New Treatment Options

[job1315]

My symptoms are physical now, but I wanted to suggest some treatments that really helped me in the past with mental health that people may not have considered:

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

This is an FDA-approved treatment that's shown to be efficacious in treatment resistant depression and is low side effect. It uses magnets on the outside of your head to fire neurons in your pleasure center, causing a release of BDNF, growth hormone of the brain, and increase brain connections there. It is most likely available somewhere near you.

Bilateral priming rTMS is the best type in metastudies. Two links:

Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS): An update (2014–2018)

A group of European experts reappraised the guidelines on the therapeutic efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) previously p…

www.sciencedirect.com

Comparative efficacy and acceptability of non-surgical brain stimulation for the acute treatment of major depressive episodes in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis

To estimate the comparative clinical efficacy and acceptability of non-surgical brain stimulation for the acute treatment of major depressive episodes in adults.Systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analysis.Electronic search of Embase, PubMed/Medline, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Neuroscience-based Therapy

I want to recommend this book, it's the first neuroscience-based therapy I'm aware of. It helped me a lot with a breakup that left me with high heartrate and anxiety, seriously miracle, overnight results for me and I am known to take years to get over people. It also helped with a phobia. There are Columbia and Harvard faculty that helped develop it.

Amazon product ASIN 0578512815

Psychedelics
These are now being studied for long lasting antidepressant effects, some studies showing efficacy after 2 years from one dose alone


If you are an addict or have ADHD / obesity

I would look into dopaminergic medications, especially if you have a history of addiction or ADHD. Suffice it to say, addiction, ADHD and obesity are all the same brain problem: lack of dopamine tone.

This talk addresses it, but keep in mind older medications like Adderall cause tolerance and so you need medications that raise dopamine in a chronic way, like Wellbutrin, methylfolate and seligiline


Some of recommended drugs for ADHD that don't build tolerance are these:
Wellbutrin, methylfolate, and seligiline
Stimulants like Adderall and Vyvanse induce tolerance and make the problem worse long-term.

The YouTube playlist is this:


The book is this:
Amazon product ASIN 0996159401
The blog is here, I am told all the treatment strategies are in the blog:

Howard Wetsman MD – Medium

Read writing from Howard Wetsman MD on Medium. Dr. Wetsman retired from fixing the world. YouTube: Ending Addiction Channel. Fiction: Patreon.com/howardwetsman. Published: The House on Constantinople Street.

medium.com

 

[chrisbate7]

What did TMS help you with? I'm considering doing it. But I have OCD and anxiety issues more than depression. I've already done ketamine infusion and psilocybin without much success

 

[Donk]

I will be starting rTMS treatment at the end of this month for MDD. Hopefully it works better than meds and therapy.

 

[job1315]

I will be starting rTMS treatment at the end of this month for MDD. Hopefully it works better than meds and therapy.

Oh! Make sure to get a sleep study.

neurons repair themselves at night. I was talking with a Yale trainer physician. He said he was puzzled when only 50 of 60% of or his TMS patients were going into remission when the studies say it should be 80. Then he realized: the people not responding to treatment all had sleep apnea. Now, he doesn't even treat you unless you get a sleep study first. After he did that, the numbers went up to where they should be he said.

What did TMS help you with? I'm considering doing it. But I have OCD and anxiety issues more than depression. I've already done ketamine infusion and psilocybin without much success

Looks like TMS might help OCD. Btw, did you have enough psilocybin to have a trip? Apparently, the trip is the most important part, it's like it's a threshold for the antidepressant effects

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Looking for information about TMS as a treatment for OCD? Check out our new guide here.

iocdf.org

 

[Donk]

Oh! Make sure to get a sleep study.

neurons repair themselves at night. I was talking with a Yale trainer physician. He said he was puzzled when only 50 of 60% of or his TMS patients were going into remission when the studies say it should be 80. Then he realized: the people not responding to treatment all had sleep apnea. Now, he doesn't even treat you unless you get a sleep study first. After he did that, the numbers went up to where they should be he said.

I wear a CPAP Mask to sleep for my sleep apnea. My psychiatrist didn't bother to ask me whether I had sleep apnea. SMH

 

[job1315]

What did TMS help you with? I'm considering doing it. But I have OCD and anxiety issues more than depression. I've already done ketamine infusion and psilocybin without much success

I wear a CPAP Mask to sleep for my sleep apnea. My psychiatrist didn't bother to ask me whether I had sleep apnea. SMH

Also try these mouth guards, my friend had sleep apnea and the CPAP was not helping, he bought a $15 mouth guard on Amazon and suddenly he felt rested for the first time in years..they pull your jaw forward so your airway doesn't collapse:

Amazon.com : anti snore mouth guard

 

[kohaku]

Great thread, very good to see treatment suggestions on here, even though I've researched them myself. Did not know about the sleep studies, though.

