What is Esketamine? Marketed under the brand name SPRAVATO®, Esketamine is the only nasal spray option available to help people overcome treatment-resistant depression. This medication works in a much different way than conventional antidepressants, leaving many people confused about the benefits of esketamine over more traditional treatment options.
The critical component is that esketamine works even when other antidepressant medications have failed in the past. It can rapidly reduce depressive symptoms, help people achieve a lasting and sustainable recovery, and prevent the worst consequences of depression from occurring. But how it works, and whether it’s right for you, requires a bit more investigation.
If you’d like to learn more about Esketamine, reach out to Active Path today and book an appointment.
What is Esketamine?
Esketamine is an FDA-approved medication for treatment-resistant depression in adults. As the name implies, esketamine is closely related to the anesthetic medication ketamine but contains only one part of the ketamine molecule. The medication ketamine is essentially a mirrored molecule: with one half known as S-ketamine, and one half known as R-ketamine. Esketamine contains only the S-ketamine portion of the molecule, which has been shown to have fewer harmful effects than ketamine itself.
Both ketamine and esketamine have substantial scientific research supporting their effectiveness in treating depression, but only esketamine has achieved FDA approval.
While ketamine has been used as anesthetics in the past, their use as a treatment for major depressive disorder is relatively recent. Recent clinical trials have shown that a single dose of esketamine nasal spray can lead to rapid and sustained reductions in depressive symptoms, even when participants have tried several other antidepressant medications without success.
Note that patients need to be on an oral antidepressant before they qualify for Spravato and while they are in treatment. Spravato is an augmentation.
Benefits of Esketamine Treatment
Esketamine treatment has a number of unique benefits compared to time-tested depression treatment approaches, such as talk therapy or medication management. Some of the most significant benefits include:
Rapid Improvement in Symptoms
The traditional approaches to treat depression typically take weeks or months in order for people to start feeling a reduction in depression symptoms. This is true for both individual talk therapy and medication management approaches. While effective, this delay in experiencing tangible relief can be incredibly difficult for people living with severe depression.
Unlike oral antidepressant medications, esketamine treatment may provide substantial relief within the first 24 hours after treatment. Repeated esketamine treatments can further enhance the magnitude of improvement that you experience, and these improvements may last well after you’ve completed a treatment session.
Works When Other Treatments Don’t
Esketamine is specifically approved for adult treatment-resistant depression (TRD), or people who have tried at least two oral antidepressants without success. The vast majority of research on esketamine has been performed on participants with TRD and has nonetheless proven its effectiveness in helping people achieve recovery.
Lower Barriers to Care
There are a few key reasons that talk therapy or medication management isn’t always the right treatment choice for people experiencing depression. This includes:
- Therapy can be emotionally and mentally draining
- Clients living with depression symptoms can have trouble keeping appointments over the full course of treatment
- Antidepressant medications often have unwanted side effects
In contrast, the procedure for esketamine treatment is relatively simple. All that’s required is to get a ride to your treatment center at a specified time, self-administer the esketamine using the nasal spray device, and relax in the treatment room until the effects of the medication begin to wear off (two hours after taking the medication). There’s no need to talk about your depression challenges, wait for the treatment to start to work, or try to overcome unwanted side effects throughout the treatment process.
How to Start Esketamine Treatment
If you’re an adult who has tried several other antidepressants without success, esketamine treatment may be the right choice for you. Contact Active Path today by filling out our confidential online contact form or calling one of our team members at 206.210.1198 for a free phone consultation, and start laying the groundwork for a life free from depressive symptoms.
Start your path to recovery with innovative and effective treatment at Active Path today.
