Tag: Treatment for Depression

TMS: Alternative Treatment for Depression

Treatment for Depression

Stewart Lawrence https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-lawrence-8a259210/Is TMS an Effective Treatment for Depression?

An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from a diagnosed condition, most commonly depression which ranges from mild to severe. Most Americans seek relief from depression by taking medication, usually supplemented with some form of psychotherapy. But many Americans — between 30 and 70%, studies show – never seem to get the depression relief they need. In public circles, “treatment resistant” depression has become a hot topic, and controversy abounds about what to do about it.

On one side of the debate are pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly and Pfizer Corporation that have made billions of dollars in profit since the 1990s from the manufacture and sale of drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. Those drugs are still popular, but in recent years, sales of new drugs like Abilify and more recently, Rexulti, both produced by the pharmaceutical giant, Bristol Myers-Squibb in partnership with a smaller Japanese-based , Otsuka, have mushroomed in response to consumer demand for “augmented” relief from depression.

The problem? The drugs weren't really designed to treat depression and may not be working as advertised. In 2016, complaints about the harsh side effects of Abilify – technically, an “antipsychotic,” designed primarily for the treatment of schizophrenia – from consumers and doctors alike caused a huge scandal. Many doctors refused to prescribe Abilify and 42 states sued the two... Read More