Alexis Hutcheon has been using the new spray for depression.
Share and Follow

A nasal spray that’s having life-changing impacts on people living with depression is set to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), slashing the cost and improving accessibility.

It’s the first time in three decades that a new type of depression medicine has been added to the subsidised list, a decision that’s expected to help up to 30,000 Australians.

Alexis Hutcheon and Samuel Hockey live with depression that’s resistant to treatment.

Alexis Hutcheon has been using the new spray for depression.
Alexis Hutcheon has been using the new spray for depression. (Nine)

“It really has been a concoction of things that you trial and feel let down by,” Hockey said

That’s until they qualified for a clinical trial testing Esketamine.

“At the time it felt like a last resort option for me,” Hutcheon said.

“I started to notice that things improved almost immediately.”

Esketamine – or Spravato as it’s known on the market – is a nasal spray that increases glutamate levels in the brain.

That’s the chemical messenger that impacts a person’s mood and thought processes.

“About half the people who’ve had treatment-resistant depression experience a significant improvement in their quality of life, a significant reduction in their symptoms,” Professor Ian Hickie from the University of Sydney said.

The new spray for depression will be cheaper for all Aussies.
The new spray for depression will be cheaper for all Aussies. (Nine)

Consultant psychiatrist Associate Professor Liz Scott said: “We think that in some people it’s going to put them into remission, and long-term remission.”

Patients start with treatment twice a week then extend to weekly and fortnightly doses.

They have to fast for two hours before and be supervised after receiving the spray.

They also can’t drive for the rest of that day.

After years of testing it’s being added to the PBS.

Hutcheon called it a “gamechanger” and Hockley said it was “just a miracle”.

The spray will officially be listed on the PBS on Thursday, reducing the price from about $800 a week to $7.70 per dose for concession card holders, and $31.60 for everyone else.

Patients will also have to cover the cost of visiting a private clinic to be given the medication and be monitored.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
A zoo keeper is having emergency surgery in hospital being "grabbed" by a big cat at a zoo in southern Queensland.Emergency services were called to Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, south of Toowoomba, this morning after the woman was attacked in an enclosure by one of the big cats.

“Lioness attack at the zoo results in owner’s relative losing an arm: a tragic incident”

Emergency services were called to Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, south of…

From saving to scrutinizing: Understanding the DNA testing business

There was something about the way three police officers surrounded Michael Usry…
PM leads charm offensive as Wallabies clash with Fiji

Prime Minister takes on a friendly approach as Wallabies face off against Fiji

They are neighbours, friends and in many cases family, but now the…

The famous musician and wildlife enthusiast who played a key role in NAIDOC Week.

Ted Egan isn’t just a songwriter with an extensive and well-known catalogue…
Zachary Rolfe

Coroner determines that cop who shot Indigenous teenager had racist motives

WARNING: This story contains an image of an Aboriginal person who has…
Erin Patterson

“Maximum Sentence of Life in Prison for Patterson”

Mushroom cook Erin Patterson has been found guilty of three counts of…
Rows of bottled water.

Is Australia Likely to Ban Tap Water like France?

Residents in a small French town have been banned from drinking tap…

Coroner says Kumanjayi Walker’s death could have been prevented, Rolfe tended to use excessive force.

Warning: this article contains distressing and violent content and the photo of…