TMS for post partum bi-poplar symptoms?

[Chaource]

Has anyone found TMS helpful for post partum bi-polar symptoms? e.g. severe lows and then being stable/well - where these lows appear every few weeks?

[Maria_at_APP Moderator]

Hi Chaource,

I am sorry I don't have experience of TMS myself. I know of other mums who had ECT when their depression was resistant to medication, and they say that that treatment was life saving for them. Is TMS something that is being suggested by the professionals looking after your sister?

Maria

[Chaource in reply to Maria_at_APP]

Thanks Maria, the last doctor said ECT wouldn't work for her as she gets better quickly after feeling severely depressed (not sure if she is experiencing hormonal fluctuations) but the new doctor is now saying ECT could help. I think she is so deeply depressed now she may need it.

[Maria_at_APP Moderator in reply to Chaource]

Hi Chaource,

A hormonal test may be something to ask for from her team? It is good practice to discard all probable physical causes first.

I am so sorry she is feeling so low at the moment. It can feel hopeless at times, but do take comfort that she will improve when the right treatment is found.

I have you in my thoughts, keep on writing here for support, it is important to feel listened to at this time

Maria

[Essex1982]

Hi. I have done a couple of rounds of rTMS for depression prior to my experience of PP. I do feel it helped stabilise me at the time. This was prior to my bipolar diagnosis and I was desperate for anything to help. It’s quite time consuming. Uncomfortable, not painful, at first. You get used to it. Big time commitment. And very expensive! But worth a try in my case. Good luck x

[MotherOfBears]

I’m afraid I have no experience with TMS. But as you describe “severe lows and then being stable/well - where these lows appear every few weeks?”. This is an exact description of where I found myself a few months after PP. I lasted, for me, quite a long time I am sorry to write, but we have eventually found a set of medications that seems to be keeping me stable. Rapid cycling like that between “ok” and “horribly depressed” every few weeks is utterly exhausting, on top of the actual trauma of the depressive patches themselves

Thinking of you x

[Chaource in reply to MotherOfBears]

Hi mother of bears,

Thank you so much for your response. I was jut wondering what set of medications made you stable? How long did it last for and are you ok now? That is really hopeful to hear of someone who experienced the same thing... Is there a doctor that treated you that would be worth speaking to?

Thanks

[Machoupa]

Hadn't heard of TMS till i read yr post.Reading about it and what others had to say when i googled it, wouldn't be too keen on poss side effects.

As regards ECT, in my "right mind", i wouldn't touch it, but in the depths of depression i understand why people opt for it. My sister did, didn't really help and either that or the lithium badly affected her memory .

My depression and elation weren't PP. Just for last 50 yrs. Still learning to live with it and avoiding allopathic meds as much as poss, only when almost comatosed and not able to function independently will i try for short periods.

Best wishes

Sheelagh

[Jenny_at_APP Partner in reply to Machoupa]

Hello Machoupa,

Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts here. I'm sorry to hear that you've been living with depression and elation for the last 50 years.

I know people have very different views on and experiences of ECT and I'm sorry it didn't really help your sister. It can be a very effective treatment for PP when other therapies aren't working, and I know a number of women who have experienced PP who say it saved their life.

I don't know much about TMS but it is interesting to hear about people's experiences and the various different treatments and therapies that are offered and have helped people.

Take care.

Best wishes,

Jenny

[Machoupa in reply to Jenny_at_APP]

Thank you Jenny

[MotherOfBears]

I haven’t tried TMS - actually it was never mentioned - but I have had the symptoms you describe. I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 in 2022 after the birth of my second son, and a few months later I went into a depression of ‘ultra rapid cycling’ bipolar where I would have a few days severe, a few days moderate, and then a few days euthymic. For me, we had a period of trying different drugs, and in the end it was quetiapine that was most effective for me