When you’re exploring a treatment like transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS), you probably want to know two things: how it works and what it feels like. We’ve done quite a bit of educational content lately about the treatment mechanisms behind TMS therapy. So, today, we want to shift to the second portion.
Let’s talk about what you’ll experience if you get TMS. You should know that this isn’t coming from a place of purely clinical thinking or distance. Instead, Dr. Sonya Knight and her staff have tried TMS themselves while testing the machine for the purpose of understanding what it’s like for our patients.
Understanding treatment personally, not just medically
Doctors need to understand the treatments they recommend. It would be unethical to prescribe a medication with known side effects without thinking about how those would impact the patient, for example.
Fortunately, with TMS, the concern about side effects is relatively low. They’re typically mild. You might have some lightheadedness or tingling, but that usually goes away as you get more treatments.
Still, because TMS involves wearing a helmet that looks like something out of a sci-fi film and means directing magnetic pulses into your head, you might have some reservations. To help put those at ease, we believe it’s important for your care team to understand TMS: not just clinically, but personally.
We wanted to know: does it feel like electric shock therapy or is it comfortable? What does it actually feel like? Because Dr. Knight has tried TMS herself, she can give you direct information about what to expect.
What TMS feels like
Based on Dr. Knight’s experiences, we have some key takeaways that can help you prepare for TMS. Here are the high notes:
- You’ll be awake and totally alert the whole time; there’s no sedation involved
- Your scalp will feel a clicking or tapping sensation as the magnetic pulses go to work (that sensation tends to become less noticeable with time)
- We have you wear earplugs, but you’ll still probably hear a clicking sound during treatment
- TMS shouldn’t be painful, but some people say it feels like a rubber band lightly snapping against their scalp, especially at first (again, sensation should lessen the more treatments you get)
- You might notice some temporary muscle twitching in your scalp or face — that’s totally normal
Sessions only last about 30 minutes and our team stays with you the whole time. If any of the sensations feel too intense, we can adjust treatment to make you more comfortable.
You might have a light headache or scalp sensitivity immediately after treatment, but that should fade quickly. You can go back to your usual activities right after your appointment.
Building trust in clinical care
We believe that trust is a critical part of the doctor-patient relationship. It’s important to us that you feel informed and empowered to make the right decisions for yourself as you pursue treatment. That’s why we want to provide clear information and personalized guidance.
If you want to talk with Dr. Knight and our team about what to expect during TMS, get in touch with us. At Neurology, Psychiatry and Balance Therapy Center, you can hear directly from our team about what TMS treatment feels like.
