Who else is taking contrave pills?

prozacprincess_99

Is this an over-the-counter drug? I have never heard of it.

paulabsc

My opinion is it will give you the help and encouragement that you need to get the over eating under control while you learn to eat healthy.
Ive tried the eat healthy, and excersize, count calories, even considered bypass. Nothing seem to help the binge eating. I researched binge eating and read that it is a mental issue just like drug addiction. I was looking for the magic pill to make me skinny, however I was looking for pill to help with the emotional relief to help stop the feeling of quilt everytime I wanted to put food in my mouth.
"what happens when you stop taking the pills?' Well... who knows!! Maybe I'll have so much success that I have lost enough to improve my self esteem and learn to eat healthy and just enough to survive. "what happens when you stop taking the pills?" well... maybe i'll gain it back and have to start over...

All I know is I'm trying... and trying is the best I can do.

TheopolisAmbroiseIII wrote: »

babyrko wrote: »

elphie754 wrote: »

babyrko wrote: »

So I just started taking the pill on Sunday and I immediately started noticing a big decrease in my appetite

So what is going to happen when you stop taking them and your appetite comes back?

I don't know, but for now I'm using it to help me help myself out lol and I can't say much its day two and I'm looking for someone who actually used the pill before.

First, I don't want this to sound lecture-y. I'm just putting out my opinion.

If you legitimately had trouble controlling your appetite before, and this pill helps you control it, and you've researched proper safe usage and side effect, preferably with a doctor, then you'll probably have some measure of success in losing the weight.

However, what others are saying is true. If you had an unhealthy relationship with food, as soon as the chemical crutch is gone, you may find yourself going back to old habits and find the weight creeping back on. It's not a foregone conclusion, but the pattern is common enough to raise concerns.

How did the weight come on in the first place? If it was a satiety problem, where you always felt legitimately hungry, you may have a hormone imbalance that you can combat with a change in diet (fewer carbs, more protein and fat, perhaps?) or with some kind of medication therapy in partnership with your doctor.

Did you eat out of boredom? If so, find a hobby (or hobbies) that you are passionate about. Reading, running, model building, hiking, dog training, drift racing, nuclear arms collection. Something to keep you from being bored.

Was it emotional eating? Do you eat when you feel sad or depressed? Do you eat as a reward for feeling good? These are things that you should probably seek professional advice on. It could require medication, or therapy, or something else entirely.

I wish you luck, and hope you reach your goal weight successfully. I also hope that in 10 years you've managed to stay happy and healthy.

paulabsc

AMEN!!!

melodicraven wrote: »

Keep doing what you're doing, but talk to your doctor about the sleep issue and the nausea. The dosage might need to be adjusted. Or your doc might have some other advice on alleviating the side effects. Ignore all these naysayers - Contrave has the same stuff in it that they prescribe to smokers to help with their cravings. So it's not like you're taking some vitamin supplement off the internet - it's a prescription medication and a legitimate tool to use to begin to deal with the cravings and anxiety.

Doing what YOUR DOCTOR tells you to do is not taking the easy way out. o_O Good grief, people.

paulabsc

It's a new presciption for people with addictions. It's an antidrepressant combined with a anti-addiction drug to help with binge eating disorders.

prozacprincess_99 wrote: »

Is this an over-the-counter drug? I have never heard of it.

paulabsc

this can only be prescribed by a doctor so I'm sure she sought his advice first.

auddii wrote: »

I completely misread the title as contraception and was so confused by the responses...

No personal experience with the pill, but I will echo the advice that you should talk to your doctor about side effects. They affect people differently, so your doctor may be concerned you are experiencing them.

And in general about diet pills: they are a tool that some people use, but you'll definitely need to focus on building healthy habits so that you can continue to lose or maintain once you stop using the pill.

brb2008

I wont get into all of it, but basically if YOU want to use this medication to try to lose weight then your best bet is to give it some time and see if these initial side effects pass. I used to take a medication called Wellbutrin and the drug itself is called bupropion, which actually is a component in your medication as well.

I couldn't take it at night, because I couldn't sleep if I did. So I always took it in the morining. Try that and see if it helps your sleep first. Sleep is very important! That should fix the sleep problem if its the same reason why I couldn't sleep on Wellbutrin. Also, the medication is kinda supposed to make your appetite go away, but you have to eat anyway and that will help with the nausea. Take it with a meal in the morning.

All medications have side effects, sometimes the body just needs to adjust to it before those will go away. If you'd really like to see if this medicine will help you lose weight you have to take it long enough to assess its effectiveness which is definitely more than just a few weeks.

