Looking for people who are trying out Contrave? Thoughts? Is it working?

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  • eyesis21
    eyesis21 Posts: 1 Member
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    It's working for me!! I've been on it for 6 weeks and have lost 20lbs...
  • itsmyvwbeetle
    itsmyvwbeetle Posts: 272 Member
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    eyesis21 wrote: »
    It's working for me!! I've been on it for 6 weeks and have lost 20lbs...

    Awesome!!! Great job!
  • eli51354
    eli51354 Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi, all! I just started on Contrave last Thursday (3/30/17); am on one a.m. pill until next Thursday when I add the p.m. pill. Only side effect is a slight headache very late at night. It will be interesting to see if I lose any weight. I went to my doctor because I had an unexplained weight gain (more about that in a minute) and was horribly frustrated. I've been using My Fitness Pal to track food intake and exercise, and have been doing so religiously since November 2016. I'm 5'1" and weighed in at 157. I was maintaining a 1200-calorie per day intake, exercised 5 days a week. Never lost a pound, so by January I dropped the calorie intake to 1000 calories, and added extra days for exercise bringing it up to 6 or 7 days a week. The exercise consists of Jazzercise 3x week, aquasize and laps 2 to 3 days a week, belly dancing 90 minutes on Sundays. By end of March had not dropped even one pound. I limit my complex carbs to once a week, so dinners are proteins and vegetables, with a salad every night. I buy organic, including chicken, and have game meat and local fish in the freezer. Had blood tests and other labs done because the doctor couldn't figure out what was going on. The jazzercise I do is the strength training with weights because I figure the swimming and dancing makes up the cardio. I'm 63 next month. I do have some pretty decent muscles on me. But still! I can't go less than 1000 calories a day; that's just ridiculous. So this is my test to see if the Contrave works. I never had big cravings to start with. Breakfasts have been blueberries and almonds or scrambled egg with kale, and sometimes I am not hungry at all in the morning, so I eat breakfast around noon.

    Sorry for the long post, but that's just the background. I intend to keep up the exercise because I like it and never ate junk food anyway, so I'll continue eating the way I always have. Wish me luck, and I'll check back in next week to update with hopefully some results.
  • itsmyvwbeetle
    itsmyvwbeetle Posts: 272 Member
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    Good luck! I hope you have great results!!!! I'm not sure the contrave will help since it doesn't actually speed up your body but who knows, maybe it will! It just deals with hunger and cravings which don't seem to be your problem. I'm surprised he didn't give you phentermine to speed you up a bit.
  • alicial78
    alicial78 Posts: 8 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I've been on it for 6 weeks and I'm down 23 lbs. I had a new side effect every time I up'd the dose the first month, and they'd last about 5-6 days. Problem with that was it was always time to up it again when they finally passed. The worst was constipation, but the headaches were rough too. So far in this second month, everything seems to have adjusted and I feel fine. The pill itself has helped me curb my "obsession " with food. If I want a cookie, I have one, but now I can only have one without thinking maybe I should just eat them all so they're no longer here. I bought a pint of ice cream, it lasted almost 2 weeks in my freezer and at one point I forgot it was I there. Food has been my best friend and worst enemy most of my life; Contrave makes it feel like food broke up with me and took out a ppo to end our relationship. I still love to eat, but I no longer am obsessed with it, smaller portions are easy now because my brain isn't in food addict mode. I hope you find success with it and the side effects aren't too bad, and if you can tough them out, they could go away like mine did.
  • valjbaby
    valjbaby Posts: 2 Member
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    I just started contrave this is my second day. I was (am) nervous about side affects. I took the pill after having oatmeal this morning and found that my stomach wasn't as upset as the first day. I've been drinking water too. Slight headache and some fatigue midday. I hope I can keep side effect to a minimum. I'd like to hear from people 60 plus on how they are doing on this medication.
  • raz94928
    raz94928 Posts: 1 Member
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    I am on week 3 and I'm wondering if anyone has experienced a reduction in appetite and cravings only to have them come back? I'm not sure if I want to continue if the cravings don't stay away. I have some nausea which I take Bonine for (thanks to the person who posted that). Sometimes it takes the nausea away completely and sometimes it just reduces it. I have a hard time working when I feel sick. I'm also worried about the next increase in dose. Will the nausea be worse? Thanks for reading.
  • MrPeach84
    MrPeach84 Posts: 8 Member
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    I am starting today. The only thing I feel was very tired. I took it at 10:30am when I woke up and It's 2pm and I can barely keep my eyes open.
  • itsmyvwbeetle
    itsmyvwbeetle Posts: 272 Member
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    raz94928 wrote: »
    I am on week 3 and I'm wondering if anyone has experienced a reduction in appetite and cravings only to have them come back? I'm not sure if I want to continue if the cravings don't stay away. I have some nausea which I take Bonine for (thanks to the person who posted that). Sometimes it takes the nausea away completely and sometimes it just reduces it. I have a hard time working when I feel sick. I'm also worried about the next increase in dose. Will the nausea be worse? Thanks for reading.

    I've been on for 8 weeks. Right before increasing dosage the first few weeks I would get hungry again but it hasn't came back at all since being at maintenance dose.

