Are you looking for rapid relief from your major depressive symptoms? Spravato treatments may be the answer. But before you take the first steps toward treatment, it’s important that you understand what it entails as comprehensively as possible. It isn’t for everyone, and you need to know that it’s the right path toward improved mental health for you.

Spravato treatment combines orally-administered medication with a nasal spray of esketamine. It’s an FDA-approved alternative to ketamine infusions, another type of treatment method for people with depression. In fact, it’s the only approved drug therapy for treatment-resistant depression aside from an olanzapine/fluoxetine combo, an alternative associated with an array of negative long-term side effects.

In this blog post, we’ll break down the benefits you may experience as a result of Spravato treatment, side-effects you should keep in mind before starting treatment, and the type of patient the treatment is intended for. Making the most informed decision possible is crucial before starting any treatment plan, particularly for a disorder like major depression, but you’ll be able to use the information provided here as a jumping-off point for your own due diligence.

The benefits of Spravato treatment

The combo of an oral medication with Spravato nasal spray comes with a number of serious benefits for people experiencing major depressive symptoms. Generally, you can expect rapid relief from your symptoms with this treatment method. These improvements were experienced by a majority of people in clinical trials who failed to respond to other treatment methods. Additionally, you may find yourself experiencing the following benefits:

• Decreased suicidal thoughts: Spravato isn’t specifically approved for the purpose of decreasing suicidal thoughts in patients, but it has been proven to do so. Conversely, many conventional alternatives can actually lead to an increase in these kinds of thoughts.
• Reduced long-term brain damage: Depression is a risk factor for dementia, as it actually leads to a substantial amount of shrinkage in certain parts of the brain for many people suffering from it. Spravato treatment directly works to reverse this damage, forming new connections in the brain that may otherwise atrophy under the stresses of depressive symptoms.

Spravato side-effects

Of course, this method of treatment comes with its own set of side-effects, as well. They come in a wide variety, ranging anywhere from mild dizziness or nausea to hallucinations and a disconnected feeling from one’s body.

While these side-effects could be serious and should be carefully considered before beginning treatment, it’s also worth noting that certain side effects of an even more serious nature, like an increase in suicidal thoughts, which are often linked to alternative drug therapies for depression are not among the commonly-known side-effects of esketamine.

Some of the side-effects you should keep in mind include:

• Nausea
• Drowsiness
• Increased blood pressure
• Headaches
• Grogginess
• Hallucinations
• Depersonalization

Is Spravato treatment for you?

While this mode of treatment is promising as a way of offering fast relief to people suffering from serious symptoms of depression, it’s only approved for people in certain circumstances. Specifically, it’s only an approved treatment method for people with treatment-resistant depression.

If you have treatment-resistant depression, you’ve tried two other antidepressants without an improvement in symptoms of at least 50%. Only your doctor can offer an official diagnosis for this kind of depression.

If you’ve received this kind of diagnosis, Spravato treatments may be right for you. You can receive this treatment at Bella Jace Center for Health in Brentwood, Tennessee. We’ll help guide you toward the right decision for your mental health based on your symptoms and current diagnosis. To take your first step toward getting effective relief, get in touch with us now.