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Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression (Hardcover)

by Charles E. Donovan III (Author) "Have you ever watched a television show where a famous celebrity dispenses the advice: "Just take your antidepres-sants and you'll get better?..." (more)
Key Phrases: vagus nerve stimulation therapy, programming wand, vagus nerve stimulator, Therapy System, New York, Louis University (more...)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"After interveiwing you, I can't believe you ever suffered from depression." -- Tom O'Neill, FOX NEWS, May 5, 2005

"Your story is remarkable. This treatment will change the lives of many desperate patients seeking help for this painful disease." -- Deanne Lane, NBC NEWS, October 5,2005

After interviewing you, I can't believe you ever suffered from chronic depression. -- Tom O'Neill, FOX NEWS, May 5, 2005

After interviewing you, I can't believe you ever suffered from chronic depression. --Tom O'Neill, FOX NEWS, May 5, 2005

This treatment offers new hope to people who have run out of treatment options and will change many lives. -- Deanne Lane, NBC NEWS, October 5,2005

This treatment offers new hope to people who have run out of treatment options and will change many lives. --Deanne Lane, NBC NEWS, October 5,2005

Product Description
Vagus nerve stimulation is the only FDA approved long term treatment option for chronic or recurrent depression. After twenty years of chronic depression, countless antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy, the author was included as a study subject in the investigational trial of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic depression. The treatment completely changed his life and inspired him to write Out of the Black Hole to help other patients who suffer from the grips of this agonizing disease. This all inclusive book prepares you to make an informed decision about the procedure by providing an easy-to-understand explanation about the ninety-minute out patient procedure, the side effects and benefits, insurance codes and the reimbursement process. Vagus nerve stimulation is not related to ECT or brain surgery and is more effective than traditional antidepressants drugs. Neurostimulation is the next frontier in the treatment of depression. If you or a loved one suffer from chronic or recurrent depression, this book will guide you through this remarkable, life-saving, life-altering procedure.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 215 pages
Publisher: Wellness Publishers, LLC; First Edition edition (November 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0974848433
ISBN-13: 978-0974848433
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #559,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Have you ever watched a television show where a famous celebrity dispenses the advice: "Just take your antidepres-sants and you'll get better?" Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
vagus nerve stimulation therapy, programming wand, vagus nerve stimulator, denial letter, upper left chest, implant procedure, left vagus nerve, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, pivotal study, appeal letter, refractory epilepsy, pulse generator

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Therapy System, New York, Louis University, Mechanisms of Action, United States

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 3 books:

THE BLACK HOLE (Disney's wonderful world of reading) by Disney Book Club on page 9
Conflict of Interest by Terry Lewis in Back Matter
The Black Hole by Alan Dean Foster in Back Matter

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Psychiatry, 2006 Edition by Rhoda K. Hahn

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	45% buy the item featured on this page: Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression 4.5 out of 5 stars (29) $29.35
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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VNS IS NOT A MAGIC BULLET!, May 10, 2006

By	Mourningperson "Mourningperson" (San Jose) - See all my reviews

After reading this book about 8 months ago, I asked my psychiatrist at my HMO if I could get the implant. To my surprise, he said "yes". It was unexpectedly easy for me to get the procedure, which I had done about 7 months ago. I was one of 2 people in my Northern California HMO to have received the implant for depression.
(They have since stopped doing it).
I have suffered from severe depression for most of my adult life. I have been under doctor's care for over 15 years. Medications never really worked for me and I spent most of the time dealing with the side effects.
When I read "Out of the Black Hole", I was desperate to get the implant. As I mentioned previously, I've had it for a little over 7 months now and I have had it consistently turned up over time.
I wanted to write this review after waiting a few months. Cyberonics states that one may not see any benefits from the implant from up to 3 months to a year. So far, the implant has not been the help that I had hoped for.
Actually, the things that are finally helping me - are learning about Cognitive Behavioral therapy (the effects of one's thoughts on mood) and finding a therapist that is qualified and adept at finally getting to the root cause of my depression - what may be the hidden elements of my past that were never dealt with and never had a chance to healthily heal. For me, these are the two therapies that are finally helping me after all of this time.
I have always wanted to understand WHY I am depressed and have always
felt that without that knowledge the chances of overcoming my depression were narrowed. As is the norm in the medical community, drugs are a lot cheaper and easier to dispense than other forms of in depth therapy. I am very aware that some cases of depression may be caused by a "chemical imbalance" and these patients are sometimes helped with medication. But after studying and researching this subject for my own edification over the past few years, I've come to believe that deep seated emotional issues need to be addressed or drugs or other medical procedures will not do the job. I read recently that a great majority of the people who have been taking anti depressants since the 90's, are experiencing them "pooping out" and are in a crisis mode - wondering desperately where to turn. Since the Vagus Implant has been approved by the FDA this last summer, and also with the aid of Mr. Donovan's book, this onslaught of people desperately trying to get their HMOs and insurance companies to approve the procedure, is developing.
I do not believe that it's the Magic Bullet or the Cure that everyone is hoping that it is.
Of course I am speaking through my own experience, each scenario will be different.
*Note: Out of desperation a few months ago upon the advice of doctors and friends, I was considering ECT ( Electro Convulsive Therapy). I am so very thankful that I never followed through with it. A medical professional whose opinion I respect, told me later that besides the main side effect of loss of memory - which is not always temporary, that if ECT is effective, in most cases it only lasts short term and one has to continue getting it to maintain it's effects. It is invasive and not to be considered lightly.

