of M measures brain waves to detect depression and suicide warnings
Those pulses target neural circuits in the brain.
“To treat depression, we add energy to the brain. We turn it on so it can use the neurotransmitters that are already there,” Jasberg said.
TMS is time-consuming, requiring 30-minute sessions every day for six weeks.
“When you're depressed, it's hard to do anything, let alone advocate for yourself to find the right treatment,” said Dr. Justin Gerstner, chief medical officer at Erie Mental Health. “We strive to help people and get them on the path even before treatment begins.” He said.
The results speak for themselves. Nearly 70% of his TMS patients say their symptoms have been cut in half.
“By the end of treatment, they feel 50 to 100 percent better, which is truly magical,” Jasberg said.
It's changing lives for the better.
“This is a big change over a month and a half,” Gerstner said.
“The best-case scenario is someone walks in and you never see them again,” Jasberg said.
