... day. They pop up, but disappear after about an hour. I am considering going back to 3 pills a day. Suggestions?
Contrave - Has anyone experienced hives? I didn't have any issues until I increased to 4 pills a?
- Asked
- 2 Dec 2015 by Nana1979
- Updated
- 8 Jun 2017
- Topics
- hives, pill, contrave
Responses (3)
Nana here is a paste on rare unknown side effects;hives, itching, or rash))) info off drugs.com
IF they are not that bothersome you should let your doctor know and see what he or she says before dropping your dose.Normal if you're really allergic etc you would get hives even on the smallest dose. Hope this is working well for you but ask your doctor about what to do with the hives if they continue. have a good day. Chuck1957
About a week after starting Contrave I woke up with non-itchy hives on both of my upper arms. I didn't think it was related to the medication, but as I started to increase my dose I would notice I would get itchy, especially in my palms and on my feet but it wasn't too bad so I kept taking it. Once I started taking the 2 pills twice a day though, I broke out in the worst all over body itch and hives anytime i'd scratch. Finally I stopped but the itching is not going away and I've been off it almost a week now...
I'm also experiencing itchy hives/rash after I've increased my dosage to three pills per day. It started in the middle of the night, I woke up VERY itchy and started scratching so hard I felt like I was going to tear my skin and bleed. I'm disappointed because I've lost almost 10 pounds now and I don't want to stop taking it. I bought some Benadryl to take but the pharmacist said not to take it long term. Ugh. Hope this goes away...
Did you continue to take Contrave and the hives/itching went away? Happened to me just like the other reports, and after a week off the medicine I've still got ongoing itchiness. I'd like to go back on Contrave since it was working, so hoping to hear about someone powering through and if the itchiness went away after more time.

Further Information
- Contrave Information for Consumers
- Contrave Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Contrave (detailed)
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I'm having the itchy rash too. Always worse of an evening. Did yours get better? I called my Dr's office and they said to quit taking it. I don't want to though! I wanna lose weight! Anyway... did yours get better with time?
I'm having the itchy rash too. Always worse of an evening. Did yours get better? I called my Dr's office and they said to quit taking it. I don't want to though! I wanna lose weight! Anyway... did yours get better with time?
Yes. I was very disappointed when I broke out in hives, while on Contrave, because it actually was working very well for me. My IM told me that it could take a couple of weeks for me to really notice a difference in my appetite but I lost my hunger almost immediately. At the time, I figured it was placebo effect but now I wonder if I was allergic to a component and that was why I reacted so quickly. Either way, I believe it works and WISH I could have remained on Contrave. The entire program, with the scale and extra attention beyond "pill popping" was well thought out. Someone is experiencing the benefit, I hope!
I've been taking Contrave for about a month now, but did it very slowly, just increasing to 2 pills twice a day last week. It was just after I started that dose that I noticed itching on backs of legs and inside of arms. Now I have little bump in those places and the itching is worse at night. I plan to cut back to 3 pills per day to see if that helps