SPRAVATO® Treatment for Depression
When depression has not improved enough with previous treatment, a different approach may be appropriate. SPRAVATO® treatment offers an option for adults with treatment-resistant depression.
Esketamine Nasal Spray Treatment in Hattiesburg, MS
When depression continues despite medication, therapy and repeated attempts to find the right treatment, it can begin to feel like the available options are running out. They are not.
Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services offers SPRAVATO® treatment for adults with treatment-resistant depression in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. SPRAVATO® is an FDA-approved esketamine nasal spray that works differently from traditional antidepressant medications and is administered in a supervised clinical setting.
What Is SPRAVATO®?
SPRAVATO® is an FDA-approved esketamine nasal spray that works differently from traditional antidepressant medications and is administered in a supervised clinical setting.
For people who have spent months or years cycling through depression treatments without enough improvement, SPRAVATO® offers another treatment approach backed by Pine Grove’s experienced psychiatric team and comprehensive behavioral health services.
When Antidepressants Haven’t Been Enough
Depression is usually treated with a combination of psychotherapy, antidepressant medication and other forms of psychiatric care. These treatments help many people. For others, symptoms remain despite appropriate treatment.
This is known as treatment-resistant depression.
Someone experiencing treatment-resistant depression may continue to struggle with persistent sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, fatigue, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating, hopelessness or difficulty functioning at work and in relationships even after trying antidepressant treatment.
Trying one medication after another can also become its own source of frustration. When standard approaches have not produced enough improvement, a treatment that works through a different pathway in the brain may be worth considering. SPRAVATO® provides that option.
SPRAVATO®, Ketamine Therapy and Esketamine
SPRAVATO® is closely related to ketamine-based treatments for depression, but it is a distinct medication with a different formulation and method of administration.
SPRAVATO® contains esketamine, which is derived from ketamine. It is delivered intranasally as a prescription nasal spray and is FDA approved for treatment-resistant depression.
Traditional ketamine therapy for depression generally uses racemic ketamine. One commonly discussed form is ketamine infusion therapy, in which ketamine is administered intravenously.
Both approaches have generated significant interest as alternatives for people whose depression has not responded adequately to conventional treatment, but the medications, delivery methods and treatment protocols differ.
SPRAVATO® vs. Ketamine Infusion Therapy
The most practical distinction for patients is how treatment is delivered.
- SPRAVATO® treatment
Uses esketamine
Is administered as a nasal spray - Is FDA approved for treatment-resistant depression
- Takes place in a certified healthcare setting
- Includes required monitoring after treatment
Ketamine infusion therapy typically uses racemic ketamine, is administered intravenously, used off-label for depression and follows protocols that vary among ketamine treatment providers.
Pine Grove offers SPRAVATO® esketamine nasal spray treatment for appropriate patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Who Should Consider SPRAVATO®?
SPRAVATO® is intended for adults with treatment-resistant depression. There is no single depression history that looks exactly the same for every patient. In general, an evaluation may be appropriate when significant depression symptoms continue despite previous antidepressant treatment.
A Pine Grove provider will review factors such as:
- Your current depression symptoms
- How long symptoms have persisted
- Previous antidepressant medications
- Your response to previous treatment
- Current medications
- Medical and psychiatric history
- Other mental health conditions
- Your overall treatment needs
FAQs About SPRAVATO®?
SPRAVATO®™ is a prescription medicine, used along with an oral antidepressant, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in adults.
No. SPRAVATO® is only available at a SPRAVATO® certified treatment center under the supervision of a trained healthcare professional. Due to the risks for sedation, dissociation, abuse or misuse, all patients receiving SPRAVATO® will be enrolled in the SPRAVATO® Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program.
SPRAVATO® can cause side effects, including anxiety, dissociation, dizziness, nausea, sedation, spinning sensations, increased blood pressure, reduced sense of touch and sensation, lack of energy, vomiting, and feeling drunk. These common side effects usually may occur right after taking SPRAVATO® and then disappear the same day.
Patients receive SPRAVATO® twice a week for the first four weeks. After this typically patients take SPRAVATO® once a week or every other week according to your Provider.
The first visit will be 90 minutes spent with your provider for an assessment to ensure SPRAVATO® is appropriate for you and to discuss risks, benefits, and treatment process. The following visits will take approximately 2.5 hours. We will check your blood pressure before you take SPRAVATO® and we will monitor you for at least two hours after.
No, the SPRAVATO® Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program requires a full two hour monitoring period after you take SPRAVATO®.
Feel free to bring personal items that will help you relax such as a blanket or pillow. You may also bring head phones, a tablet, a book or something to help pass the time.
Do not drive, operate machinery, or perform any activity where you need to be completely alert. Avoid these activities until the next day following a restful sleep, even if you think you feel well enough to do so. Once your healthcare professional gives you permission to leave after treatment, discuss your plans for the remainder of that day. The driving restriction means you will need to plan for your rides on treatment days. We will record the name and phone # of your driver before the treatment begins each day.
No, treatment with SPRAVATO® is not recommended during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. You should let your doctor know if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to breastfeed. If you become pregnant while being treated with SPRAVATO®, you should talk to your doctor as soon as possible about discontinuing treatment and about other options for treating your depression.
Before starting SPRAVATO®, tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines that you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. Taking SPRAVATO® with certain medicines or alcohol may cause side effects. Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take central nervous system (CNS) depressants, psychostimulants or monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) medicines. If you use a nasally administered medication like a nasal steroid or decongestant spray, do not administer it within the hour before you will be taking SPRAVATO®.
Before starting SPRAVATO®, it is important that you tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines that you take. All controlled substances should be held the morning of treatment unless otherwise specified by the Provider. Any approved Opioid, Benzodiazepine, or other sedating medications should not be resumed until sedating effects of SPRAVATO® have subsided. Additionally, do not resume stimulant medication until blood pressure has returned to pre-treatment levels. As with any medication, please consult your provider with any questions you may have.
Some patients may experience nausea or vomiting. Because of this, you should avoid eating two hours before, and drinking liquids 30 minutes before, taking SPRAVATO®. Additionally, if your provider prescribed an anti-nausea medication it should be taken 30 minutes prior to your appointment time.
Medicare and many commercial insurances will cover SPRAVATO®. Pine Grove will gladly contact your insurance company to determine your benefits and we will provide you with an estimate of any out of pocket costs you will incur.
Find Out if SPRAVATO® Is Right for You
When depression has not improved with the treatments you have already tried, it may be time to explore a different option. Pine Grove has helped individuals and families move toward healing for more than 40 years and is one of the nation’s most comprehensive behavioral health treatment campuses.
Living with depression that has not responded to treatment can make it difficult to imagine that a different treatment will produce a different result. But treatment-resistant depression does not mean depression is untreatable.
SPRAVATO® gives Pine Grove’s psychiatric providers another option for adults who have not received sufficient relief from traditional antidepressant treatment. If previous depression treatment has not worked well enough, contact Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services to learn more about SPRAVATO® treatment and schedule an assessment.
