suvorexant as a preventative

[Kathleen1]

Is anyone here involved in suvorexant studies? I can see how it might be useful in those with disrupted sleep, maybe allowing them to have better nighttime clearance of amyloid and such, but it is hard to think of using it if one's sleep pattern is already good. I guess the question is does it help to clear or reduce overproduced brain toxins when your nighttime sleep patterns are already good and clearance patterns presumably normal?

[Stitch]

Is anyone here involved in suvorexant studies? I can see how it might be useful in those with disrupted sleep, maybe allowing them to have better nighttime clearance of amyloid and such, but it is hard to think of using it if one's sleep pattern is already good. I guess the question is does it help to clear or reduce overproduced brain toxins when your nighttime sleep patterns are already good and clearance patterns presumably normal?

I didn't know what suvorexant was when I saw the first article so, being an insomniac, I looked it up. I guess if I started cooking and driving in my sleep I wouldn't probably live long enough to get AD.

[Kikiwebb]

HI! I am new to this group! I have always been a terrible sleeper! My neurologist suggested belsomra - WOW! I get 1.5 hour of deep and 2 hr REM most nights! (unless I have a glass of wine or a late dark chocolate). what is the verdict from y'all?

[NF52]

HI! I am new to this group! I have always been a terrible sleeper! My neurologist suggested belsomra - WOW! I get 1.5 hour of deep and 2 hr REM most nights! (unless I have a glass of wine or a late dark chocolate). what is the verdict from y'all?

Welcome, Kikiwebb!

On behalf of the whole community, I want to welcome you and thank you for posting your happy results from taking belsomra, the trade name for suborexant. It sounds like you have a neurologist who listens well and has the skill to give you personalized suggestions. Nothing like a good night's sleep (and maybe some lovely dreams!) to wake up feeling like rested and rarin' to go.

I hope some others who have used Belsomra will share their experiences.

You may be interested in some information I found last year about Belsomra. While you may not have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, it has been found to be safe and effective in people with Alzheimer's-related insomnia and was approved by the FDA in 2020. It sounded in one article that the typical dose for people over 65 was 30 mg, while the effective dose for people with Alzheimer's was 15 mg. As someone who usually needs only about 1/2 the dose of any strong medication, I'm glad that people are being started out on a low dose.

Here's an excerpt from a peer-reviewed article by a clinical associate professor of pharmacy, explaining how the drug works--and why 70,000 neurons sometimes need some help to get us to sleep:

Suvorexant (MK-4305, Merck), an orexin receptor antagonist (ORA), is the first in a new class of drugs in development for the treatment of insomnia. The tablets promote the natural transition from wakefulness to sleep by inhibiting the wakefulness-promoting orexin neurons of the arousal system.....The safety profile of suvorexant was favorable in adults younger than 65 years of age (up to 40 mg) and in patients 65 years of age and older (up to 30 mg)[/b].

Suvorexant, a Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist for the Management of Insomnia

Here are some resources and tips that may be helpful in getting the most out of our forum:

• The Primer was written by Dr. Stavia, who has two copies of ApoE 4/4 and believes that we do best when we try a few strategies at a time. I hope you find her suggestions helpful.

Here is a link to Our Stories where you can view the experiences and often the solutions members have shared.

In case you are wondering how to do something, the How-To Guide has screenshots and step-by-teo direction for just about anything.

Two more tips to improve your experience here:

• If you want to Search for posts on a specific topic, you can use the text box labeled "Search" right under your user name and enter those specific terms.

• To be sure a forum member is notified of your post, just click use the large quotation mark icon in the upper right corner of they post.

Feel free to share and post; we're happy to have you here!

Nancy

[Brian4]

Nancy, thanks for the very helpful information!

I started suvorexant in late December, not having much hope about its ability to help me sleep, but more intrigued by the amyloid finding. It changed my life. My sleep had deteriorated about fifteen years ago (early-waking insomnia), and suvorexant solved it completely.

But the half-life is a wee bit too long, so I switched to daridorexant, which I take about two hours into my sleep cycle (when I -- virtually always -- wake up to pee). Works like a charm, and I assume it has similar amyloid-reducing properties to those of suvorexant -- though with a shorter half-life, the effect might be smaller.

Brian