FAQ
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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Appointment Type
|
Consult Payment
|
Less Your Medicare Rebate
|
Your Final Out of pocket Cost
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Patient
|
Standard Long
|
$103.45 $159.95
|
$42.85$82.90
|
$60.60 $77.05
|
Concession Card
|
Standard Long
|
$87.35 $134.60
|
$42.85 $82.90
|
$44.50 $51.70
|
PLEASE NOTE: Full payment of your consult is required. You must have a current Medicare card. For concession rate, please supply a Health Care Card and/or Aged Pension Card.
TMS for conditions other than treatment-resistant depression is not covered under Medicare and will incur a private fee. Costs vary from patient to patient and condition to condition. You will be provided with a quote at your initial consultation.
There is increasing evidence that TMS is effective for a number of other conditions, including:
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Bipolar Affective Disorder (depressive phase)
• Tinnitus
• Addiction (such as alcohol)
• Chronic Pain
There is currently research underway into TMS for dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, eating disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism and attention deficit disorder.
TMS has few side effects and is often long lasting. Some patients may occasionally experience temporary light headedness or mild scalp tenderness after treatment. These side effects can be usually fixed quite easily with some modifications. Risk of seizure is very low if you have no risk factors (1 seizure in 50,000 treatment sessions if you have no risk factors). This risk of seizure with TMS is lower than almost every single antidepressant.
No, it’s not. ECT (Electroconvulsive therapy) and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) are not the same. While both come under the overall category of “Neurostimulation,” they are actually quite different.
ECT uses an electric current to specifically cause a seizure. When a person experiences a seizure it is thought that there is a large dump of neurotransmitters (seritonin, noradrenhaline and dopamine) resulting in the “hitting of a reset button.”
TMS on the otherhand uses a focal magnetic field to penetrate the skull and stimulate the nerves of the brain. This stimulates both growth and healing. Unlike ECT, we do NOT want to cause a seizure.
ECT is usually done as an inpatient in hospital. It requires sedation that this overseen by an anaesthetist. ECT if often saved by patient with severe catatonic depression or psychosis. TMS, unlike ECT is not associated with cognitive side effects such as memory loss.
No. Rather, we recommend not making any changes to your mediction prior to commencing TMS. This allows us to more clearly ascertain the cause of any of your improvements. Often patients who respond well to TMS do end up coming off their medication.
Please note: this is general advice and your TMS psychiatrist may provide different advice depending on your personal circumstances.
Not just yet. Your TMS psychiatrist will discuss this issue during your final TMS session. If you have had notable clinical improvement, your TMS psychiatrist will provide your GP a plan for how you can start weaning yourself off the antidepressant. This process should be done cautiously, conservatively an in consultation with your GP.