    My doc said today that new regulations say that after 3 months you have to take a month off. Anyone heard of this before?

  • plabrenz
    plabrenz Posts: 2 Member
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    I have been on Contrave since the January 1 2017. I started out at 300 lbs and have lost 50 lbs in a little over 4 months. You still need to eat right, someone said "High Protein" Bacon and eggs (they're out of their minds). Keep to healthy proteins in vegetables, nuts and some meats. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise at least 3 times a week. NO SODA, NO SODA, NO SODA...Time to give it up for good if you haven't. And...track your eating...Less calories in than are going out!
  • eli51354
    eli51354 Posts: 6 Member
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    Can you folks who are using Contrave give me some input as to when you started to see results on the scale? I've been on it for five weeks now, stay at about 1000 calories, and exercise (but don't consume the burned calories back into my total for the day). This morning for the ScaleDown weigh-in, I was up a pound and a half, and the "coach" (don't know what else to call him/her) suggested I reduce my caloric intake by 100 calories. That's just crazy!
  • plabrenz
    plabrenz Posts: 2 Member
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    What is your normal daily meals and snacks? How often and how long do you exercise? How do you figure out your calories and what do you use to keep track?
  • itsmyvwbeetle
    itsmyvwbeetle Posts: 272 Member
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    eli51354 wrote: »
    Can you folks who are using Contrave give me some input as to when you started to see results on the scale? I've been on it for five weeks now, stay at about 1000 calories, and exercise (but don't consume the burned calories back into my total for the day). This morning for the ScaleDown weigh-in, I was up a pound and a half, and the "coach" (don't know what else to call him/her) suggested I reduce my caloric intake by 100 calories. That's just crazy!

    That is nuts! I agree with the above poster, can you share your meals. That'll give a lot of insight as to what the issue could be.

    I saw results the first week. I typically keep my calories between 1300-1450 a day, I am 219 though for what it's worth.
  • eli51354
    eli51354 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for responding! Today breakfast was a pea plant protein shake made with pineapple juice instead of water; lunch was half a cup of pasta with pesto sauce, zucchini, and two turkey meatballs; dinner was half cup of rice and stir-fried carrots, peppers, cabbage, mushrooms, and zucchini (homemade, not frozen). I used avocado oil and sesame seed oil for the stir-frying. I put about .25 cup of fried chow mein noodles on top. Snack was half of a homemade chocolate biscotti. I went to aquasize this afternoon that was 50 minutes and then swam laps for 20 minutes. In totaling my calories, I took in 650, but burned 410. I'm 5'1" and weigh 147. I do the swimming Weds and Fridays, and Jazzercise Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday I have dance for 90 minutes. I'm going to be 63 next month, so I'm thinking maybe this is a hormonal thing. And FYI, I've been maintaining this schedule and food intake since November.
  • eli51354
    eli51354 Posts: 6 Member
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    To the question above, I use MFP to calculate calories. I don't usually eat snacks, but I like dried figs or fresh blueberries with almonds and will have that as a snack, but it's rare that I snack. I keep complex carbs down to about 1 cup per week. Have salads with just about every dinner and make my own dressing using olive oil. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been to a drive-thru over the last two years. I just never developed a taste for it. Same thing with sodas; never developed a taste for it, plus my parents didn't allow sodas except if it was someone's birthday.

    Last night for dinner, I had Greek honey yogurt and three dried figs. Exciting, huh?
  • nikkichixy
    nikkichixy Posts: 1 Member
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    I have been on Contrave for 3 weeks now and up to the 2:1 dose. I say it's definitely helping me with my addiction to food. I am not binge eating at night anymore. I feel fantastic! No side effects that I can complain about. I also have an issue with the scale. I started obsessing over it, weighing myself every morning. If I went up I would have a bad day and if it went down I would be happy. The other day I threw my scale out because I am driving myself crazy! I don't agree with the scale down program, that's not the only thing to use to measure success and it honestly sets us up for failure. Contrave has addressed my issues so far and I'm really happy with it so far.
  • eli51354
    eli51354 Posts: 6 Member
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    I agree about the Scale Down program. I'm going to stop it because it's dictating how I feel mentally throughout the day and, yes, it does set one up for failure. I'm just disappointed that there's been no significant weight loss for the month I've been on Contrave.
  • ginamnorris
    ginamnorris Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been on Contrave now since March 14th. At first I had vivid dreams and headaches. I am at full dose and still have occasional headaches. The biggest side effects I have noticed are hot flashes and sometimes a metallic taste in my mouth. I have lost 9 pounds and notice that I feel full faster so I usually eat less. I am following 1200 calories using fitness pal.
  • jaynehampson
    jaynehampson Posts: 1 Member
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    I have been taking it for 2 months. I have not uppe dmy pills from 1 a day and ive lost 20lbs. I just am in control now, and i am not eating junk.
  • itsmyvwbeetle
    itsmyvwbeetle Posts: 272 Member
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    jaynehampson wrote: »
    I have been taking it for 2 months. I have not uppe dmy pills from 1 a day and ive lost 20lbs. I just am in control now, and i am not eating junk.

    That's awesome!! Great job!

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