Anyone else on Contrave?

sjensenfitzgerald62
sjensenfitzgerald62 Posts: 5 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there....this is my first time in a discussion actually. I'm wondering if anyone else is on Contrave..I have now been on it 7 weeks, and I've lost 23 pounds. I would like to know if this is a normal weight loss, on the drug. I frankly feel good about my weight loss, although it is a drug-assisted weight loss. Let me know, will you please?

Replies

  • graceacruz
    graceacruz Posts: 17 Member
    Hi there,

    I don’t know where your weight was when you started, but like losing 23 pounds is great! I just started on Contrave 6 days ago so I’m only at the 1 pill a day stage. Still, I have lost 2.5 lbs and feeling more in control of my eating. I hope I’ll be as successful as you.

    Feel free to keep in touch to bounce ideas back and forth. Wonder if there’s others out there like us.

    Grace
  • I guess there aren't very many people out there on Contrave...judging from this line of answers!! Anyway, I started out at 248 pounds...an all time high for me. I thought about going on contrave earlier, but couldn't talk my doctor into prescribing it for me. Now that I have, and I have lost the 5% (12 lbs for me), I'm sure my doctor will be happy about it.

    How does it make you feel? Quite frankly, my first week on Contrave, I almost forgot about eating all together. Since then, and since I've been taking the 2 pills in the afternoon too, sometimes I want to over eat, but most of the time, it still works. Anyway, that's how it works for me...let me know how it works for you.
  • betsysjl
    betsysjl Posts: 175 Member
    I have been on Contrave for over a year now. I lost about 20 lbs right away, but since then have been stuck. I'm afraid to go off of it, because it definitely helps me control my eating and mind-set. My doctor is okay with me being on it still, since I had such good success when I first started.
  • eslucky
    eslucky Posts: 2 Member
    Glad to see there are some Contrave users here and I would love to keep up with you all and your progress. I'm waiting for my prescription mail delivery and hope to start tomorrow or the next day. I'm pretty excited to get started. After quitting smoking 2 or 3 years ago I've gained 50 pounds and can't seem to lose it -- I just keep gaining. How are y'all doing now?
  • rjb6651
    rjb6651 Posts: 1 Member
    You sound exactly like me I quit smoking gained 50 lbs.Started Contrave today so far no problems .And I am not starving which is way different for me .
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    I've heard of good things about it, but I have one friend that said it made her sick. I have another friend that said it made her sick too, but then she started using Magnesium with it and no longer gets sick - she is also down 8 lbs and says that it takes her cravings away.
  • eslucky
    eslucky Posts: 2 Member
    rjb6651 wrote: »
    You sound exactly like me I quit smoking gained 50 lbs.Started Contrave today so far no problems .And I am not starving which is way different for me .
    That's so good to hear that you aren't starving! Good luck and keep us posted how it goes.


  • Cheetah61
    Cheetah61 Posts: 6 Member
    I started Contrave on Feb 20, I am in week 4 now. I've lost 7 pounds so far, but I only started tracking on MyFitnessPal since March 5 and that's when I started losing. It's slow but steady for me and I haven't incorporated exercise yet. It definitely does take away your appetite, and I don't feel like drinking alcohol either, so that's a help as well. I'd like to lose 50-60 pounds and I'm 56 years old.
  • jlhill7
    jlhill7 Posts: 226 Member
    I start mine Tomorrow. My Dr also has me on a 1000 calorie a day diet, plus 30 min of walking, weight lifting 3-4 days a week. Wish me luck lol
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
    Started Contrave 2/5/2018 and as of my morning weigh-in today, I am down 16.7lbs. I have been cataloguing notes for my Endocrinologist as she works with some of the most aggressive forms of PCOS in other patients like me.

    Found myself only having the initial symptoms in starting the medication of foggy-head and only increased thirst. The foggy head went away after 24 hours. Where Im already really good about my water intake, this wasnt really much of a difference for the thirst issue.

