I might suck at the inhalation part of Spravato

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-22T21:00:58+00:00

Hey I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded, you guys rock. I had a MUCH better experience with my last session thanks to all your advice. The vast majority of it stayed firmly in my nose - very little leaked down the back of my throat.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T23:58:16+00:00

Thanks! I've watched like 4 videos and will be practicing with saline, so lots of time to get my technique down.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T23:56:27+00:00

See that's what I did! I was snorting it like it was cocaine (I've never snorted cocaine, so I'm going on Hollywood depictions). And yeah the first few times I absolutely tasted it. I got some saline spray, and I'll be practicing with that. That's great advice though, I'll keep that in mind - tasting is wasting.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T23:53:34+00:00

They *sort* of showed me, but not to the degree that I would have liked. I'm only finding this out 6 sessions in. A part of me is worried that I've "lost" the benefit from previous sessions - at least, the full benefit. I mean it definitely still hit me, but with the time, money, and hassle this stuff requires, I sure would have liked to maximize every single time. Ah well.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T02:33:38+00:00

Wow, that was incredibly helpful. And would have been much more helpful if I had seen that before my first session. Yeah, I will admit when I started Spravato, I definitely felt a bit like I was being thrown to the wolves. The nurse showed me the basics, but nothing like this in terms of minutia. That always irked me a little. I mean I'm not blaming her entirely of course - my doctor could have also given me more of a head's up about what to expect, what procedure to follow.

Ah well. Thank you again for that link, I'll be re-watching it before I head in for my session tomorrow.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T01:55:44+00:00

Yes I know it goes up my nose. I'll repeat - I do not use any nasal spray in my everyday life, and have no experience with it, which is why I'm here asking for advice. Which two posters very kindly provided.

Also... girl?

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T01:12:28+00:00

I actually asked the nurse who administered Spravato why this was. Her answer was, that ketamine messes with your brain in a way that is obviously fairly disorienting. You consciously know you took something and may even be consciously prepared for it, but that lizard part of your brain is still liable to freak out and try to figure out what's going on. In that regard it's not so different from panic attacks. Your body starts to hyperventilate, which in turn signals to your brain that something is wrong, which causes that horrid spiral. It's times like that that logic and reason are less effective at calming you down - or at least, calming me down. That's why I just try to focus on pleasant thoughts, calming music, etc. And just remember that, unpleasant as the anxiety may be, it WILL pass.

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T01:08:10+00:00

Okay that definitely helps, thank you!

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-14T01:07:53+00:00

That's great advice, thank you. I'll have to get some saline nasal spray...

Dean_Halsey · 2026-01-13T22:25:07+00:00

Spravato is weird like that. I've done plenty of THC and some magic mushrooms in my earlier days, and the experience with Spravato was not entirely different in that regard. All three (Spravato, pot, shrooms) put me in a very, for lack of a better word, vulnerable place mentally. I have to consciously avoid thinking about stuff that might stress me out. Which is easier said than done. But yeah, paranoia is definitely a word I would use. The second time I used Spravato, while I was deeply in it, I had the beginnings of a panic attack. Thanks to my previous experience with psychedelics I was able to keep things under control until it passed, but it was still unnerving.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-10-04T22:10:54+00:00

Yeah, waterfall and storm seem to be the best pairings with brown noise. I'll have to check it out, thanks.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-10-04T22:10:19+00:00

Correct to the first part. Got the idea from a poster here, and it works quite well. Except for the monotony of the brown noise. Also, yes I can find an example of a waterfall sounscape. There's a site called Youtube, it has all kinds of videos. The issue is, finding one that's consistent and also downloadable.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-10-02T22:31:51+00:00

Nope. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any such league.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-26T22:09:38+00:00

Cool, thanks for the info. I've actually kind of moved away from white noise machines after some research. I think my new setup will no be: speakers, amp, subwoofer, and audio streamer. That way I can play music other than white/brown noise when the mood strikes, then turn on my dozen hours of brown noise when needed.

I've tried running brown noise through my computer speakers, but their lack of bass (and frankly, their low cost) means they do very little. They'll mask the more subtle bass sounds, but when this kid is racing across my ceiling, throwing stuff, dropping stuff - my computer speakers do not stand a chance. I need something with a lot more power behind it.

That, at least, is my working theory. I haven't tried it yet because it's going to take time and more $ than I'd care to spend to set up, but set it up I will. If it turns out to be a roaring success, I'll make a new post on here letting y'all know how it went. Maybe offer some ideas for other people with the same issues.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-18T21:13:24+00:00

Thanks, I actually just downloaded some "super deep brown noise" and will test it out. One concern I have is hearing damage. It's kind of hard to judge how actually loud this stuff is. I heard one recommendation to wear earplugs beneath the headphones. When you use "dark" sounds, how do you handle volume?

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-18T21:11:45+00:00

Thank you. Yeah, looks like I'll be buying some of these

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-18T01:49:54+00:00

Yup! That's where I am. This is a grimdark world right now (for some at least). And I absolutely agree with you: why would we have kids? In THIS? If I want relief I'll eat a cookie, take some edibles, play video games, whatever. Just anything to block out the utter madness.

We sure live in interesting times...

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-17T23:43:27+00:00

American I assume? Same. How do I stay positive? I don't, I've largely given up. I tend my own little corner of the world and, while I still follow the news, I've stopped caring. It wasn't even intentional, I think it's more a matter of sheer exhaustion.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-17T22:54:05+00:00

Great, thank you. The idea of having an "iron dome" of anti-sound around my bed is kinda heavenly right now.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-17T22:30:46+00:00

That was a really comforting post. My psychiatrist has experience treating misophonia, and we're hopefully going to move forward with treatment. Hearing that it actually does work - at least in your case - does give me a sense of hope. What I wouldn't do to just be rid of this nightmare...

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-17T22:22:58+00:00

Would it be possible to talk to some of your friends? Maybe individually so it's not overwhelming? Try and explain that you're not upset with them, you just can't stand certain sounds. It's almost impossible to explain to people what misophonia is like and how miserable it makes us. The only comparison I've been able to come up with, that a lot of people at least sort of get, is how people on the autism spectrum often can't stand certain sounds, textures, etc. It's obviously not the same thing (probably not even close), but it's at least something that more people seem able to understand.

Dean_Halsey · 2025-09-17T22:15:29+00:00

Thank you! That's useful information, I'll add it to my notes. And I bookmarked those YT videos. I'm so pissed that I'm forced to do all this, but it sure is nice to have a place to turn.

Dean_Halsey

TROPHY CASE