About stimulants and developing tolerance, you haven't mentioned Ritalin (methylphenidate). Is it the same? According to common research, when used in therapeutic doses it's quite safe. I've been taking it myself and even made a thread about it (if you'd like to check it out), I would like to know if it's viable for long-term treatment.

 

[job1315]

Great thread, very good to see treatment suggestions on here, even though I've researched them myself. Did not know about the sleep studies, though.

About stimulants and developing tolerance, you haven't mentioned Ritalin (methylphenidate). Is it the same? According to common research, when used in therapeutic doses it's quite safe. I've been taking it myself and even made a thread about it (if you'd like to check it out), I would like to know if it's viable for long-term treatment.

Listen / read Dr. Wetsman. Ritalin is not safe. It's not that it's toxic, it's that long-term it will downregulate your dopamine receptors and make the problem worse

 

[kohaku]

Listen / read Dr. Wetsman. Ritalin is not safe. It's not that it's toxic, it's that long-term it will downregulate your dopamine receptors and make the problem worse

Well fuck, is all I can say. Guess I'm asking for bupropion.

 

[job1315]

Well fuck, is all I can say. Guess I'm asking for bupropion.

You should try lmethylfolate first. It's a form of B vitamin that in some people does not cross the blood brain barrier so you need to supplement it. Folate is used to create neurotransmitters. If you don't have the incorrect gene it will do nothing, but it is safer than medication I believe. For some addicts that's all they need

 

[kohaku]

You should try lmethylfolate first. It's a form of B vitamin that in some people does not cross the blood brain barrier so you need to supplement it. Folate is used to create neurotransmitters. If you don't have the incorrect gene it will do nothing, but it is safer than medication I believe. For some addicts that's all they need

I'm not an addict, but will it possibly help depression? I found a vendor.

edit: I have no reading comprehension. Of course it will. But I prefer to ask for bupropion as it comes cheaper than L-methylfolate.

 

[Giraffey]

Suffice it to say, addiction, ADHD and obesity are all the same brain problem: lack of dopamine tone.

I'm sorry but what utter bullshit. This is akin to saying that "all paintings are the same because they are made with paint".

Stimulants like Adderall and Vyvanse induce tolerance and make the problem worse long-term.

Like many medications, tolerance can occur in some patients but they do not make the problem worse long-term, there is no evidence for that and it's damn right wreckless to make the claim. I could take issue with numerous other things you've said, but I've made my point.

You are not a doctor, please do not assert misleading statements such as the ones quoted and others that are without evidence. I don't care how many speeches you have watched on YouTube, or journal articles you think that you have understood, you are not qualified to make statements such as these, particularly when you are actively encouraging people on the site to stop taking medication. That is a decision that should be made on the basis of medically accurate advice, personalised to the particular patient - by a qualified person, not some internet mountebank.

I take no issue with expressing an opinion, using clumsy analogies, or misunderstanding how things work; this isn't a peer-reviewed journal, however, you are not simply suggesting alternatives or sharing resources, you are actively presenting your posts as medical advice. As a professional myself, even I refrain from giving medical advice, Suggestions or alternatives to discuss with a doctor? Yes. Debunking pseudo-scientific crap? Yes. But direct advice? Absolutely not. It against the rules but it's unethical.

There are members on here who share alternative treatments, I have no issue with them. There are members who express concerns about certain medications such as SSRIs, myself included, or talk about their experiences, but again, that is expressing an opinion and not dishing out dodgy 'medical advice' such as "these medications will make your condition worse, do not take them under any circumstances, take these instead".

I will let the mods look into this and make a judgement but for me, you have crossed a line. Perhaps I'm just looking at this through the eyes of a professional, but to me this post is and some of the claims within it are harmful.

Edit: Perhaps I'm just over-reacting, I took no issue with some parts of your post talking about your own experiences, but the latter sections containing the controversial claims and then some of the replies make me uncomfortable, and I'm on a short-fuse this evening. So I apologise for posting in such an explosive fashion, that was the wrong way to raise a concern, but I still do feel uncomfortable with some parts. I'm not the judge and jury, again, maybe I'm over-reacting because of my current mood.

 

[Silvermorning]

Well fuck, is all I can say. Guess I'm asking for bupropion.

I tried a couple months wellbutrin, bupropion to help me quit smoking, it lowered a bit the urge, but not enough, so I went back to old trusted fluoxetine.

 

[Sherri]

My doc recommended this, but he mentioned memory loss as a side effect. Don't know if I will have the courage. Let us know how it work out for you all.

 

[dandan]

Good old cypionate Testosterone?

I won't go a week without it. Maybe twice , but was cause I was sick and almost not doing shit.