    Last week was week 6, I was just getting into the 2/AM, 2/PM and found I had MAJOR constipation and the thirst issue was unbearable. The first two days of week 6 left me in the bathroom longer than anyone wants to be in there. So, I was immediately consulted to remove the fourth pill. Within 24 hours of that, I resumed normal GI activity and the hard-excessive thirst has gone away.

    I have found in my cataloguing data that this drug in an aggressive case of PCOS is VERY detailed as far as the types of foods NOT to consume. Since day-one of taking Contrave, I have not have any alcohol as I do not want to be a risk for seizures. After a few years of trialing things with this PCOS case I have, it was determined that I had a misfiring pituitary gland more than we thought. Contrave is making a HUGE difference.
  • danielleeliz_xo
    danielleeliz_xo Posts: 44 Member
    I will be starting this weekend. I really hope it works! A little worried about the side effects so I figure I would start on a Saturday
  • KDar1988
    KDar1988 Posts: 648 Member
    I was put on it, took it 2 days and was very sick. I couldn't even function. Dizzy, nausea, tired shaky hands etc. Told my doc and she said I was having a reaction and that likely I would have a reaction to the other diet pills out there. Good luck to those having no side effects!
  • Hi there. I had no reaction at all to the drug...thank God. I am down 27 pounds right now, and I'm feeling really good about it. No side effects at all.
  • debann0502
    debann0502 Posts: 1 Member
    Just picked up my prescription of Contrave from my pharmacy. I've done a ton of research and think this could be the perfect weightloss Rx for me. Years ago I used the Fen-Phen (taken of the market) and had amazing success. Was the only time in my entire life I felt so good and was slim! I will take my first dose tomorrow morning! Goal is to lost 85lbs at 2.5lbs per week. Spring is now here, so I will begin my walking routine. Looking forward to everyone's support!
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    edited April 2018
    Does this pill still require you to eat in a calorie deficit?
  • gbt77
    gbt77 Posts: 6 Member
    Kst76 wrote: »
    Does this pill still require you to eat in a calorie deficit?
    Yes, you must still eat in calorie deficit. I have been on Contrave for 12 weeks and have lost 30 pounds. But, I’ve been following a 1200 calorie diet. I do not find that this pill reduces hunger, but it seems to help me be able to control binges and cravings better. I usually can choose fruit or a healthier snack when hunger hits, whereas before Contrave, when restricting calories, I craved salty snacks, and even though I substituted a healthy food, the craving was often so strong that I eventually gave in and ate the chips too.

  • taterweaver
    taterweaver Posts: 1 Member
    lost 25 immediately /2 months,,, then plateau. just got off 2 weeks ago to see if i would weight rebound. no but i felt down and sluggish. Am thinking of going back on in a few weeks to help with my 50lb next goal. The prescriber said i could stay on long term. Iget mine via online and talk to doctor every 6 months
  • shellma00
    shellma00 Posts: 1,684 Member
    I just started taking Contrave 4 days ago. Still on the 1/day dose. I am foggy headed, slightly nauseas, and very faint headache. These are all normal side effects that I was told I would have by my Dr and Pharmacist. I am really hoping they subside soon. Also, I have really noticed a decrease in appetite, also feeling fuller fast. This is great for me. Before this I would eat until I felt miserable. Now I can control that. I have also noticed the increase thurst and have been drinking a ton more water, which is great for me because I normally do not like drinking just plain water.

    To the girl who mentioned Magnesium for the nausea. THANK YOU! I may try that if it does not subside after the first week.

    Maybe we can continue to support each other in this thread as we all seem to have the same goals and are taking the same steps to lose weight!
  • lucyndskyz
    lucyndskyz Posts: 1 Member
    I started taking this 5 days ago and I'm really pleased with the way it's working and making me feel. It's doing exactly what I was hoping for; taking away cravings. I have a very stressful job and had a bad routine of coming home from work and opening a bottle of wine or cracking open a beer. I still do that, because it's a habit, but I have a few sips of wine, and I just have no desire to finish the glass. Before Contrave, I would usually finish the bottle. Wine alone was playing a huge role in my weight gain because it also made me want to eat more, not to mention the calories in a bottle of wine or a can of beer. I could go all day long at work and not think about food or eat much, mostly because I don't have time; but when I get home, then just eat and drink a million calories.