That said I once was on a BC pill prescribed by my doctor and the side effects were so awful I didn't last a week because it wasn't worth it knowing I had other options. Your other option is to not take the pill and just log accurately and exercise. It does work without this sort of medication and I know this because I've done it myself and know you can too. Take care of yourself and keep in touch with your doctor. I wouldn't try to increase the dose until you're adjusted a little better (and then at that point you may have a few more side effects to manage for a short time). When I take new antidepressants I am always advised to start on a lower dose and increase after a week or two. The one I'm on now is a 50mg pill, I divided them for the first two weeks then increased to one whole pill. I had way less headaches by sticking to the lower dose for longer.

rankinsect

Man, I really don't get the hate on MFP for diet medications. This isn't some huckster packaging a caloric deficit under a brand name and selling it for big bucks, this is a prescription medication taken with the advice of a doctor. Yes, I am working on improving my obesity without medication. I have also successfully improved my blood pressure without medication, but I wouldn't advice anyone to chuck their hypertension medication.

I see medication-aided weight loss as similar to a low carb diet:
If you tell me it's the only/"right" way to lose weight, I'll refute you.
If you tell me I should follow it, I'll refuse you.
If you tell me it somehow violates physics or biology, I'll correct you.
If you tell me it works the best for you, I'll cheer for you.

We all have our own methods of dealing with our weight. Some of us restrict certain foods, and others don't. Some of us passionately argue for "cheat days" while others passionately argue against. Your diet plan might not work at all for me. I'm happy for anyone who successfully loses.

Leslierussell4134

rankinsect wrote: »

Man, I really don't get the hate on MFP for diet medications. This isn't some huckster packaging a caloric deficit under a brand name and selling it for big bucks, this is a prescription medication taken with the advice of a doctor. Yes, I am working on improving my obesity without medication. I have also successfully improved my blood pressure without medication, but I wouldn't advice anyone to chuck their hypertension medication.

I see medication-aided weight loss as similar to a low carb diet:
If you tell me it's the only/"right" way to lose weight, I'll refute you.
If you tell me I should follow it, I'll refuse you.
If you tell me it somehow violates physics or biology, I'll correct you.
If you tell me it works the best for you, I'll cheer for you.

We all have our own methods of dealing with our weight. Some of us restrict certain foods, and others don't. Some of us passionately argue for "cheat days" while others passionately argue against. Your diet plan might not work at all for me. I'm happy for anyone who successfully loses.

⬆This was very well said.

MacksFisher

Take it. Love it. Eat a quarter of what I used to. In the 4 months I've been taking it I've lost 55lbs

lauracollins792

I took Contrave and used the scale down program which I really liked. However, my doctor monitored my blood pressure (on my monthly visits) as this medication can cause you to have high blood pressure. Mine was borderline so she took me off Contrave, it was either that or take blood pressure meds in conjunction with Contrave. I chose to go without Contrave. Since last November I have lost almost 30 pounds but I believe it was mainly from working out on a regular basis and using MFP. This drug is supposed to be administered to obese to morbidly obese people, I'm not sure if your doctor told you that.

branflakes1980

babyrko wrote: »

I honestly thought with this pill I will learn how to portion control , actually I don't eat a lot, my only issue is that I can live on a bag of chips or for some reason I can not eat all day until 6pm hits and I start to crave a lot Of things , it's night time where I feel so hungry. So, I'm using this pill to stop my cravings. Because I'm already doing calories and portion control and I even have a trainer. So...idk what else to do

thorsmom01 wrote: »

Sounds like you have no long term plan. So your taking pills now but aren't sure how you'll sort it out when your doctor won't write them anymore. You won't understand things like portion control, moderation. Those are things needed for long term success . there's really no magic pill or quick fix, you'll learn that when your doctor says he's no longer willing to write them and you'll be forced to put in the hard work necessary . nothing can replace hard work. Sometimes taking the easy way out will lead you right back to where you started

So you don't eat until 6pm and by then you are craving ALOT of things and you are taking these pills to stop those cravings so you don't want to eat anything, ever.... Sounds to me like you need to educate yourself on how the body works, and you need to establish a healthy relationship with food. The path you are on is not a healthy one. Best of luck to you.

Zara11

"actually I don't eat a lot, my only issue is that I can live on a bag of chips or for some reason I can not eat all day until 6pm hits and I start to crave a lot Of things , it's night time where I feel so hungry. "

So you aren't addicted to food, as this pill seems to be made for. The issue is that there are no healthy eating schedules established. Learning to eat healthy foods throughout the day will help with binging at night because you're super hungry. I think that will help with your long-term goals.

Edit: My bad, didn't notice this was an old thread, how odd that it showed up? Either way, OP, hope you figured out how to make this pill fit )or not fit) in your new, healthier lifestyle.