[littleblackdog]

Does anyone have any experience of using esketamine for depression?
It is one of the possible options my psychiatrist mentioned to be as possibilities as I have not responded to any psychiatric medications and my depression is very severe at the moment which is making it very difficult for me to respond to talking therapy.

[Yaowen]

Dear littleblackdog,

I have heard of that treatment but have no experience with it. Hopefully those who have experience will see your post and respond to it with something helpful to you! My heart goes out to you. Treatment resistant depression is so brutal.

Sincerely yours, Yao Wen

[Werewoman]

Esketamine is also called Spravato. It's very similar to ketamine, but I believe it has an additional molecule, not exactly the same though they both help with untreatable depression.
The problem with Esketamine is that it's a nasal spray, so the dosage you get each time may not be exactly the same depending on factors such as how you spray I up your nose, how much mucus is present and a couple other factors but the bottom line is it depends on how much of the drug is absorbed by your nasal passages and at what rate.
I take Ketamine infusions once a month. The dosage is always accurate, both methods take time - about 1 1/2 hours.
Google Dr. Rachel Dalthorp at Mind Mood Pain in Moore Oklahoma. She's a pioneer in the treatment of depression and other disorders with Spravato and Ketamine.

[Smokey58]

Hi littlebagdog. I’ve never taken Esketamine. I tried once but my insurance wouldn’t approve it. After I relocated I found a doctor that did ketamine infusions at half the price of where I moved from. I had about 8 infusions then started the ketamine nasal spray made by a compounding pharmacy, which I’ve been on for about 10 months now. It’s not been a miracle drug but it’s given me a level of relief from depression that I haven’t experienced in years. My whole life began to change. I made plans, I had goals and I felt more emotionally resilient. I didn’t appreciate just how much it made a difference until I moved again and haven’t had a dose in over 2 weeks. That along with the stress of moving has me in a state of depression that I haven’t experienced in a long time. I’ve had worse but it’s been a long time since I had this lack of motivation and numbness that I feel now. I met with a new doctor that prescribes ketamine nasal spray and I will be getting my new prescription in the mail in the next few days. If there is any good that came out of this episode of depression it is that I have a new appreciation of how ketamine has changed my life. I will never take it for granted and I hope to get long term benefits from it. So having said all that, if your insurance will cover it I say go for it. Hopefully you will get some relief from depression and be able to live a better and more fulfilling life. If you find you can’t afford it there are doctors that will prescribe the nasal spray that some compounding pharmacies will make at a fraction of the cost is Esketamine. I wish you the best.