r/Contrave

I already messaged my doctor about it, and I also decided to pause medication until I hear back.

Like in the title I'm only on day 2, but I had it happen yesterday, and then again once today. I went from my living room that gets a ton of natural light, and decided to go to my room that is much darker - although I could still see, its not pitch black or anything. But, I get in bed, look at my phone, and all of the suddenon the furthest part I can see from my peripheral (mainly on the furthest top part of my vision) is a black border that looks wavy and moving. This only lasted for a minute or two. But it was weird and I had never seen anything like it before.

I look it up and of course it scares me a little bit, talking about acute angle-closure glaucoma. I am not entirely sure if thats what it is. But what scares me is my grandma had glaucoma.

Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I tried looking for anyone else who experienced this but I can't find anything.

I also have a headache today, nothing too terrible, started up a couple hours before the incident, the pain is on my forehead, and on my left eye a bit too. I am prone to headaches and migraines.

Im on the kind where its 2 different pills, I was taking 1 bupropion in the morning, and half a naltrexone at night (not continuing taking it tonight)

Please dont scare me in the comments.

I started DIY Generic Contrave in the middle of March. Down 6 lbs (I currently weigh 149 lbs). I am 42 years-old, and 5'2".

Here's some bullet points about my experience and tips to make your journey better:

- My PCP prescribed me 150mg Bupropion SR pills and 50mg Naltroxene pills separately (generic version, aka, "DIY Contrave"). My dosing is one 150mg Bupropion SR + 25mg Naltroxene in the AM, and one 150mg Bupropion SR and one 12.5mg Naltroxene in the PM.

- The adjustment period of Contrave was a little rough - I didn't experience nausea at all because my PCP had me on a well-planned titration schedule that eased me into it (however, if you haven't eaten in many hours and take Contrave, you will feel nauseous. As long as you have eaten in the last 3 hours, you should be good to take it without food). But in the first 3-4 weeks of taking Contrave, I experienced a lot of fatigue, tiredness, headaches, depressive thoughts, and noticed my heart rate was slightly faster on my Apple Watch. But after those 3-4 weeks, ALL of those side effects were COMPLETELY GONE, including the depressive thoughts and higher heart rate. I also couldn't even drink coffee in the first 3-4 weeks because it made me feel "speedy," but now, I can.

- You shouldn't be taking your two Bupropion SR doses less than 8 hours apart or you risk your chance for a seizure (this is an actual FDA warning of the drug, so take it seriously). I did it once by accident and felt really weird - do NOT recommend. Also, not a good idea to drink alcohol while taking any drug with Naltroxene, because it intensifies the alcohol effects. Also, do NOT take your Contrave with a really fatty meal 3 hours before or 3 hours after taking it, because it will intensify the effects of the Bupropion which increases your chance for a seizure. A fatty meal is described as eating something 40g of fat or more (which most people don't normally eat in one sitting).

- Time your dosages around your wake time, and also when you are the hungriest in the day. I am the most hungry 2pm - 6pm, those are my "dangerous" hours. It takes 2-3 hours for Contrave to fully kick-in; I take my first dose at 1:00 PM, and my second dose at 9:00 PM. It doesn't interfere with my sleep (but everyone is different). I take a 5mg Melatonin every night by default and I pass out just fine.

- This is NOT a GLP-1; you are still going to feel physical hunger on Contrave. The DIFFERENCE of Contrave is that when you eat, you get full faster. You will notice that you don't finish your plate or go for seconds anymore. This drug doesn't correct snacking, because snacking here and there is such a small portion, but on most days, I don't even feel like snacking outside of meals.

- I didn't feel like Contrave worked fully until 2 months in, which is when I felt the full effectiveness of it curbing my appetite and satiation. Before that, I felt like it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.

- If it's a week before your period (the luteal phase), Contrave won't curb your pre-period hunger pangs I'm afraid! Also, if you slept less than 6 hours, Contrave won't work, because little sleep increases the hunger hormone Ghrelin that makes you eat more, and Contrave cannot overcome this (most weight loss drugs cannot overcome hunger from lack of sleep, except for GLP-1s).

- The weight loss on Contrave is slow, which I like and prefer. I pair it with a physical activity that I like, for me that's a stationary bike everyday for 30-45 minutes while watching a good show on my HBO or Netflix apps. I plan to do weights once I drop 20 lbs.

- Taking Contrave at the same times every day will make it work even better.

- If you take a stimulant ADHD drug (I take Concerta ER), ask your prescribing doctor how to space it out with your Contrave. My psychiatrist MD prescribes and monitors my Concerta; when I told her my PCP is prescribing me Contrave, she instructed me to take my Concerta first thing in the morning, and wait at least 1.5 - 2 hours before taking Contrave. This ensures both drugs are effective and not making yourself feel "speedy." Taking both ADHD stimulant and Contrave in the same day is perfectly safe provided you don't have blood pressure issues and your PCP says it's okay for you to.

