Most side effects are over before you leave. Here’s the timeline.
Spravato’s side effects are front-loaded: strongest soon after the dose and easing while you rest in our office, with our team beside you. For most people they’re over by the time you go home, so you’re not carrying them through your week the way you can with a daily pill. That’s why the rule is two hours of monitoring, and no driving until after a night’s sleep.
From the dose to the next morning.
| When | What you might notice | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| First minutes | Dissociation can begin: feeling floaty, detached, or as if things are slightly unreal. Some people feel dizzy or numb. | You’re in a reclining chair, with a clinician nearby. |
| Around 40 minutes | Blood pressure is usually at its highest. Drowsiness is common. | We check your blood pressure. |
| First hour | Dissociation and dizziness are usually strongest early and then ease. Nausea, if it comes, tends to come early too. | We watch for anything unusual and help you get comfortable. |
| Two hours | Most people feel much closer to themselves, though tired. | A clinician checks you’re ready to leave. Someone else drives you home. |
| Up to about four hours | Blood pressure settles back down. You may still feel sleepy. | Rest at home for the rest of the day. |
| Next morning | For most people, back to normal. | You can drive again after a night’s sleep. |
Blood pressure timing and the driving rule are from the SPRAVATO® Prescribing Information (Janssen Pharmaceuticals). How strongly any one person feels each effect varies.
The side effects happen where we can see them.
The federal safety program for Spravato requires at least two hours of monitoring after every dose, because that’s when the strongest effects happen. They come and go inside the window, with a team watching, instead of arriving later at work or at 2 a.m.
You don’t leave on a timer: a clinician checks you’re ready first. On some days that takes a little longer, and that’s fine.
Even if you feel fine.
The label says not to drive or operate machinery until the next day, after a restful sleep. Your reactions can be slower than they feel, so plan for someone to take you home every time.
Nervous about the first session? Most people are. Call us.
We’ll walk you through what the first two hours are like, and what we do to keep them comfortable.
Name, date of birth and insurer. We check your plan and call you back. No commitment.
Check my coverageRegister once, and our team starts your insurance check and reaches out to schedule your evaluation.
Request an evaluationSmall things that help.
- Skip food for two hours and drinks for 30 minutes beforehand, to cut down on nausea.
- Have something calm to listen to. Bring your own headphones, or use the eye masks and noise-cancelling headphones we keep on hand. Many people close their eyes and let the first hour pass. If you’d rather talk, someone from our team is always on standby.
- Clear the rest of your day. Plan to go home and rest.
- Tell us how the last session went. If something was hard, we can talk through what might help next time.
Anything that doesn’t settle.
If you feel unwell later that day or the next, call (908) 450-7002. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 or go to the nearest emergency room.
What people ask about how long it lasts.
How long do Spravato side effects last?
The main ones, dissociation, drowsiness and dizziness, are strongest in the first hour or so and ease while you’re still in our office. Most people go home feeling like themselves, a little tired, and are back to normal by the next morning. Blood pressure settles over about four hours, and we check it before you leave.
How long does the dissociation last?
It usually starts soon after the dose and is strongest early. That’s why you rest for at least two hours afterward with our team monitoring you.
How is that different from a daily antidepressant?
A daily medication is in your body every day, so its side effects, like sexual side effects, weight gain or feeling emotionally flat, can be there every day too, often for weeks. With Spravato the effects are concentrated in a couple of hours in our office, and most people have none once they’re home.
Will I feel tired the rest of the day?
Often a little, yes, so plan to rest at home after your treatment. That said, many patients are able to go about their day with hardly anything more than a sense of profound relaxation.
When can I drive after Spravato?
The next day, after a restful night’s sleep. Not the same day, even if you feel fine.
Do the side effects get easier over time?
Yes, usually quickly. After the first few treatments, most of our patients hardly notice much of anything, even the dissociation. Some even worry the medication has stopped working when it fades, but the two aren’t the same thing: feeling less doesn’t mean it’s helping less. Tell us how each session goes, and we’ll adjust how we support you.