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"I really didn't begin to notice a difference myself for several months, although my family began to tell me, even as early as 2 to 3 months, that they did see a difference and that I was acting more like my old self. It really wasn't until a year after the surgery that I could really begin to say that I feel better and I notice a big difference.
"I began to enjoy little things that I hadn't enjoyed in a long time, like working in my garden and going to a plant shop and selecting plants, which I hadn't done in a long, long time. In addition to being able to make decisions more quickly, I also began to laugh more. I started to listen to music again, which I hadn't done, literally, in years because music would make me sad or it would remind me of things. So I began to listen to music again, and I'd be riding down the road listening to the radio and thinking that things are really changing, that things are really better.
"And after 18 months I was feeling much, much better, and I was also beginning to tell people I feel better, this is working. So I think it's important for people to understand that they may not get immediate results. For me, it's 3 years later and I'm doing better and better all the time."
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“Having chronic depression is sort of like living life in a glass bubble. You can see everyone outside of the bubble living their life, but they can’t get to where you are, and you can’t get to where they are. I think that it affects your whole life in the way that you feel like you are just struggling trying to get through every day rather than accomplishing something or looking forward to or planning for the future. It takes up all your energy just to get through the task at hand.
"I heard about VNS Therapy when my father was watching Good Morning America one morning on television and he saw someone who had had chronic depressive disorder and who had had VNS Therapy surgery, and she was doing wo well that my parents immediatley wrote down the name and called me. My depression had become so severe that when offered the VNS Therapy I didn't have any second thoughts. I know that most people will, but for me, I knew that I wanted to get help and if this could offer hope to me, I wanted it.
"I was worried about the scar, but it didn't take very long to heal. Now I try to show my scar to people; but it doesn't work because nobody can acknowledge that they see a scar... so they really are imperceptible."
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