I extend my apologies to you for my sometimes just being focused upon a goal and by not acknowledging your outstanding proactive efforts to inform others and your outstanding website. Hmm! It would be nice if I were only able to be so talented.

Thank you also for giving me the opportunity to express my views and share some information. It seems a number of website administers I’ve encountered are overly concerned with their own personal self-aggrandizement and readership retention by not allowing the sharing of certain information that after awhile they lose sight of their original purposes.

Once again, I extend a special thank you for your efforts.

Warmly,
Herb
VNSdepression.com

.

As you say, there are no panaceas, but I’m really glad to hear that in your wife’s case, at least, this treatment really seems to have made a difference.

All the best,
Greg

I just happened upon your website and I’d like to take a moment to contribute some information. My spouse, Joyce, is one of the earliest study subjects for the VNS Therapy for TRD. Without going into a long dissertation on this forum regarding the VNS Therapy one can always peruse our website offering sharing our experiences, research and knowledge at:

VNSdepression.com

http://www.vnsdepression.com

My spouse has benefited remarkably from the therapy. After some 37 years of numerous medications as well as various alternative and/or adjunctive therapies we’ve finally achieved a reasonable degree of control, stability and long-term remission of her severe MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). For the first 3 years she was depression free without the use of any psychotropic medications for purposes of depression. These last 3 years she’s been almost depression free but we’ve had to utilize adjunctive therapies in addition to her VNS Therapy.

As one previous respondent mentioned that the efficacy rates appeared low I would personally feel from the standpoint of a very long time support person and health care advocate that when we ran out of options even a 1% chance to achieve wellness was a ray of hope.

There are no panaceas or cures to the best of my knowledge when dealing with severe TRD. I first and foremost am an advocate for education in making informed and un-coerced medical decisions along with encouraging hope and persistence and when one achieves any degree of wellness from “the beast” as I refer to my spouse’s illness, it not only achieves a degree of wellness but a vast improvement in one’s QOL (Quality of Life).

I extend my best wishes to all those challenged by “the beast” to find their treatment regimen that obtains wellness rapidly.

Warmly,
Herb
VNSdepression.com

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I am one of the first people in US to have been implanted with VNS device for treatment
of depression, after it was approved by FDA. I started the ball rolling before the approval.
So I created Yahoo group on the subject of VNS for depression. Your readers and you can join.

Click on a link below:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vns-for-depression/

Thank you for your website.

Yuri

My understanding is that Medicare will pay for vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy (its original use), where it is indicated as medically necessary — but I am not personally aware of whether Medicare will cover the procedure in this very new use for treating depression. I understand that most insurance companies are presently reluctant to fund the full cost, which can range up to $40,000.

All the best,
Greg

There’s nothing like first hand, real life experience! If you (and your insurance company) do decide to go through with VNS, and if you feel like commenting here again on your experience, I imagine our readers would welcome the chance to hear about it.

All the best,
Greg

Actually, many researchers would be ecstatic to find a response rate differential of roughly a factor of 2 (i.e., 27 percent versus 13% is roughly twice as effective)…

If you have a peek at the September 2005 Biological Psychiatry issue cited above, it may offer some of the latest details available in print. One very significant problem with the early studies is that they have not been RCT (randomized controlled trials), considered by most researchers to be the ‘gold standard’ in terms of judging clinical effectiveness.

I guess the upshot is that some of the numbers look promising, but in my view personally, they are far far far from conclusive!

All the best,
Greg