Client Testimonials of rTMS treatment
Mira, 35 years old
For years, I’ve known many periods of depression. Like many, I ended up in the circuit of regular Mental Health Care. The method of treatment and the time that was offered there did not produce the desired result for me. That’s why I continued to look at other forms of treatment. Through the internet I came into contact with the neuroCare Group in Nijmegen. They are specialized in the rTMS treatment.
Although according to my then treating GZ-psychologist no “proven” results of the rTMS treatment would be known and he told me that it would be in an experimental phase, I still started this treatment with confidence at the neuroCare Group. I would like to point out that especially the first sessions were certainly not always “easy and pain-free”. The intensity of the treatment sessions was three times a week in the beginning. In addition to the rTMS treatment, Cognitive Conversation Therapy was also applied, in which in my experience often difficult subjects were addressed. This was quite intensive.
During the rTMS treatment a coil was directed at the head, which gives “ticking” pulsations. These pulsations are not completely pain-free in the beginning, but after a few sessions you don’t feel anything other than a “light tap”.
Already after a few weeks I experienced a clear relief of my symptoms. Both my physical and psychological symptoms were better to bear. Because of this I continued with this form of therapy. The intensity could be reduced to twice a week and even later to once a week. All in all I had 16 treatment sessions. In this period I became a completely different person.
What for me has been a long-running dilemma for years, has been reduced in a few months to a situation that is more than liveable for me.
This testimonial has been translated from Dutch.
Peter, 37 years old
As a child in primary school, I was already struggling with fears and compulsive behaviour. However, as in my adolescence and young adulthood, this did not dominate my life.
As a result of a number of violent events in my life in 2005, the fears and compulsive behavior came to the fore in full force. This made it impossible for me to live a normal life. Eventually I ended up with a psychiatrist via my family doctor. The psychiatrist diagnosed me with OCS at the time and prescribed medication for me. However, the side effects of these medications were almost worse than the ailment and the medications did not help against my OCS complaints. As a result, I decided to stop the medication. This was followed by numerous sessions with the psychiatrist, psychological tests and visits to psychologists. However, nothing helped. I had to tell my story over and over again and each counsellor had his or her own point of view and approach.
When my wife saw a television broadcast of Dr. Phil, in which patients with OCS in the United States were treated with rTMS, we were immediately enthusiastic. Soon I ended up at the neuroCare Group in Nijmegen. I was allowed to participate in an exploratory practical study into the effects of rTMS on treatment-resistant OCS and was soon able to start the treatments. I had a total of 21 rTMS treatments; an average of 3 to 4 per week. During the treatment I felt almost nothing of the pulses. I even fell asleep a lot during the treatments. I experienced the rTMS treatments as relaxing.
Already after the first treatment I felt a bit less tense. And after a few treatments I already felt that I had less need to perform compulsive actions. Also, as I had had more treatments, I noticed that I was better able to put things into perspective and let go of thoughts more quickly. Something I had been unable to do until then. After about 10 treatments I felt that I was never really ‘stuck’ in a fear that dominated my whole day.
My last treatment was more than 6 weeks ago and I am happy to notice that my anxiety and compulsion problems have been reduced even more after the last rTMS treatment. As a result, I can cope with daily life much better and feel much better.
I think I will never be completely free of OCS, but my life is no longer controlled by OCS.
This testimonial has been translated from Dutch.
Sandra, 41 years old
Unlike other other OCD patients I have spoken to in the course of my recovery, I have only had OCD complaints at a later age. In 2010 I got overworked and sat at home. One thing led to another and I became entangled in a serious depression. In order to treat this, I received conversation therapy and medication. My body and head reacted totally allergic to the medication; I had horrible nightmares and fears. This was also the beginning of my OCD complaints. I became more and more anxious and started to try to control them by means of coercive actions. Eventually all this resulted in three hospitalizations within a year.
With medication and under treatment of a capable therapist I finally went home and slowly took up my life again. Work and family became a normal part of my life again. The depressive and compulsive symptoms were under control, but clearly not gone. I decided to accept this as I was not open to changing medication because of the previous experiences.
However, I remained curious about alternative solutions. After all, the symptoms had not completely disappeared and the medication also made me emotionally flat. On TV but also on the internet there was talk about promising results as a result of rTMS treatment.
What I could find about it on the internet sounded fascinating but also a bit scary. Magnetic pulses on your head? I got strange associations. Nevertheless, I decided to contact the neuroCare Group for a first interview.
What I immediately liked was the scientific approach of the treatment. The therapist was sober, experienced and yet very empathetic. After an initial screening to see if I was suitable for the treatment and the examination, we quickly set to work. Because my depressive symptoms were still present, it was decided that in the course of the process not only the OCD but also the depression would be treated with rTMS.
Contrary to what I expected, the pulses on my head were very well tolerated. It didn’t hurt and after a while I was completely used to it. So much so that I could have an ordinary conversation during the treatment.
I have had 30 treatments in the meantime and in the same time I have reduced my medication to about half. Test results show that I am still doing well, even a lot better than before the treatment. The OCD symptoms have almost disappeared, the depressive symptoms have diminished a lot. But above all I have the feeling that I am more ‘myself’. I can intensely enjoy small things again, feel again and live again.
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December 7, 2022
November 24, 2022