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

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  • crochetpaws
    crochetpaws Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm in the middle of my second week. Hoping for a change soon too.
  • KRocka1981
    KRocka1981 Posts: 59 Member
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    I just completed my first week on Contrave and lost 8 lbs. I feel like this has been a great decision for me. I have significantly reduced my daily calories (per my doctor), I started walking 3 times a week, and I drinks tons of water. I know those items alone will aid in weight loss. For me, this pill has helped with the mental side of my eating. I do not think about food at all until it is time for a meal. I do not crave anything and I am not tempted to overeat. I am sure, just like everything else, this pill is not for everyone. For me, this has really helped. I am also aware that I cannot stay on a pill for the rest of my life. I do intend to continue with Contrave as long as I need to. I am working on ways to cope with stress eating, emotional eating, etc. I have learned a lot about myself and my eating habits this week. Also, for those who are thinking about taking it and looking into the side effects: I was really worried about this. I have three kids, a full time job, and I am an active volunteer. I do not have the time to feel sick and tired. I have a toddler and insomnia just will not fly in my life. So, I figured I would try this pill out and see how I do. So far, I have no uncomfortable side effects. I actually sleep better now. I am assuming this is from my change in diet. I wake up feeling well rested every night. I do sweat more. Evening walks in the Florida humidity is pretty rough, but worth it! I just wanted to share my thoughts. When I was debating whether or not to start Contrave I looked through every review I could find. I hope this helps!
  • mizunderstoodfl
    mizunderstoodfl Posts: 1 Member
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    Happy to have found this discussion. I gained 20+ lbs following the death of my son. I started walking 3-5 miles daily as a form of therapy but couldn't loose any weight. My Dr. had me use myfitnesspal to record everything I ate for 3 weeks, and because it syncs with FitBit she could see I was walking. I was following the Amer Heart Assoc. diet which may have kept my heart healthy but did nothing for weight loss. Dr. put me on Contrave, I'm on week 3 and I've lost 5.6 lbs. I've been eating low carb foods that may have helped with the weight loss. I am post menopausal 16 yrs due to cancer so I can't blame the sudden hot flashes on that-and after reading through the posts I see many of you have them as well. I had bouts with nausea but learned for me it's better to take pills about half an our after eating. No problems sleeping.
  • loser_wanna_be
    loser_wanna_be Posts: 2 Member
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    I am glad I found this discussion about Contrave...I am just starting, only day 2 but must say the decrease in craving(concern, thinking) was immediate for me...but I am definitely addicted to food! I have never been able to have just a normal portion of something bad or eat it just once in a while...it has always been all or none! I was told by my doctor that it will not work without proper diet and exercise. I have always exercise pretty regularly with no great effect due to my poor diet! I am older(57) so no concern with most the female issues, I have many sleep issues already so I doubt this will make worse...maybe it will make better? I am sure I as the time goes on I will have more issues or questions so please keep posting about all the different effects! Good luck!
  • JoyfulTwilight
    JoyfulTwilight Posts: 6 Member
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    I am reading through here and see a lot of similar reasons to mine for trying this. Just right above (loser_wanna_be) said exactly what is an ongoing issue for me: all or nothing mind-set. If I can't be perfect, I just tend to give up. Even though I KNOW I do this, I still do this.

    I was very excited (and a little nervous) to start. Yesterday I took first pill in morning. Mid afternoon I had stomach ache. That was main thing. Perhaps I was slightly dizzy later in day? Dunno.

    Last night had really awful night. I had very bad episode of reflux (I have bile reflux ... slightly different than acid reflux). I am on the lowest possible dose of Prilosec (lower than OTC - doctors writes prescription) because my reflux is mostly mild and I have iron issues related to higher doses of Prilosec. 95% of the time, the dose I am on works fine. Every once in a while, I have a horrible reflux attack - and it just happened to be last night. I don't *think* it is related to Contrave. Anyway, I didn't sleep well because of the reflux thing and I woke up feeling like I have the flu or a hangover -- muscles ache, stomach upset, fatigued. I am unsure about taking second dose today.

    Also, I have a big, important work day on Wednesday which also involves travel and will be with another person. Worried I will have upset stomach or some other reaction. I am thinking of waiting until Thursday and starting that date. I am so eager to start NOW, but I think the smarter thing to do is wait -- give myself time to recover from whatever causing today's woes and not interfere with work on Wed.

    I would like to sign up for Scale Down program but don't see where on the website to enter RX number. I see it says to do this but I don't see how/where. I can login but don't see the place to enter the number. Also, I don't even know what the program is.

