Addiction

The team at BrainStim Centers, Inc. provides safe and effective addiction treatment at their offices in Encino and Valencia, California.

The team offers comprehensive care that includes medications to help you safely detox, counseling for long-term recovery, and innovative therapies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation to restore optimal brain functioning.

To take the first step toward your new life, call the nearest office or schedule an appointment online today.

Contact our New Patient Coordinator for a Free Consultation

CALL:(310) 895-7122

TMS: New Personalized, Drug-Free Treatment for Addiction

What causes addiction?

Addiction begins in your brain when drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances activate the brain’s reward system. This triggers the release of biochemicals that boost your mood, relieve pain, and produce a pleasurable or high feeling.

As you continue to use the substance, physical changes occur in your brain that cause uncontrollable cravings. It isn’t long before your brain builds up a tolerance, and you need to use larger amounts to satisfy your cravings and get the same pleasurable feelings.

At this stage, you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms if you try to stop using the substance. That’s when you have an addiction.

What symptoms indicate I have an addiction?

Whether you use drugs or struggle with alcoholism, the primary symptoms of addiction are uncontrollable cravings, needing to take more to get the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms.

Other signs of addiction include:

• Giving up activities and hobbies you used to enjoy so you can get high
• Failing to fulfill your responsibilities at work, home, or school
• Continuing to drink or take drugs despite memory blackouts or health problems
• Using alcohol or drugs when it’s not safe, such as while driving

Drug abuse and alcoholism also share many of the same withdrawal symptoms, like restlessness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and a rapid heartbeat.

How can I overcome my addiction?

When you want to break the habit, the first step is to detox from the substance you use. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is one of the most successful approaches to recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

MAT combines medication with counseling. When you start MAT, the team at BrainStim Centers, Inc. prescribes medications that stop your cravings, prevent withdrawal symptoms, and help restore your brain chemistry.

After you finish detoxing and the drugs or alcohol clear out of your system, you continue taking the medication until your provider determines you’re ready to taper down. You also begin counseling.

Counseling helps you learn why you turn to drugs or alcohol. During therapy, you learn ways to change your behaviors, so you’re equipped to avoid using drugs or alcohol in the future.

Does TMS help with addiction?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to safely stimulate nerves in your brain. The stimulation restores normal nerve activity and increases neurotransmitters.

While relaxing in the Nexstim chair, a tracker will be placed on your forehead without the use of adhesives. The tracker engages with the system so the equipment and computer can pinpoint the exact location for sending the pulsations.

The device will be placed near your head and will send out the magnetic pulses.

Each session time varies. However, the first session typically takes 45 minutes to load the MRI and conduct brain navigation. This data will be saved on the computer for future reference. Subsequent visits typically take 20 minutes from start to finish. Since TMS doesn’t negatively impact your cognitive abilities, you can leave as soon as the session is over and go back to your daily routine.

The best results are seen when having five sessions per week for a six-week period. Throughout your treatment process, you will have periodic assessments with your TMS Technician to evaluate your overall mood, energy, and progress.
If you need help with an addiction, call BrainStim Centers, Inc. or book an appointment online today.

*** Treatments including but not limited to TMS treatment for addiction are designed to help improve cognitive function. Individual results may vary.

Would you like a consultation with our New Patient Coordinator?

Our New Patient Coordinator is here for you, and we understand what you may be going through. To that end, we want to help, and it costs nothing to call us and talk about what is happening.

During your call, the New Patient Coordinator will listen to you and answer your questions. She will also explain our process and protocols, as well as costs, possible insurance benefits, and any other details you want to know.

There are no obligations, and she will take all the time you need in order to determine whether you should take the next steps.

Call Our New Patient Coordinator to Learn More

CALL: (310) 895-7122

Or fill in the form below, and she will contact you.

Contact Us

For more information or to speak with our New Patient Coordinator, please fill in the information below.

• Your Name*
• Phone Number:*
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• Please check that you understand the following:
  • This procedure is only currently FDA cleared for Drug Resistant Depression and OCD.
  • This treatment is not FDA-approved at this time for Autism.
  • In some cases, this treatment has been used successfully off-label for other conditions including PTSD, TBI, Dementia, Parkinsons, ADHD, Learning Disorders and the after-effects of stroke.
  • In most cases Insurance does not cover this procedure at this time, therefore all expenses are out of pocket for treatment.
  • You must be able to stay in the area for 2-week intervals for treatment (typically two or three visits).
• What condition do you want to address?
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • PTSD
  • OCD
  • Parkinsons
  • Autism
  • Dementia
  • Learning Disorder
  • ADHD
• Are You a New Patient?*
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• Please tell us about any questions or concerns you have.
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• Absolute Contraindications

  Absolute contraindications for cortical MeRT treatment: Pacemaker, Defibrillator, Vagal Nerve Stimulator, VP Shunt/ Magnetic intracranial shunts, Deep Brain Stimulator, Epidural Cortical stimulator, Steel shunts/stents, Cranial metal fragments (i.e. shrapnel, excluding titanium), Cochlear implant, Aneurysm clips, coils, pipelines flow diversion, Pregnant or breastfeeding, Primary brain cancer / metastatic legions in brain (unless palliative care), Magnetic dental implants, Implanted cardio-verter defibrillators (ICD), Ocular implants.

• Relative Contraindications

  Relative contraindications require closer protocol attention and may or may not disqualify someone from receiving cortical MeRT treatment, depending on the doctor’s discretion and the person’s individual condition. These include:: History of Seizure or seizure disorder, Titanium shunts/stents, Spinal Cord Stimulator, Hearing aids, Ferrous cortical implants, Magnetic ink tattoo, Bipolar Disorder Type I/II, Baha Implant.

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