TMS for Bipolar Depression
Bipolar Depression Treatment in Colorado Springs and Monument
How Psychiatrists Treat Bipolar Depression
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diseases and disorders of the brain, including depression and bipolar depression. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings, including manic episodes of high energy and depressive episodes marked by low energy, sadness, and hopelessness.
At Colorado Psychiatry Solutions in Monument and Colorado Springs, psychiatrists treat patients for bipolar depression using advanced treatment methods, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an advanced interventional psychiatric procedure that improves brain health.
Why Choose TMS for Bipolar Depression?
TMS is a non-invasive therapy that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain. For bipolar depression, the focus is typically on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with mood regulation. In people with depression, this area often shows reduced activity. By delivering magnetic pulses, TMS helps “wake up” these underactive neurons, restoring balance to the brain’s activity.
TMS is performed in our clinic on an outpatient basis, with each session lasting 20-30 minutes. There is no preparation required – during treatment you sit comfortably while a trained TMS technician positions the TMS magnetic coil directly over the target area of the brain to administer the magnetic pulses.
These magnetic pulses create a stimulus/response effect in the brain, stimulating the brain to elevate brain activity and repair neural pathways within the brain. Over a series of repeated sessions, the damaged areas of the brain regain normal, healthy activity. TMS is one of the few available treatments that target brain function directly.
The procedure is painless, and you can return to your daily activities, such as work or driving, immediately after each session.
How TMS Helps with Bipolar Depression
Bipolar depression is different from unipolar (major) depression because it occurs alongside episodes of mania or hypomania. This distinction can make treatment more complex, as some antidepressants that work for major depression may trigger manic episodes in individuals with bipolar disorder. TMS offers a safer alternative because it targets the brain directly without affecting the entire body.
Benefits of TMS Therapy for Bipolar Depression
Many patients prefer TMS over other bipolar depression treatment options because:
- It is non-pharmaceutical. TMS directly stimulates the brain to achieve healing; it does not use medications (such as antidepressants) to achieve relief. This is a significant factor for patients who experienced negative side effects from medication or who want to use as few medications as possible.
- It is effective. TMS boasts high response and remission rates, even for patients with severe depression or who have been diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. Because TMS uses a different functional approach than antidepressants, it often succeeds in patients who are treatment-resistant.
- It is long-lasting. TMS patients continue to maintain a beneficial response long after TMS therapy has finished. Patients do not have to remember to take daily medication to maintain the benefit.
- It has no systemic side effects. TMS is extremely well-tolerated. It is non-invasive, requires no anesthesia or numbing, and has no systemic side effects.
Questions and Answers About TMS for Bipolar Depression
Is TMS for bipolar depression treatment approved by the FDA?
TMS does not yet have formal FDA approval for the treatment of bipolar disorder. In 2020, the FDA granted breakthrough device designation to TMS for treating bipolar depression, indicating a strong likelihood it will be approved in the near future. Multiple studies are underway to validate TMS’s efficacy at treating bipolar depression.
Does insurance cover TMS for treatment of bipolar depression?
Insurance companies typically require a treatment to receive formal approval from the FDA before it is a covered benefit. At this time, TMS treatment for bipolar depression is an out-of-pocket treatment.
Is TMS effective for bipolar depression?
Yes, studies show that TMS is effective at treating bipolar depression. One study reported an 87% response rate and a 74% remission rate in patients with bipolar depression who were treated with TMS.
If you’re ready to explore TMS as a treatment option, call us today at 719-622-6522 to begin.
How To Get Started
To receive an evaluation for TMS treatment, simply schedule an appointment at one of our four convenient locations in Colorado Springs and Monument. You can call 719-622-6522 to speak with an intake specialist or enter your contact information in our online form.