I have been suffering from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and obsessive thoughts for many years. I have been in therapy on many occasions and, while it has been helpful, it has not resolved my problems. I am also taking two antidepressant medications and Valium.
Since these treatments to not seem to be too effective, I am wondering about some of the newer treatments that are being researched. I am thinking about treatments such as ketamine, psilocybin, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. These are the first truly new treatments for anxiety and depression in at least 60 years.
Has anyone tried any of these techniques to reduce their mental health problems? I would love to hear your experiences and how effective they are and how available they are.
Thanks.
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Thanks for your response. I actually already do most of the things that you suggested, but my depression has been persistent and I would like to take things to the next stage. However, much of what you suggest is highly useful for anxiety.
I have been a seeker for better health my whole life. I have suffered with severe depression and anxiety my whole life. I worked as an RN for 25 years but then had to go onto disability. In the last 2 years I have found a spiritual path that has helped me immensely. I don't have the complete freedom from anxiety I want but so much improvement with depression while coming to the realization that God is Love and only good.😇💗🙏
Thank you so much for your comment; I appreciate it. I also have been striving much of my life to be a happier person and to make the world a better place. My approach is not as spiritual as yours but rather more humanistic. However, in the end, I think that the goals are the same. You might also want to read some of the works by the Stoic philosophers or books about them. I think you'll find that they make a lot of sense, even today, and that they also provide guidelines to help with your goals. Keep up the good work.
Yes I have read alot of their quotes. Alot of wisdom there. They were seekers of Truth. I read this recently by Imma uel Kant: " Two things fill my mind with everlasting wonder and awe...the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.😊
I've done them all. 48 y/o female living in Las Vegas.
Look at my profile page to access my post about TMS and Ketamine treatment that I wrote on Nov 6th. I go into detail about my experience this year because TMS SAVED MY LIFE!! I did 2 Ketamine infusions prior to starting TMS treatment. I've micro dosed psilocybin mushrooms when I'm lightly depressed. They're moderately helpful but they're not medicinal grade. They're uplifting for mood if you're not too far into an episode or if you can catch one early on. Historically, for me, once I'm spiraling, no amount of shrooms are gonna help.
I live in the last Vegas metropolitan area. TMS clinics are available pretty easily with at least 25 locations in the area. Insurance coverage is not very good. I had to pay out of pocket for everything. $7700 so far this year. But when I say it SAVED ME, how can you put a price on the value of the quality and quantity of the rest of your life? It cost $150 per appointment here at the clinic I go to. It's a huge financial commitment and you have to go 5 days a week for 6-7 weeks. So time is also involved. But my rewards are nothing short of miraculous.
I agree with blueruth too in that diet, exercise, sleep and other healthy lifestyle choices are the some of the most helpful areas for maintaining brain health and function as we age.💝
Thanks so much for your response. It was very useful because it covered all three treatments. I will look into TMS, which is the only one that may now be covered by medicare.
I hope you have the opportunity to get TMS treatment. It's a great alternative option for those that can access or afford it financially. Let me know what your outcome is. I'm always looking for feedback from those that have tried it.
I did four Ketamine infusions and didn't find it helpful for me so I stopped the treatment. I didn't find it calming or peaceful but instead it was like a bad acid trip and would have been very anxiety provoking if I had not had quite a bit of experience dealing with anxiety/panic. The majority of my issues has been social anxiety related with some depression but not major depression and supposedly it can help with social anxiety but i've read it is really more for people with major depression. The only benefit I could see from my experience is getting to have a kind of spiritual experience and realizing how everything is all connected including us but I didn't need Ketamine to be able to do that. it's also expensive and it is quite physically taxing, I was wiped out for the rest of the day plus you can't drive, my wife had to take me and pick me up. I also question wether people with anxiety disorder should be doing psilocybin but I haven't looked into that yet. It could have been that my dose of Ketamine was too high but i'm not trying it again to see.
I don't know if my last reply went through, so I am going to provide another reply. I tend to be very sensitive to medication's, usually not in a good way, and so I am very careful about what I take. Thank you for sharing your experience since that does raise a red flag for me about to ketamine. Ketamine is often known as a party drug and if you take too much you fall into what they call the K-hole which is not a pleasant experience. I would be very hesitant to try this. Thanks for your help.
