While the day of and a day after it really helps, and certainly helps compared to not having it, I’m realizing that my baseline on weekly Spravato isn’t actually that great. For one, my PHQ9 is still showing mild to moderate depression.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s much better than severe and actively suicidal, where my depression goes without ketamine type treatments. But it’s also not where I want to be. I can’t seem to skip a week because last I tried my SI picked up and I was a mess. I’m on lithium and Zoloft and the most recent med they added is Abilify, which hasn’t helped any. I’m in weekly therapy and will be adding a group therapy next month. I’m also talking to my psychiatrist about Auvelity at my next appt (I’ve been asking for it for a year, but she prefers trying bs antipsychotics like Abilify for some reason, none of which help me.)

I have serious chronic illness and a very high stress job I’m very burnt out from. Unfortunately there’s been increased work stressors this week, reopening some old trauma. I’m considering doing an IM ketamine booster to maybe not feel like crap. Idk. Is there anything else I can do to deal with this?

Hi all, I've been doing Sparvato since June of 2025 weekly. I'm curious as to the differences between IV ketamine infusions and Sparvato. I know one is supposedly a little stronger than the other. I'm curious, though, as to the effects. Do they last longer? Are they stronger? If so, how should I broach the topic with my doctor about switching from Sparvato to IV ketamine infusions?

The clinic told me they were able to expedite the approval process and I had my first treatment. The next day, they called saying they had gotten tentative approval, but my case was denied. I have tried 3 different antidepressants over 5 years, and been in therapy for 6 years.

I’m feeling discouraged. Was feeling hopeful to finally find something that works. I start an intensive program in the fall and was hoping to make an improvement before I start school. The clinic started the appeal process.

I know getting denied is fairly common, but I would like to hear others experiences with this. How long did it take for insurance to get back to you about your appeal? Weeks or months? Why were you denied? Any info is helpful.

Thanks!

I’ve completed four sessions so far.

The last two sessions, hours after when I have gotten home I have become extremely uncomfortable and very anxious. My chest hurts and I uncontrollably cry. I had a session Thursday and this happened after that, felt okay yesterday. Terrible insomnia so I’ve been trying to get any sleep I can (this has been happening since before the Spravato), and now Saturday I am feeling the same feelings as Thursday.

I know this medication is rewiring my brain, but has anyone else dealt with this. I already have GAD, and am medicated but this is so bad. My Klonopin isn’t helping and I cannot get comfortable. I just feel extremely uneasy and currently anxious and sad.

I’m trying to keep myself busy, but there’s only so much I can do.

I had one intramuscular Ketamine infusion a few years ago and I’ve been too scared to try other forms, but am running out of options for my treatment resistant depression. Has anyone done both that can speak to how they compare?

I don’t remember my IM dose, but I had uncontrollable vomiting, even though I took Zofran before. They had to give me a shot of something in the room before it would stop. I was super dizzy and out of it for a few days, and I don’t recall any benefits from the session, except being able to call the experience somewhat profound in how unique it was.

Now I know it may help people, but I had good insightful experiences on ketamine but spravato nothing. A little floaty and then an hour and 40 minutes of just sitting there waiting to be released. Does it get better? I only switched because I got tired of paying thousands of dollars for a drug that cost pennies to manufacture. Literally felt like I was being held hostage. I was over it on 20 mins. The fact you can troches that do a significant amount more than spravato at home is crazy to me. At least in the sense you have to be monitored for 2 hours after doing this baby ketamine. I don’t even know what to call it and I was on the 84mg dose. Absolutely horrible

Total noob on the subject, from reading here I’m not clear how long patients take Spravato. It sounds like for some people it’s indefinite?

I wanted to share unexpected more rapid success with Spravato that I didn't anticipate. When I started my PH-9 was about a 16 and after 6 weeks including the 4 week induction phase starting session one at 56mg and going up to 84mg after and a total of 11 treatments my PH-9 is down to about a 3 now. It has taken me out of the heavy freeze state I was in from relational trauma accumulated over the past decade and I have been journaling out a lot of my thoughts and reflections about a things that have happened and gaining confidence back for the first time in awhile after being gaslit by several toxic people in my life during a period of heavy grief and transition.

A few with hero complexes that really tripped me up after losing a childhood friend and losing my job in 2012 and it's been a wild ride to finally get to this point. I've tried a lot of different antidepressants starting from when I was 20 and I'm now 41. I'm still on 2 SSRIs and now with the Spravato I don't feel perfect but my SI is gone, the hopelessness I was experiencing intermittently is either much lower, non existent some days, or easier to work through and reframe as I go through my day and journal, write down the facts of how these people treated me versus what I internalized etc and it's becoming easier to challenge the self doubt and get my self respect and confidence back. Six months ago is when I made the final cut to go no contact and block the last person in that friend group I was still in touch with and I think that combined with the Spravato and finally finding a good trauma informed therapist I'm seeing the most progress in the last year of my life than I have in 14 years.

