# Orexin Receptor Inhibitor (agonist)



## gaddis (Sep 18, 2005)

The FDA approved a new sleep drug, Belsomra (suvorexant) in August.

It is supposed to be available in early 2015 in the US.

It's completely different from ambien and lunesta in that it doesn't affect GABA, so you can't build up a tolerance to it.

It works on the orexin receptor, which triggers alertness.in human beans and chimps.; - )


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## clockwork8 (May 9, 2013)

gaddis said:


> The FDA approved a new sleep drug, Belsomra (suvorexant) in August.
> 
> It is supposed to be available in early 2015 in the US.
> 
> ...


The part about not being able to build up a tolerance makes no sense. If it works by binding to a receptor, then you can probably build up a tolerance. I'm just saying that not affecting GABA doesn't mean much at all, just that it won't have cross-tolerance with GABA drugs. I've never heard of orexin though so I am not sure how that works. Sounds interesting, but pulling from wikipedia this seems disappointing:

"High levels of orexin-A have been associated with happiness in human subjects, while low levels have been associated with sadness.[24] The finding suggests that boosting levels of orexin-A could elevate mood in humans, being thus a possible future treatment for disorders like depression. Likewise, it helps explain the incidence of depression associated with narcolepsy."

Does that mean taking an antagonist would make you more likely to develop depression? If that is the case, it doesn't really seem worth using as a sleep aid except perhaps occasionally to correct one's schedule if it's too far gone.


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## gaddis (Sep 18, 2005)

Belsomra is now available in the US.

To answer the above post, the fact that it doesn't have anything to do with GABA receptors means that it won't have the drawbacks of benzo sleep aids, or even ambien and lunesta.

On the website for Belsomra, they have discount coupons.

I'm gonna try it next month.


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## gaddis (Sep 18, 2005)

I got the ten free pill deal on Belsomra, and tried it the other day.

It seemed to be as effective as ambien and lunesta, but left me feeling out of it for the rest of the day.

I'm going to stick with lunesta.


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