Before Adam arrived at The Royal’s neuromodulation clinic for his first ever repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment three years ago, life was difficult – in fact, Adam says that life was dismal and he had very little hope.
Adam has lived with major depressive disorder (MDD) for most of his life, and although medications worked for him previously, they suddenly stopped working. The antidepressant medications that had helped pull him out of his depression throughout his life were now giving him anxiety and causing severe sleep issues.
According to research, up to 40 per cent of people with depression do not experience a noticeable improvement in their symptoms after trying at least two different antidepressant medications, classifying their illness as difficult to treat.
Adam’s psychiatrist was working with different medications and dosages, but the negative side effects were outweighing any of the positive ones. One day, he introduced Adam to a research trial that was slated to begin at The Royal’s neuromodulation clinic, using rTMS treatment for depression. rTMS directly stimulates the brain by producing a brief, painless magnetic field delivered via a coil placed against the scalp.
After doing his own research on rTMS, Adam was intrigued by the potential benefits of this alternative to drug therapy. He was put in touch with a research assistant in the rTMS lab and was placed on a waitlist.
While he waited, Adam began to experience intense daily suicidal ideation. He had to work very hard to ward off those thoughts and to maintain hope. Then one day, Adam received a call that he was going to be the first participant for this particular rTMS trial.
That was the moment his life changed for the better.
Adam received rTMS treatment daily for six weeks, before moving to a less-frequent maintenance phase. He said that his experience with this non-invasive treatment was “uplifting” and that over time he gradually began to feel better. He started to be motivated to do little things in life again, like exercising and socializing.
“rTMS has been a great addition to everything else that I do to maintain good mental health, like vitamin D therapy and mindfulness,” says Adam. “I also now have a new group of friends that I regularly socialize with. rTMS gave me the motivation I needed to start living my life again.”
Inspired by Adam’s story and others like his, Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, a Toronto-based private equity firm focused on providing structured liquidity solutions to the private equity market, has made a transformational pledge to The Royal. The generosity of Whitehorse Liquidity Partners will help open an rTMS clinical program at The Royal, so that more people like Adam can receive the support they need, when they need it, without being part of a research trial.
Yann Robard, Whitehorse Liquidity Partners managing partner and Royal Ottawa Foundation board member.
“This alternative, non-invasive and non-drug form of treatment is vital to ensuring that those living with treatment-resistant depression can receive the help they need to be able to live a fully functional, symptom-free life,” says Whitehorse Liquidity Partners managing partner, and Royal Ottawa Foundation board member, Yann Robard. “At a time with mounting mental issues around the world, we recognize the increasing need for access to quality mental health care. We are pleased to partner with The Royal to support the future of mental health research and care.”
Adam says that rTMS isn’t a magic wand, as he still has some days where his depression impacts his life. However, thanks to the rTMS treatments, the feelings of sadness typically last a few hours before he can feel his entire mood change for the better.
“I’m in a much better place in my life now, and I know that rTMS was the catalyst for me to be able to start doing everything else that I needed to do to improve my mental health,” says Adam.
Through his own personal experience, Adam believes that healing from MDD, or any mental illness, is never a one-pronged approach, but rather a continuum of different therapies that work together to improve a person’s mental health.
The Royal Ottawa Foundation is so thankful to Whitehorse Liquidity Partners for their help in advancing research in the area of rTMS treatment, enabling scientists at The Royal to provide more precise and personalized care.