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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Expensive, limited original material., February 15, 2006

By	Lana Sanderson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression (Paperback)

Charles E. Donovan, III, was a study participant in the 235-patient clinical trials that tested Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression. He responded well to the therapy and was one of five patients that testified at the FDA Medical Device Advisory Panel meeting in Washington, DC. in favor of its approval.

Mr. Donovan wrote and self-published this book and simultaneously started an informational web site. It's to his credit that he took the initiative to do these things after a lengthy and debilitating depression, but before you pay $34.95 for this publication, you may want to know that of the 173 pages of this book, only 95 contain original material, the author's story. The balance of the book, the appendices, are--although good information-- drawn from other sources, and readily available without charge from those sources.

Mr. Donovan's account of his experience with depression contains some interesting insights. For example, he discusses the difficulty of the transitional phase as a patient begins to get better but is no longer comfortable in the world he once inhabited. After an extended period of withdrawal and isolation necessitated by illness, there is no such thing as returning to your former life. Your old life--job, friends, financial resources--are often no longer available to you. Even if they were, you are emerging as a different person, one who is keenly aware of the need to put health first, above all else. That may require a change in the work you pursue, and the way you structure your life.

Donovan also discusses the need for physical conditioning following an extended major depressive episode. You don't always see this topic covered in books about depression, but it is a major component of recovery, one he recognized, pursued aggressively, and wrote about in some detail.

Further, Donovan challenges the usual advice that depressed people should get out and socialize, no matter how ill they are. For mild to moderate depression, that advice may well be useful, but as the author points out, a party is not a place for a seriously ill person, no matter what their affliction may be.

I am uncomfortable with Donovan's purchasing of two domain names that sound very much like the official patient information site provided by the manufacturer of the VNS device, Cyberonics. My concern is that people looking for the official site, vnstherapy.com, may be confused by this. Donovan's site consists primarily of information republished from other sites, such as the National Institutes of Mental Health and The National Mental Health Association along with an ad for his book on every page.

If you are considering vagus nerve stimulation, you will find a wealth of helpful and balanced information at vnstherapy.com, the official site of the manufacturer, Cyberonics, Inc. You'll find patient profiles, and patients' first-hand accounts of the surgery and their response to the therapy. It also includes much of what you and your physician need to know if you are considering this treatment option, including access to the scientific data and how to get assistance with insurance coverage.

Mr. Donovan is enthusiastic about the VNS system, as are most of the patients who have benefitted from this therapy. His account of his experience and his energetic advocacy for the product demonstrate the vigor of his own recovery. Although
VNS is not without its detractors, and not all patients have benefitted from it, there is no arguing that some people have had remarkable efficacy from this adjunctive treatment, while nothing else had ever provided relief.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must read for anyone considering VNS THERAPY, March 6, 2005

By	LAUARA - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression (Paperback)

Since the FDA finally approved this therapy, I can't imagine having the procedure done without the information and very emotional story contained in this book. He tells you everything you need to know about vagus nerve stimulation and depression. I am 100% confident now that the procedure is the right thing for me to do. I know what to expect. It's a safe, sixty-minute surgery. It is unrelated to brain surgery or ECT and the side effects seem tolerable and disappear over time. The author generously shares his personal struggles with depression. I thank him very much for hi courage. Don't have the implant without having read the wonderful thoughtful book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars THank God for This Book
I have suffered from depression from the age of 4. I am now 42. I had run out of alternative to treat my depression and ECT was not an option for me personally. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Yvonne Keeffe

1.0 out of 5 stars I WONDER IF CHARLES DONOVAN GETS A KICK BACK FROM CYBERONICS...
I bought this book when my psychiatrist suggested this implant 2.5 years ago. I was reluctant, as usual because nothing up to that point had worked. Read more

Published 15 months ago by BrainDead

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information ... hope
People with treatment-resistant depression need to explore all their options. _Out of the Black Hole_ presents one of those options in a way laypeople can understand. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Mary R. Drews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for Anyone Considering VNS
I am a candidate for VNS and am pursuing the surgery avidly.

The good thing about the book is it collects a lot of information that a person could find on his/her own... Read more

Published on May 30, 2007 by Amy R. Steppe

5.0 out of 5 stars Donovan understands depression. He gets it. Very few do.
Mr. Donovan articulated wonderfully and insightfully what all depression sufferers are only able to barely explain or even share. Read more

Published on December 18, 2006 by Luv'in life again, thanks vagus

4.0 out of 5 stars Charles Is Living Proof
Three months ago, Charles and I started a business relationship to help him promote the issue of Vagus Nerve Stimulation to medical and depression blogs, and to help me better... Read more

Published on December 11, 2006 by James Durbin

3.0 out of 5 stars vagus nerve stimulator information
book was good but not as informative as I would have liked.

Published on November 9, 2006 by Sarah V. Gonzalez

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Vaginal Nerve Stimulation
The book is well written and describes depression well. Depression sometimes does not respond to drugs or ECT. The VNS can help greatly with these patients. Read more

Published on August 12, 2006 by Richard L. Puster

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive, insightful,inspirational, educational--a great read-AAA+
I have never read a book about depression by somone who truly understands the suffering. Mr. Donovan has been there and back. I identified with everything he wrote. Read more

Published on May 2, 2006 by Harold

5.0 out of 5 stars This a ten star book and I thank the author very much!
If you suffer from depression, you have to read this book. If you want to learn about a new FDA approved treatment for depression, you have to read this book. Read more

Published on March 19, 2006 by Desperate Housewife

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	Vagus nerve stimulation is not shock therapy or brain surgery	0	June 2007
	Is anyone frustrated with the side effects of antidepressants?	1	April 2006

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