After decades of meds I became treatment resistant to them. Luckily my therapist recommended TMS. It literally saved my life. The results of the first two rounds each lasted about 6 months and the 3rd so far about a year. Obviously results vary person to person. My Medicare covered all of it. As LifeinthePitts said it's a big time commitment but is worth it and it's noninvasive. Keep us posted and wishing you well!
No, it wasn't just a particular location. My first and second rounds were at a different location than the 3rd. If I were you I'd call Medicare myself to ask. It should be covered.
OK. I do see Medicare has coverage. I don't have a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) diagnosis code. I think that may have been why the doctor wouldn't write for it. While only coded for Bipolar, I face Depression (for many years) which meds aren't doing a whole lot for me. Happy to see some newer options.
It may be that your doctor wouldn't write a prescription for TMS because it can cause manic episodes in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. You may want to discuss your diagnosis in more detail with your doctor.
There are many newer medications as well as TMS and ECT which are safe and very effective treatments. Read about them and talk to your psychiatrist. You need to be informed in order to make the best and most informed decisions for yourself and you need to be your own best advocate.
Thanks for your response. If there are newer medications on the market which are more effective then the ones we have been using for decades, I would certainly be very interested in finding out about them. I will talk to my psychiatrist about them and see if he has any recommendations. You are certainly right that every patient needs to be his or her own advocate. I need to get as much information as possible to make an informed decision.
I've seen posts from people that have tried Ketamine treatments, and I'm assuming they were talking about IV treatments which aren't covered by insurance and isn't FDA approved. I did a series of six IV Ketamine treatments in 2019, and thought it was helping after a couple of treatments. Unfortunately, they did not work out for me in the end. I could have gotten two more treatments, but seeing as how I was paying out of pocket and didn't see improvement after the standard six treatments I decided not to go on.
The FDA did approve Esketamine treatments in 2019, under the brand name Spravato. To my understanding, it is a form of Ketamine but how it is formulated differs in some aspect from the Ketamine they use in the IV treatments. It's administered using a nasal spray and supposedly is supposed to provide quick results (for those it might work for). I've considered looking into this treatment, but recently have been more interested in finding a provider that will order TMS treatments for me.
Recently I also came across a new medication, dextromethorphan-bupropion, under the brand name Auvelity. The FDA approved it in August of this year, and the article I was reading said that it's expected to be available to patients by prescription from their healthcare providers in the fourth quarter of 2022, which we are in now. Unfortunately, with any new medication that comes on the market, there isn't any generic form so it will probably be very expensive. The article said there hasn't been any price set as of yet though. The article I was reading was entitled, "New depression medications to know about in 2022", which I will provide the link to here: perks.optum.com/blog/new-de.... I'm sure if you Google it you can find more articles about it.
It discusses Auvelity along with Esketamine and a few others. Hope this helps in some way. It's often a sad fact of life, that the most promising advancements in the treatment of mental health care (and others) are only affordable to the rich unless covered my insurance. 😒 Hope you find what is right for you in your journey. I'm still searching after more than 50 years.
Nothing really worked for me or made a noticeable difference. Time did to a degree. I asked for ECT, but was refused because of heart issues. I’ve wanted to do TMS. Especially now, since insurance will cover it, which I didn’t know before. 👍🏼
Thanks for responding. TMS it's supposed to be similar to ECT but without the convulsions and memory loss. It is essentially a milder way of inducing a seizure with fewer side effects, if any. Since Medicare does pay for it, I think it would be worth a try since it has no apparent side effects. If it doesn't help, the only thing you have lost some time.
ill be honest i dont take any medication 2 reasons 1. dont have health insurance 2. dont like pills so i go for walks on a trail with a headset and blast music when i end up feeling calm i take the headset off and find a spot and try to talk to you know "god" some dont believe some might think im crazy but theres always this unexplainable feeling of peace like a true god or higher power listens and give me that peace i need but theres always something missing ill admitt to that.
TMS was really a life-changing experience for me. I tried 15 different meds for depression and anxiety, only one of which helped but I couldn't tolerate the side effects. Also talk therapy and EMDR (which helps a lot but doesn't fix the depression). After TMS, my severe treatment resistant depression is gone. It's officially in remission and it has been over a year now. No side effects, and the difference in my mind and outlook is night and day.
You're very welcome. It's the most effective treatment across the board for treatment-resident depression and with no side effects, I figured why not try it... please don't wait, I wish I'd tried it 20 years ago.
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Depression and Anxiety
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Anxiety and depression 
Depression and anxiety
