Patients who experienced positive results did not notice them immediately after the surgery, and some used the stimulator along with talk therapy and anti-depressants. I used to be a hermit and I tried to pretend that I wasn't depressed. I would stay in bed as long as I could. I would get up to go to work, or to walk my dogs, but after a while that would even be difficult,'' said Sandoval, who takes medication and attends therapy sessions in addition to using the stimulator. Another participant in the pilot study, Tucker Davis, said that he often feels a tingle or a hoarseness in his throat.
Doctors believe the ''tickle'' is caused by the stimulator's periodic pulses.
But, researchers believe that this, and replacing the battery every 13 years, are the only clear hassles patients face. Like Sandoval, Davis was considering going through electroconvulsive therapy, but feared the treatment's side effects. Many patients who go through this therapy suffer from short-term memory loss. Patients also might not feel the device's effects right away. For example, Sandoval and Davis said they did not feel better for three months.