Doctors at one Long Island hospital are using ketamine treatments to fight clinical depression \u2013 a medicine one patient says works better and faster than decades on Prozac.<\/p>\n
Patients suffering from severe depression at Mather Hospital are taking an esketamine nasal spray called Spravato, which 66-year-ld Ellen Talmage said has changed her life in a way other drugs could not.<\/p>\n
Some 62% of Mather\u2019s near-40 patients in the program report having seen improvements in symptoms.<\/p>\n
Patient Ellen Talmage, 66, receives FDA-regulated ketamine sprays for her depression at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, Long Island. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so much better that after this [interview], I\u2019m picking up my daughter-in-law and the two grandbabies, and we\u2019re going to the ocean,\u201d Talmage said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a far cry from how the once reclusive Baiting Hollow woman used to need anxiety medication just for a trip to the grocery store, where she would often break down crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI booked tickets once to a really expensive concert for my birthday, and I couldn\u2019t go \u2013 that was just part of the deal\u2026 anybody who\u2019s had it for that long, you miss out on a lot of Christmases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Doctors at the Northwell hospital believe the treatment could be a game changer for the future.<\/p>\n
Talmage has been on FDA-regulated ketamine sprays for her depression for about a year. Northwell<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom going to not being able to get out of bed and dress yourself to thinking about the future and having a job and having a purpose and meaning in life,\u201d Dr. Erin Dainer, Mather Hospital\u2019s psychiatry chair in Port Jefferson, told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see that with other treatments the way I do with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The multiweek program begins with a low dose of 56 milligrams, administered in person twice a week, and is gradually increased as patients respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Users are held for two hours after each session in comfortable chairs with TV and music to be monitored for safety reasons, as the drug can cause some vivid reactions.<\/p>\n
Talmage likened it to riding Space Mountain.<\/p>\n