New Electronic Relief of Anxiety, Depression, and Insomnia

Many of my patients have been reporting significant relief from anxiety, depression, and insomnia by using a small, portable, electronic stimulator that passes a tiny current across the head through two small electrode clips lightly attached to each ear.

Several transcranial stimulators (TCSs) have now been FDA approved for these conditions. Significant anxiety reduction is usually experienced during a single 20 minute treatment that can be self-administered at home. Following each TCS treatment, the positive results may last for hours or days thereafter.

Insomnia is usually improved gradually with nightly home treatments and it may take several weeks before significant long-term improvement is reliable and evident.  After several weeks of regular nightly use, however, many patients report that TCS has given them the best sleep they’ve ever had. They also report that TCS has helped them return to sleep more quickly when awakened during the night.

Depression also typically takes several weeks of daily 20 minute home TCS treatments in order to experience significant and reliable improvement. Once symptoms have improved, however, using TCS 2 or 3 times per week is usually sufficient to maintain positive results.

Only minor, self-limiting side effects have been reported including headaches (0.10%) and skin irritation (0.07%). In a recent 5 year period, over eight million treatments resulted in only 14 instances of minor side effects, eleven of which were skin irritation at the electrode site. TCS technology is quickly becoming one of the safest and most effective ways to treat insomnia and mood disorders without the serious side effects that can result from chronic pharmaceutical use.

To find out if TCS can help you, schedule an office visit so we can determine if you are an appropriate candidate, and which type of TCS stimulator may be most beneficial for you. You’ll be able to try one during your visit, and if you feel that it may be helpful, you can rent one for a clinical trial at a cost of $10 per day.

Most patients find out to what extent TCS can improve their symptoms within the first few weeks, and so far, only about one in ten of my patients have said that it did not significantly help. The other nine won’t part with their TCS units and are continuing to use them regularly or on an as-needed basis.

To find out more about TCS, please click here.