SPRAVATO®
Treatment for Depression
Understanding Depression and TRD
Depression is a serious illness, much more than just feeling down. It's constant sadness, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and can cause tiredness, sleep or eating problems, and trouble focusing. If regular antidepressants don't work, it's called treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
Luckily, there's a nasal spray called Spravato® that can help. Most insurance covers it, but they usually require proof that you've tried other medications first, sometimes just one, sometimes three. Check with your insurance to see what they need.
What is Spravato® Treatment?
Spravato® is a prescription nasal spray for adults with severe depression that hasn't improved with other treatments (TRD).
How it's different from regular antidepressants:
- Most antidepressants work by changing the levels of brain chemicals like serotonin. They usually take weeks to start working.
- Spravato®, with its active ingredient esketamine, works differently. It targets other pathways in the brain.
Important things to know:
- Spravato® is always used along with an oral antidepressant.
- After using Spravato®, patients need to be monitored by healthcare professionals to ensure their safety and watch for any side effects.
How it works
- It's a nasal spray, so it gets absorbed quickly.
- It helps rebalance brain chemicals that affect mood, specifically increasing glutamate.
- This increase in glutamate can lead to faster mood improvement, sometimes within hours or days.
Side Effects
Spravato can cause side effects within the first few hours of use. These effects vary and require monitoring in a clinical setting.
- Feeling disconnected from thoughts or surroundings (dissociation)
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Mild headache
- Anxiety or restlessness
- Temporary increase in blood pressure
Because of these potential side effects, Spravato must be administered at our office for proper monitoring.
Learn more about Spravato®
Contact our Memorial Park Psychiatry office to request a consult and determine if Spravato® is right for you.
Phone: (713) 864 6694
Email: contact@memorialparkpsychiatry.com
Download Spravato Patient BrochureAbout Memorial Park Psychiatry
We are a family psychiatry clinic devoted to caring for children, adolescents and adults who are needing diagnosis or treatment of mental health disorders (including mood disorders, developmental disorders and disruptive behavior disorders).
Our services include diagnostic evaluations, pharmacology management, TMS Treatment, and TOVA ADHD testing.