- Contrave will also slow digestion and cause constipation. You will notice you have bowel movements only every 2-3 days, and stools may be harder. Doesn’t seem to matter if you drink more water and eat more fiber. The only thing that helped me tremendously with this is taking Miralax everyday - works like gold.

I started taking Contrave three weeks ago. I am on the full dose starting tomorrow, two in the morning, two at night. I feel like it is somewhat helping BUT. I have not pooped in a week. I am in so much pain and have literally tried everything under the sun, Mirilax, stool softeners, high fiber food, squatty potty, coffee, nicotine (don’t recommend- nasty), coffee, warm water. NOTHING is helping. It hurts to sit, stand, lay down, all of the above. Please help.

I did reach out to my doctor and am waiting to hear back.

Started beginning of March at 184.6, as of today I’m 163.2 lbs. Was on it for three weeks at 2 pills(am\pm) and had to go off cause it appeared I was having some fairly serious side effects but it ended up being something totally unrelated and I got the all clear to start up again. Now been back on it for 3.5 weeks but only the am pill. From the beginning I completely changed my diet and eating habits so even when I was off it I was able to at least maintain the weight I had lost and even lose a few more lbs. I’m on the fence about going up to 2 because it really messes with my sleep and I don’t know that it’s necessary if I’m losing weight. I haven’t started working out yet and I know I need to and that will also add to the weight loss. Just wondering if anyone else has seen good results staying on just 1? I feel like I’ve made pretty good progress in a short time and I’m so close to not being considered over weight anymore I just don’t want to put myself at a disadvantage.

I had a pretty good week with no major side effects. After reading some of the posts here, I really concentrated on getting my water intake up. If you don’t, you definitely get dry mouth. Yesterday I had an incredible energy boost. I did some yard work on top of my morning exercise and logged over 19,000 steps. One thing I’ve noticed is I’m not starving and it definitely helped wipe out my sweet tooth. I focused on a high protein diet and am down 8lbs the first week. I’m anxious to see what effect going to two pills has. The only minor side effect I’ve noticed is dry mouth and some slight stomach cramps usually around lunch which only last a few minutes. Mentally I feel more focused as well. Here’s to week 2 being as good as week 1!

Hey all! I am thinking about going down to half the dose of Contrave, obviously with clearance and instruction from my doctor first. I am on week 4 now, but as I’ve been increasing my dose I have noticed an increase of ototoxic side effects, which I am just learning now is a more common side effect of Contrave than I realized. I really just can’t get past these increasingly frequent episodes of ear pressure and mild hearing loss. It sounds like I am just leaving a loud concert, that feeling where your hearing is trying to adjust back to normal. I am genuinely scared of permanent damage to my hearing so I am going to speak with my doctor in the morning.

All of this is to say, I could really use some success stories from those who stayed on 2 pills a day only, if there are any? I would really like to stay on Contrave because I really feel like it’s working for me, slowly but surely, but I am feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

I have been on Contrave for 9 months. It worked amazingly in the beginning, and now...not so much. I am maintaining or losing weight ever so slowly. I take 2 Contrave a day. I have experimented with 3 a day, but it makes my dreams uncomfortable, like borderline nightmares, and I just cannot deal with it.

I cannot imagine there are any ways to decrease the side effect of negative dreams, but if anyone has any, I am all ears. Failing this, I might go off Contrave for a month or so, and then restart, hoping to get the weight loss boost I had when i first went on. Thoughts?

This is a weekly post where the community can discuss their progress or lack thereof. We are all in this together! Share your SVs and NSVs (scale and non-scale victories).

Has anyone drank while taking contrave? How did it affect you

Hi! So I’ve been prescribed contrave as a weight loss measure as part of my clinics attempt to find a way to help me live with long COVID.

I used to be fairly active, and that’s changed unfortunately for the worse. I’m mostly housebound and often bedbound, which has led to de-conditioning, making my ability to walk at the weight I’m at(250 pounds) difficult, when it both used to not be, and the fact a lot of the weight gain is due to my inability to do the exercise I used to. I also have PEM(post-exertional malaise), which makes any exercise I accomplish crash me for days. I had a walk on Monday, 2000 steps(not much I know), that led to 3 days of intense fatigue and bed rest.

I’m aware contrave works best if paired with activity. I was seeing some initial success, dropping to 247, week 1 into 2. But since, despite the fact I’m trying to eat under 1500 calories a day, I’m back to 250. Now, to be fair, it has been an unexpectedly stressful week, so I’m almost sure it could be due to stress. I’m avoiding overly fatty foods, not eating junk, etc.

But I’ve seen that the best results come with exercise. I’m going to let my medication run its course up to 15 weeks, and check in with my clinic then. I do know that results can come later, as well.

How intense does the cardio have to be for best results? I would love to try and push to the limit of where PEM begins to crash me, but that envelop is absolutely tiny, and if exercise isn’t going to be possible to the degree it’s needed, I could use some advice as to if I should discontinue early or trust the process haha.

