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Insight Choices TMS Therapy

NON-INVASIVE, DRUG FREE, FDA APPROVED TREATMENT

Insight Choices TMS was one of the first few TMS providers in Southern California to offer outpatient treatment for depression by using FDA approved technology called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. We have administered over 500 treatments. We focus on compassionate care and always put the needs of our patients first.

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TMS vs. Medication

TMS

TMS is a safe, noninvasive, and effective treatment for difficult to treat depression. It’s been a credible form of therapy for treatment resistant depression in the United States for almost a decade. Major academic health centers such as Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford University have been using it for many years. It has much less side effects compared to ECT (Electric Shock Treatment) and medication treatment. Many people suffering from depression have tried multiple medications without complete remission of symptoms. When they tried TMS, a significant number of them have a complete remission of symptoms. TMS doesn’t cause weight gain, dry mouth, drowsiness, jitteriness or sexual side effects like many antidepressants do.

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Medication

Medication is absorbed into the body and affects many areas of the body such as the liver, kidney, thyroid, gut, muscle, etc. TMS affects mainly the part of the brain that we want to stimulate and has no effect on other parts of the body. TMS treatment cannot be performed on people who have metal or device implanted in their body. People who have metal or device implanted in their body can still take medication. TMS treatment is more costly than antidepressant treatment in the short-run. However, TMS treatment may be more cost effective than antidepressant treatment in the long run since its effect on achieving remission can be more robust than antidepressant treatment. Taking into account hospitalization cost, doctor and therapist cost, long-term medication cost, and depression related diseases cost, TMS treatment can save money for the health insurance company and for the patient.

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TMS vs. ECT (Electric Shock Treatment)

TMS uses electromagnetic energy to stimulate a localized portion of the brain whereas ECT uses electricity to stimulate a bigger portion of the brain. ECT requires a person to be unconscious under anesthesia. TMS treatment is an outpatient procedure and doesn’t require anesthesia or blood work. TMS doesn’t cause short-term memory loss like ECT does. TMS treatment costs much less than ECT. The effect of ECT on depression appears to be stronger than conventional TMS. However, there are more possibilities of something going wrong due to anesthesia with ECT. There are also more possibilities of side effects from ECT than with TMS treatment.

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Proven Results

Our patients have seen great results, and notice their symptoms reduce by the second week of treatment. There are different various ways we measure how successful treatment is going. For us, the depressive symptoms should be reduced by at least 50% by the end of treatment. We measure depressive symptoms by using scales called the BDI-2, and the PHQ-9 scale.

Please see attached graph from one of our past TMS patients.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)

Classification Total Score
Severe Depression 29-63
Moderate Depression 20-28
Mild Depression 14-19
Minimal Depression 0-13

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

In this particular data, the baseline score of the BDI-2 was 40, by the end of this patient’s treatment he scored at a 22. Which is about 50% improvement. In terms of his PHQ-9 his baseline score was a 21, and by the end of treatment his PHQ-9 scored at an 8. We can see that this patient had a significant reduction of their depressive symptoms. 

Classification Total Score level
Significant 20-27 Severe Depression
Moderate 15-19
10-14 moderate Depression
Low 5-9 Low Depression
1-4 Minimal Despression

Beck Anxiety Inventory

Classification Total Score
Severe Anxiety 26-63
Moderate Anxiety 16-25
Mild Anxiety 8-15
Minimal Anxiety 0-7

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

The WEMWBS is a measure of mental well-being focusing entirely on positive aspects of mental health. The minimum scale score is 14 and the maximum is 70.  Higher scores are associated with higher levels of mental well-being.

We are In-Network with most major insurances