    And yeah, of course losing weight is all about eating less, moving more...healthy choices, etc. This ain't my first rodeo. I've lost significant amounts of weight twice before - different ways each time. I've really tried making better choices, moving more, etc. I've looked to past success to try to re-create. My body and life are different now. However, my doctor discussed idea that brain chemistry is a real factor in this realm. People can tell you all they want that you just have to do x, y or z....but they aren't living in your body, they don't have your circumstances. I'm not going to tell a diabetic person to just make more insulin, so I am thankful that an option to address weight loss via neurotransmitters and chemicals is an option.
  • doublingdown
    doublingdown Posts: 1 Member
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    week two of contract. i'm typically hot, but the sweating is taking on new meaning. feel like i'm running a fever. that is the only side effect. cravings may have subsided slightly.
  • loser_wanna_be
    loser_wanna_be Posts: 2 Member
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    It now has been 6 days since starting contrave and I have lost 6 lbs. I have been logging my food and exercise everyday. The food has not been perfect, I think the exercise has helped. I did have 2 beers last night without much dinner and ended up with really really bad heart burn! Of course I do get heart burn a lot (more and more things cause it the older I get) so it is difficult to say if that is what caused it or not?? My Dr. did say not to drink much with it but I had wine on Sunday without bad heart burn. But I now know I will not have alcohol without food again! I know I sound like I have drinking problem but I do not...I have just had tons of company and meals out! It will cool of after summer when I go back to school...I am a teacher.

    I have tried to make healthier choices alone with watching my calorie intact. Obviously I had not been completely successful I would like to eventually eat 80% well and 20% OK...read a book, "on Target Living", lots of great information. I do not think I would I could ever conform to all the suggestions in the book but the main one is to eat less processed food and with that comes less carbs...huge enemy of mine! If you saw my last post I stated that I could not just do a little...I did it ALL!

    Good Luck to all trying to lose with or without contrave!
  • athinnerme68
    athinnerme68 Posts: 1 Member
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    I wanted to like Contrave, or maybe better said - I wanted Contrave to like me. I started 5 weeks ago. I have lost 7lbs and was very impressed with the fact that constant hunger had disappeared!! Side effects that I have experienced are abdominal cramping, diarrhea, dry mouth, constipation, insomnia and this morning - the deal breaker: panic attack! I've never had one. Actually had to have my husband leave work to come home. I kept reading that the side effects would subside as time went by but mine seemed to compound. Guess it just wasn't meant to be. So happy for those experiencing success! Wish that I could have been a member of that club. Sadly, that's not the case.
  • vlovell24
    vlovell24 Posts: 61 Member
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    If your pill has a score line in it, then you can cut it in half. If not, then no. Here is why. Unscored pills have their ingredients mixed together, and then they are pressed into pill form. The medication can be in any part of the pill, but not uniformly.A scored pill has all of its ingredients equally mixed in all parts of the pill.
  • Ann022681
    Ann022681 Posts: 1 Member
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    Has anyone had major sweating going on with this pill? I'm on week 4. Lost 20lbs. But I'm starting to have hot flashes and feeling so hot.
  • crochetpaws
    crochetpaws Posts: 30 Member
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    I am on my "4th" week of contrave. This week started taking 2 pills in the am and 1 pill in the evening. (My third week I continued on the 1am 1pm because I didn't want to chance any side effects on vacation) so far I have lost 18 lbs with minimal side effects.
    I do feel like I have more energy and it deffinitley helps me not want food when I'm not hungry.
    After reading some of your comments I also have noticed some sweet things are now overpowering. The last couple days I have noticed I've been sweating more. I didn't associate this with the pill but since others are experiencing this maybe that's why I am too.
    Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • margybuono
    margybuono Posts: 4 Member
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    Update, I'm down 20 lbs since I started taking Contrave, mid June or so. My ticker shows 10 lbs but that's because I grossly underestimated my starting weight way back when I first started on myfitnesspal. I haven't had any ill side effects, I work out 5 days a week and started C25K last week because I finally feel like my knees won't pop when I jog. I know the key is eating in moderation and not eating a lot of processed food, I have found that Contrave helps with carb cravings. I didn't expect Contrave to work like it has. I didn't realize that I was eating out of habit not because I was hungry. My eating habits have dramatically changed and I feel for the first time I can do this. I also love the scaledown program that came with my prescription. In the past (as evidenced by underestimation of my starting weight) I refused to weigh myself. I told myself that I would just know as clothes fit looser. I now know that for me losing 20 lbs doesn't mean going down a dress size, that I was fooling myself with that criteria. I am still a size 12 but I look a lot better in those size 12s and I feel more confident. But weighing myself on the scaledown program has been incredibly beneficial in this journey. It's become a game and helped me make better choices at restaurants and at home because I see every day what I need to adjust. I know now that sodium actually affects my body so I limit it. I know now a lot of things that I didn't know about my body and how it responds to food. I feel better and think once I get to my end goal weight that I can maintain it by staying on the scaledown program even after I gradually go off Contrave.
  • williskh0
    williskh0 Posts: 3 Member
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    I just started the pill last week. After week 1 I'm down 6.7 lbs. I only exercised 1 day this past week and actually ate out quite a bit but watched my portions and stayed within my calories. No side effects to report. I didn't sign up for the scale I've just been using my own. I thought weighing in daily would be too much. How do you guys feel about weighing daily?
  • crochetpaws
    crochetpaws Posts: 30 Member
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    You should sign up for the scale. It's free :) and it's a pretty nice scale.
    I didn't like the weighing daily at first. But I don't mind it now. It's now just part of my daily morning routine.
    Glad u aren't experiencing side effects! And congrats on staying within the calories!!
    Feel free to send me a friend request of u want. I have been using contrave for 5 weeks now.
  • mccordbeth
    mccordbeth Posts: 1 Member
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    I used Contrave for 4 weeks and lost 10lbs. I didn't really think it was helping much until I had been off it for 4 days. I realized today how much more I was eating and that I need to stop! It did give me a wicked headache each time the dosage increased. My husband said it made me mean - he just didn't realize he was ticking me off about other things - haha. I go back to the doctor on Monday. I'm hoping he refill it for me.
  • blawson425
    blawson425 Posts: 3 Member
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    I just started taking Contrave today and so far feel a little off but nothing major.
  • Ratfancy
    Ratfancy Posts: 3 Member
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    mccordbeth wrote: »
    I used Contrave for 4 weeks and lost 10lbs. I didn't really think it was helping much until I had been off it for 4 days. I realized today how much more I was eating and that I need to stop! It did give me a wicked headache each time the dosage increased. My husband said it made me mean - he just didn't realize he was ticking me off about other things - haha. I go back to the doctor on Monday. I'm hoping he refill it for me.