My cravings are significantly less, and weirdly I wasn’t much of a eater before; I was eating less then 1500 calories, and only once a day, and my only change has been trying small tiny meals 3 times a day instead. Being bedbound a lot of the time, I rely on family to eat and if I can’t get up that day to make food and they are gone, I just don’t eat. Which you would IMAGINE would help with weight loss but it’s not.

Any tips?

38 F, 5’5”, 159lbs (athletic)for context. My doctor just prescribed me Contrave as I’ve mentioned struggling with PCOS I’ve been gradually gaining weight over the last 5 years (about 10 lbs total in abdomen) and I don’t want it to continue. Work out 4-5 days week (CrossFit), eat relatively healthy (1 pizza night per week but we do love a good homemade baked treat in moderation). I’m very nervous to start taking Contrave because a) I don’t want to be repulsed by food, b) I don’t want to not be able to have a cookie once or twice a week if I really want one c) the side effect of seizures if you eat any sort of fatty food or alcohol scares the fuck out of me (I maybe have 5 drinks in a month). I wouldn’t consider myself anything of a binge eater but doctor said I wouldn’t be approved for a GLP1 because I don’t meet the criteria.
I’m thinking of trying microdosing 1 pill per day in the morning to try and support cutting food noise but not sure if I’m still going to be repulsed by everything and not able to live a normal life. Doctor prescribed normal 2 pills per day but it just freaks me out. Also only wanting to do this short term to lose about 15lbs then hopefully can maintain without the meds once the weight is shed.

Anyone that has any experiences they would be willing to share, good stories, or potential alternatives (open to peptides but I also want something “safer” and not a random online injectable that may wreck other things in my body but make me skinny).

HELP ❤️

hi all! i've been in calories decifit and regular traing to actively loss weight for about 1 year. during this year, i get to know myself a little better and realize my probelm is more mental side like PMS, stress and impulsive binging.

with the consultation with weight-loss dept. doctor, they suggested me to take contrave for turning off the food noise. the first 2 weeks (1/day at first week, 2/day at second) was okay even if i binge once. since i know what make me binge and to be fair i binge less than before, thus taking it as win. then i went back to doctor and got 2/day of next 4 weeks. here's the time i found i still cant control, i still thinking about the food even when i'm not hungry and cant resist to "have another bite" even im already full. the side effects are NOT STRONG, but you do feel youself on medicine, just dont feel right and might suddenly hit with dizziness.

my next appointment will be in the end of May, and i dont even have 1kg down. with the medicine, i feel even more frustated and know this emotion will certainly lure me to another round of binge. should i take more doze? or change to GLP-1?

*i've increased about 100kcal for my daily intake (1500kcal,still in calories deficit) just to feel better and more sustainable for the weight-loss journey. but now i'm questioning this too......

inbody stat. 156cm/60kg/24.1kg SMM/ 28.2% body fat

I just got a script from my doctor for contrave after having to stop a GLP-1 recently. Since I stopped, my weightloss has been stagnant even though I’m in a huge deficit. I don’t have much food noise or many cravings, but it seems the lack of hunger cues with a GLP-1 was what helped me lose the weight. Do you notice a lack in hunger with taking the medication and your body telling you to stop once you’ve had enough when you eat like a GLP-1, or just lack in cravings/food noise? Thanks for any info!

Hiya! I started at 12,12/3 and I’m 12,8 - I’ve had 0 symptoms. Maybe a little less hungry but not really. I eat relatively well but probs don’t exercise enough.

I’m not sure whether to stop or to order my 3rd month. The doctor suggested jabs but I’ve been on them before and I’d like to avoid and see if I can lose my last stone without jabs.

Anyway, has anyone lost much post 8 weeks or does this pill just not work for me?

I’m about 2 months in and I don’t think I’ve lost any weight. What should I do? I feel helpless. Do I ask the doctor to up my dosage? I don’t feel any different from before I started and I really wanna change.

Edit: I’m on the bupropion and naltrexone combo

Hello. I am on my third day of one pill a day and I've had an onslaught of anxiety, nearing panic attack since this morning. I understand this as a possible side effect of the medication but as someone with a history of anxiety I suppose I just can't tell which it is. Posting to see if other newbies have recently been through this and how they coped. Thanks, this sub (and my doctor) is what gave me the confidence to try this path.

Genuine question, why can’t we take all 4 pills at once? Why do they have to be taken in the morning and night time?

I have been on poor mans contrave for over 6 months. I love that my food noise is way down. But struggling with the weight-loss. Has anyone added anything to this medication to help with losing the weight? I’m not ready to give up on this medication—not dealing with food noise is so damn liberating. I am in my 40s to my metabolism has slowed down and getting the weight off has not been easy. :(
Has anyone taken the Nurx 3-in-1 pill?

This is a weekly post where the community can discuss their progress or lack thereof. We are all in this together! Share your SVs and NSVs (scale and non-scale victories).

Hi all,

I went on Wegovy last year and lost 18kg but gained it all back when I ceased it. Mainly because I ceased cold turkey due to the cost.

I want to try again but don’t really want to do the injections. I see Chemist Warehouse has bottle of Contrave for $250. How long does this last for? How much is the average cost per month in Australia?