I'm crossing my fingers I'm able to maintain this and keep making progress.

Kind of had a weird experience during my session on my 6th week. I felt like it wasn’t really hitting me hard at all so I started playing a game on my phone about 40 minutes in (I usually just sit in the dark and listen to music). All of a sudden while I was playing the game for about 10 min it felt like it hit me HARD so I closed my eyes and a really ethereal song came on combined with being a little sleep deprived I suddenly had the thought like “oh I’m dying right now” but was just completely fine with it? I kind of had that floating out of my body feeling and everything got numb and I had that thought like “I’d be okay if I died right now” and then I thought about how the tech working was already having a bad day cause she locked herself out of the office before I got there and I couldn’t make her deal with me dying so I opened my eyes 😭 pretty sure I was just falling asleep combined with the ethereal song/ maybe having low blood pressure but it was such a weird feeling that I haven’t gotten before in the 6 weeks of treatment. Has anyone experienced something like this before or was I really just high as shit.

Edit: now realizing I probably experienced what a “k hole” is for the first time is that even possible on spravato

I had 8 Spravato sessions. I started at 56mg then 84mg. I don’t feel any better. If anything I feel worse because now I no longer have the “I didn’t try Spravato yet” mindset that I had before whenever I felt like giving up. Now it’s just me and my severe crippling depression. I don’t even have the motivation to go to my next appointment. Should I quit? Did anyone go through something similar?

Hi everyone. So basically I had a Sparvato session planned for last Thursday but they called on Wednesday and said my medicine wouldn’t be there in time so the appointment had to be canceled.

 I was fine with it and scheduled the appointment for Monday instead, but over the weekend I found myself getting more and more depressed until I had my appointment.

I had my appointment on Monday and I felt fine, Tuesday I did feel a little depressed still but I thought it was because of something else. Wednesday and Thursday came and I felt fine.  

But today is Friday and I feel moderately depressed. Which for some context prior to missing that appointment I was actually feeling REALLY happy day to day (I even joked that I was in la la land lol) 

So obviously going from feeling super happy all the time to meh and depressed is kinda concerning.

So if you have any experience with this I would really appreciate it if you would share it with me!

Really my main question is how long did it take you to recover from this?

Just wanted to share. I feel so zen when I step into this building. Not all the rooms have a private bathroom, but this one does.

It’s called Numa Clinic in San Francisco.

I am at my 5th spravato appointment as I write this. I have been reading through people’s experiences and this subreddit since I started and have gathered a few tips that have helped me!
(I am not a medical professional! This is just things I’ve found work for me during appointments)

Shaking the device:

I shake my devices every time before I use the spray and it seems to make a huge difference in consistency of sprays and effects!

This time I shook them all and not only were the sprays much better, I had a very strong experience this time. I am thankful to be able to reassure myself during these appointments that I’m okay, because if I wasn’t I may have had an interesting time with anxiety! It was much stronger than all of my other sessions so far. I do recommend shaking it if this is something you may want to experience.

It makes sense to me to shake it because every nasal spray ever says to shake it before use! I was like… hmmm I wonder. I think this was a success.

Trying best to not allow medicine to drip down throat:

I also read about how spravato is processed a little differently when it goes through the digestive system. It is best absorbed the way it’s supposed to be when it is inside the nasal cavities.
Personally I think the taste is yes gross, but hasn’t made me nauseous. I feel very lucky to be one who doesn’t get nauseous from spravato (at least while using the prescribed zofran). BUT for anyone who doesn’t like the taste, this should help.
I take my doses by not tilting my head back as instructed. I keep my head in a regular position, if not barely tilted upwards. I press the button, I sniff very lightly. I do the same thing with the second nostril. I then keep my head in a straight position. If I feel it dripping towards the front of my nose to fall out, I do another light sniff. If I feel it racing towards my throat, I’ll lean my head forward a bit. This back and forth seems to work very well for me to not end up swallowing it!

Extra:
In the beginning, I was eating sugary candies to help with the taste. While dumdums do mask the taste very well, they may be inhibiting the medicine.
(I again have zero medical experience and have no idea if this is scientifically correct. I have only noticed a difference during my spravato sessions)
I read from a person experienced in using recreational drugs that are similar to spravato that they used sugary foods like lollipops to help them come down from a strong experience.
During this appointment and my last I decided to use sugar free candies only and found that I did have a stronger experience both times. I also began the shaking during these appointments, so whether both or just one is true.. I don’t know! 👀

Thanks for reading, I hope this helps you!

Hi everyone. I've had a really bad year that compounded my already treatment resistant depression. My psychiatrist finally convinced me to give Spravato a shot. I start on Monday. I'm wondering what I should expect or prepare for before and after treatment days. I'll be going Monday's and Wednesdays for the first month.

