A new FDA-approved medication shows promise for those struggling with severe depression.

“A lot of people are like chin up, get up and take a walk, you’ll feel better," Patti Wallis, of Pittsford, said. "It’s not that simple.”

Wallis says she’s struggled with depression her entire life.

“It’s debilitating, isolating — I just wanted to isolate myself," Wallis said. "I have kids, but I wasn’t even really finding joy in my kids, which is heartbreaking.”

And no matter what she tried, it wouldn’t work for long.

“Counselors, therapists, psychiatrists. I’ve tried various antidepressants,” Wallis said.

But when Upstate Ketamine Centers opened in Pittsford this past June, offering ketamine therapy for “treatment-resistant” depression, she knew she had to give it a try.

“I kind of felt like this was my last-ditch effort of trying to find something that would help me,” Wallis said.

The drug has been used as an anesthetic since the 1960s, and became known as a party drug in the 1990s. But family nurse practitioner Angela Senoner says the science is clear.

“Ketamine really works," Senoner said. "It’s not just something we think may work. We’ve seen the benefits of it, and the science shows it.”

And while ketamine itself is not FDA-approved, it did just clear a nasal spray that uses a chemical cousin of the drug called esketamine to treat the same issues.

Senoner says this means they’ll be able to offer the product with insurance, whereas insurance doesn’t cover the IV transfusion.

“There is a percentage of the population that can’t afford to have the medication," Senoner said. "So with the FDA approval and insurance coverage, that opens the door for many more people to receive treatment.”

And since ketamine has worked so well for Wallis with no side effects…

“Back to enjoying life, my family; being more active, being more social,” Wallis said.

She can only hope this spray will help many others.

“For so many, the treatments are very costly," Wallis said. "And I think there are so many people that could benefit from ketamine treatments, but they just can’t — the cost is too much.”