    But with Contrave, I'm now not thinking about food at night either. I don't worry about what I'm going to have for dinner. I just pick up a salad or some soup because I know I need to eat something so I choose something that's good for me. I'm not thinking about what kind of cheese I will have with my bottle of wine. As for exercise, that wasn't my problem, I get a lot exercise at work; usually 20,000 plus steps a day. I do need to do cardio though, because I'm not usually sweating or raising my heart rate while I'm doing those steps. I just need to figure out how I'm going to work that in because my work days are never less than 10 hours and usually 12 to 14. That's why I'm so stressed out.

    So in 5 days I've lost 5 pounds. I'm sure part of that is water weight and that's fine; at least I'm not gaining everyday. I recently had a pretty major life change that was causing me to be pretty sad and that was making me turn to food and wine and I was gaining weight daily. That's what prompted me to make the decision to try Contrave. I really needed something to stop the cycle or the path that I was on because for me, this is very much a mental issue. I did a lot research on this medication before starting it and I made my decision to use it because it helps with addictive behaviors, which I clearly have.

    So far, thankfully, I haven't had any of the common side effects like nausea or constipation, but I did plan ahead for those. I agree that magnesium does help. I have it in supplement form but I also take baths in epsom salts and that's a great way to get magnesium directly into your body through your skin. Banana's and almonds also have magnesium in them and I always feel better after I eat a banana if my stomach is queasy. I'm also taking probiotics and they help with constipation and are in my opinion something you should do for your gut health anyway.

    One last thing that I found in my research about this drug, is that for people who have hypothyroid, this medication helps convert T4 to T3 (I think that's the direction, might be T3 to T4) which is what synthetic thyroid medications are supposed to do, but often don't do well enough. I have had issues with my thyroid for many years and I've struggled with many different medications to try and get it balanced out. Nothing works really great, but supposedly this medication does a great job of helping with that issue. I will be excited to see if there is a difference on my next blood test that will indicate if this is true or not.

    Good luck to everyone and I hope that people keep this thread going and keep updating your progress and sharing issues. It's very interesting to see how different people have such different experiences with this. It's also really helpful and encouraging to me to hear everyone's story and how you are doing. I truly hope that you all have great success and maybe we can help each other.

  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    My sister took it for about 2 months. She lost about 30 lbs. Then she had to stop taking it and gained 40 lbs back.
  • roberto99577
    roberto99577 Posts: 3 Member
    Ive been on contrave for about 3 weeks and have lost about 13 lbs

    I had the headaches the 1st couple of weeks as well, keep going they seem to get better
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
    I also am on it and just started week 4. I had the initial brain fog, occasional headache and a little nausea but all my side effects literally disappeared the end of week 3. I'm taking 2:2 now. I've lost 10 pounds since being on it - but not sure the pill has anything to really do with it as I'm eating a lot less and exercising too.
  • tashy41
    tashy41 Posts: 4 Member
    Glad to hear some people doing well on this. I was reading horror stories online before I started taking it on Saturday - I was a little terrified of the side effects.

    I'm on day 5 and down about 2kg (I was gaining beforehand, so some of this is water/waste). I haven't really had any side effects (mild headache, but I had one for the entire week before), but my binge eating basically disappeared the day I started taking it. I think my appetite is down a bit too, I'm taking ages to eat meals now because I'll leave it midway through and forget I was eating. But it might just be the heat!

    I'm hoping this changes my binging habits, so when I'm off this, I'll have broken that automatic habit of eating a bag of biscuits and a chocolate block because I'm a little hungry and my feet hurt (injured - hence the epic weight gain).

    Is anyone else really fidgety now? I'm not sure if it's me having more energy from eating really good food, or some weird side effect.
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