On day 11 of Contrave, 2 pills a day. At first I was taking the Contrave with Flexeril, and it made me feel really bad. Once I stopped the Flexeril I have been better. Some side effects I notice this week are occasional fogginess/dizziness and headache, dry mouth, rapid heartbeat (in stressful situations), cold feet and hands (and clammy), abnormal hot flashes/sweating, and occasionally feeling jittery/anxious/impatient/angry. Sometimes I feel really tired, other times (especially after drinking coffee) I feel wired. My hunger has also been intermittent. Days 6-7 I had no appetite at all, but the past couple of days (9-11) I have been starving! I am tracking everything I eat with the Lose It! app and scale. Eating around 1500 calories a day, limiting fat and sugar. I have already lost 14 pounds, and my joint and back pain is actually feeling better already! I currently take my first pill around 7:30-8:00 am, and my second one at 4:00 pm. I was worried if I took it any later I may have trouble sleeping, but that hasn't been the case. So far I am happy with the results, but hope that the hunger subsides soon! I hate being hungry! Looking forward to the journey with you all!
Contrave - Hi there! Looking for others like me on the journey!?
Question posted by efrank75 on 26 Jan 2018
Last updated on 30 January 2024 by Steelflower
6 Answers
I have 2 full bottles of Contrave here because I had to stop taking it. It almost completely curbed my sugar cravings the only side effects I had was severe hair thinning. I had really thick hair before taking Contrave. My hair started thinning out after about a month. It got so thin I could see my scalp. I was mortified! I stopped using after about 6 months. My hair continued to thin out for a year after I stopped taking Contrave. It didn't stop thinning until I cut it ALL off. I wanted to cry but instead bought a bunch of wigs! It has been a year since I chopped my hair off and the thickness is back and the Contrave is still sitting in the cabinet. Untouched.
Hi @efrank75 or anyone else able to answer- I am hoping you can offer some advice as I read you also experienced hot flashes-
I started taking contrave about 1/10/2024… so about 20 days in now.
Due to side effects, only taking 1 pill a day. My side effects were a really bad uti the first couple of days, extreme hot flashes and night sweats. Of course, uti I was able to get rid of. For the hot flashes and night sweats, still having them. Hot flashes occur every 15-20 minutes and break me out in sweat on back, neck, and face. Do these subside in time? I will continue taking if there is some expected relief in site. However I think it’s torture if it’s not going to ever go away while on duration of medication. Any help??
Hi! I'm a Contrave newbie! Today is day 4 for me. Ive lost 4 lbs. I'm taking it for weight loss, pain mgmt, depression mgmt and hopefully to eliminate hot flashes (my DR tried it and she stopped having hot flashes). My best friend has been on it 2 months and has lost 18 lbs. I am concerned about whether the weight will come back after i go off it and if there are truly bad side effects from going off of it. What I am learning is this is the same affect that every other antidepressant drug has if you go off... everybody has different results ON a drug and going OFF a drug. We don't all respond the same. Not every antidepressant works for everybody. I've had jitters (going to switch to decaf coffee), constipation, altered taste, minor irritability. That's it so far. Good luck to you on it.
Today is day one for me and I'm so excited after reading everyone's comments! I'm switching from phentermine, which I had been successful with but did not like the side effects, so I'm hoping it will not be as bad with the contrave!
Today is day one for me. I am hopeful about this medication. I have read both good and bad reviews of this medication in regards to side effects, but not enough to discourage me away in regards to side effects. I wish the best in your journey. I am 5'8" 200#, 55yo fe.
I have been on for a week. I did notice slight constipation but I have a terrible headache. My cravings went down immediately though so very thankful. I do know that caffeine is a stimulant, and it also stimulate the appetite. I dropped that habit about a month ago. I look forward to this journey towards health.
Hi! Just found this forum last night when I was desperately searching for answers after I experienced horrible nausea & headache & threw up my whole
dinner—- first negative side effects since starting Contrave 6 days ago. You’re an bit farther ahead but I’d love to be able to share info & encouragement on the journey w Contrave. CONGRATS on your weight loss & your discipline in implementing a healthy eating plan, you must feel great! I’m encouraged, I’ve lost 3.5 lbs in the first 6 days because of no food cravings or additional eating besides 3 meals/day. I will start slowly increasing my activity level but must also deal w these side effects—-I feel absolutely awful. Zofran (antinausea med) I had left over from a previous surgery helps w nausea. I don’t want to have to take that for 16 weeks, though.
I want to press thru the yuck & succeed w Contrave, it is really amazing to have appetite suppressed so completely, but I’m also very nervous about increasing dose tomorrow to 2 pills & then again in weeks 3 & 4, worries that negative side effects will also increase. Hoping that’s not the case (I don’t know that I could bear more) & that they will subside. You mentioned feeling jittery, heart racing from stress, sweating palms & hot flashes—-I have felt some overheating at night but not the other symptoms. Regarding feeling hungry, I haven’t felt hunger yet (probably bc of nausea), but I suggest & also plan to eat something small, a handful of nuts or apple slices or a protein bar or shake mid-morning and mid afternoon, this may help metabolism, hopefully my nausea & your hunger?? Hope all is well & that you’re continuing to persevere. What a great start you’ve made, you’re well on your way!
I have hear others say that caffeine makes the nausea worse. And that they avoided coffee for at least 30-45 minutes after taking morning pill.
I'm only on day 4 with about a pound lost. One day one I had a slight wave of nausea... and interestingly that was after drinking coffee! I'll keep that in mind.
I'm only on day 4 with about a pound lost. On day one I had a slight wave of nausea... and interestingly that was after drinking coffee! I'll keep that in mind.
Otherwise no real side effects - - but I'm still on the low dose of 1 pill in the morning. I have noticed a change in my ability to resist bad food, but I've still had hunger. Honestly, I am a binge eater (finally coming to terms with admitting that) and I did very well on an experimental medication for that purpose. My experience with that medication, was that I did get hungry... but over time, I was able to have a normal relationship with food. That is - - to eat when hungry, stop when not, and make good food choices. I am really hoping that Contrave will work that same.
As I tend to be sensitive to certain meds, I'm really going to go slow with titration. I'm thinking that if I get the results I need with just 2 pills a day, I'll stick with that. There's no need to go up and increase side effects if the medication works (for me) at a lower dose.
Hope to keep in touch with all of you! Here's to our collective success!
Related topics
flexeril, weight loss (obesity/overweight), side effect, pill, contrave
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