    I'm in about 6 weeks - I feel "mean", too! But husband is hanging in there because I explain. And today I woke up with a headache, which is very abnormal for me. I've lost 7 lbs. in 5 weeks, and I'll keep going. I think I obsess less, but this is not a magic bullet. Still have to count my calories and get in some exercise.

  • stephamurray96
    stephamurray96 Posts: 2 Member
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    I am on contrave too. I started two weeks ago but increased the dose to max (4pills) in about one week bc i had no side effects. I have lost 7 pounds thus far but I still don't know if it's bc of the pill or bc i am watching every single thing I eat. it gets so frustrating bc i am hungry all the time it seems, but I usually won't eat.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Reading these two stories is disconcerting.
    Ratfancy wrote: »
    mccordbeth wrote: »
    I used Contrave for 4 weeks and lost 10lbs. I didn't really think it was helping much until I had been off it for 4 days. I realized today how much more I was eating and that I need to stop! It did give me a wicked headache each time the dosage increased. My husband said it made me mean - he just didn't realize he was ticking me off about other things - haha. I go back to the doctor on Monday. I'm hoping he refill it for me.

    I'm in about 6 weeks - I feel "mean", too! But husband is hanging in there because I explain. And today I woke up with a headache, which is very abnormal for me. I've lost 7 lbs. in 5 weeks, and I'll keep going. I think I obsess less, but this is not a magic bullet. Still have to count my calories and get in some exercise.

    Just curious as to why you are taking a pill that makes you feel this way? Trust me, that 7 pounds you lost is because you ate less calories than your burned, therefore you have created a calorie deficit. I bet you can do this just by cutting back on the calories yourself without a pill that makes you feel so horrible. Pills are 100% not necessary to weight loss and just take your money.
    stephamurray96 wrote: »
    I am on contrave too. I started two weeks ago but increased the dose to max (4pills) in about one week bc i had no side effects. I have lost 7 pounds thus far but I still don't know if it's bc of the pill or bc i am watching every single thing I eat. it gets so frustrating bc i am hungry all the time it seems, but I usually won't eat.

    I can answer this for you. :) You lost weight because you ate less calories than you burned.

    You guys, I have 100% faith in you that you can lose your weight without taking those pills. Can I talk you both into chucking the pills, setting your goals up in MFP, logging all your food so you become aware of your intake and learn what portions look like, and eating in a way that fuels your body while you lose your weight?

    You can both do this. I know you can.
  • Shawna1908
    Shawna1908 Posts: 2 Member
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    Ann022681 wrote: »
    Has anyone had major sweating going on with this pill? I'm on week 4. Lost 20lbs. But I'm starting to have hot flashes and feeling so hot.


    I am having some serious hot flashes too and said that maybe I was going through the change, initially. Several people have complained of the same issue and issues with their blood pressure spiking. I am down from 255 lbs to 213 lbs over the course of a year and sweating is the biggest complaint except when I drink a lot of water.

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