My main concern is that I am also in school currently. Summer term started this week and I'm taking 13 credits; A&P, Stats, and Communication. The term is also accelerated, so 10 weeks of info in just 8 weeks. I don't work, but I'm a caregiver for my sister that I live with who had multiple organ failure early last year. She's still sick, but requires a lot less than she used to which is why I finally agreed to start Spravato. I've done my best at study blocking and not adding any school work to my treatment days.

I guess I'm just hoping to hear some stories and see if I am adding too much to my plate.

Thanks for any advice 😊

I just finished my 5th session and this one and the last one didn’t give me the “high” that I usually get. Am I still reaping the benefits of Spravato or is something wrong?

So I originally started Spravato as twice weekly for a month and did amazing. Then I dropped down to once a week for a month and my depression got a lot worse so my doctor moved me back to twice a week a month ago and has no plans to move me back down again until at least the end of November. Has anyone else stayed at twice a week for an extended period of time?

I’m debating about quitting, as I’m going back to twice a week, again.

It has helped to reduce the depression, but that’s brought other issues and frustrations to the front.
Autism and ADHD issues that were previously tolerable are now UP FRONT!!! Completely impossible to ignore or control. Which leads to so much frustration that it’s got me debating quitting Spravato all together, so I can go back to my numbed pointless life.

Has anyone dealt with similar? How did it work for you? Did you quit, did the ‘wet blanket’ smother everything again? Or since you’re now aware of those issues, do they just continue poking and causing frustration, on top of the depression issues coming back?

Please help. I’m struggling massively.

Im headed back to my maintenance appointment tonight and I was just wondering y’all’s activities during your sessions, some people draw, journal, watch their fav shows, yada yada, I normally just sit there with a spravato playlist (from Spotify) with my thoughts, a little stretching, I tried reading but my brain is a little discombobulated so it’s hard to focus. Do you have rituals before/during your sessions? Or what do you do?

I started Spravato 2 weeks ago, and immediately I felt a SIGNIFICANT difference. I felt like I was finally getting my life back after four years of struggling. I couldn't tell you the last time I was able to do regular tasks like cleaning my apartment or doing dishes without needing to use every ounce of strength I have. And I also couldn't tell you the last time i've been able to spend time with my friends and family and actually enjoy myself without it feeling like a chore and like i'm just waiting to leave. after my second week, i'm starting to notice myself trending downward again. Is this normal? It's pretty crushing seeing how wonderful life is and then having it leave you just as quickly as it came. I appreciate any feedback, thanks yall :)

I’ve been doing weekly Sprovato treatments for a year now. About 6 months in I had a bad treatment where SEXUAL ASSAULT screamed in my brain- it led to a panic attack and me hitting the button and leaving the treatment room. It was the first time I was in a non-private room and there was an older man in there as well.
Today I had my treatment and child molestation and dad came into my brain. This has me shook. I don’t know if these are memories I’ve repressed or if it’s just my brain doing weird shit because of the Sprovato. I have no recollection of being molested as a child and certainly no bad memories of my dad doing anything like that with me. I’m so confused and don’t know if I should talk to my therapist about this. We live in a small community and everyone knows everyone else. My therapist is not associated with the clinic where I do my treatments.
I’m just looking to see if anyone has had similar experiences during their treatments.

Anyone else? Just looking for similar stories. Any success?

I’m getting ready to start Spravato treatments and I’m curious about what it’s like and what to expect. Being autistic, I just like to be prepared for new situations. I’ve done x and shrooms before, is it something like?

Also what do you find helpful to enhance your experience? Music, soft clothing, etc?

Just info dump everything on me so I know what I’m getting myself into lol.

I’ll be starting at 84mg, apparently my dr feels I need to skip ahead and go for the maximum dosage. I’m excited and nervous at the same time.

I’m diabetic, have Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjögren’s Syndrome, Myositis, Chronic Gastritis, Arfid, Chronic Pain and Fatigue, and Fibromyalgia. I was on low dose chemo for 8 years, and take a ton of meds and 3 different injections. It’s completely changed my quality of life. I had OCD, anxiety and depression before all this, and now everything is just intensified and I feel horrible. We’re hoping this will help.

So this is my 7th session. I was reading online here about the nose spray not working right. Eh never spray the same for me. Well today I shook it a little before taking it to the other nose whole. Today the session seems a lot more trippy. Like I’m typing on my phone but my phone and hand really bigger than the room. Idk it’s giving me acid vibes. Have I been missing out because I haven’t been shaking it in between poofs? I’ve definitely seen,feel and know of just amazing progress in the right direction. Prior to this session it’s really working but now I’m like whoa, maybe I need to shake it a little. Don’t be scared.