Contrave And Suboxone (Top voted first)

I started today with my first dose of contrave, 1 pill in the AM. I also take suboxone 8mg (4 1 time a day). My doctor stated that the interaction of the two should be minimal..yeah NO! I got diarrhea, hot flashes, chills, body aches, and pretty much every withdrawal symptom known to man. I now dont want to take the contrave because I am not ready to stop the suboxone. Should I just stop the contrave and continue the sub? Or how should I go about this?

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If contrave and suboxone are the same why have I gained about 50lbs being on suboxone since June. I haven't changed my diet either.

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I'm confused. If Suboxone and Contrave have the same ingredient in them...And they BOTH block opiates, why do they not work well together?

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Read this and possibly worry less:

Bupropion is not buprenorphine

Naloxone is not naltrexone. Though they are extremely easy to mix up.

Bupropion is a stimulant. BuprenORPHINE is an opioid like mORPHINE. Now that you see the orphine it should be easier to distinguish.

Suboxone delivers opioid effects. The naloxone is not absorbed efficiently orally or sublingually so letting it dissolve or eating the film (the delivery medium in Suboxone brand buprenorphine/naloxone preparation) results in a strong opioid effect with little to no effect from the opioid blocker present (it's there primarily to deter abuse and probably so they could repatent old goods hehe..).

Where as eating nalTREXone results in a much higher relative bioavailability creating a very strong and long acting opioid blocking effect..combine this with the stimulant of bupropion and the contrave/suboxone mixture sounds like the definition of a contraindication or two things that don't mix nicely.

Suboxone users who take contrave will precipitate typical opioid withdrawal symptoms.. avoid this! (The stimulant + withdrawals might make you feel extremely uncomfortable)..

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Naloxone in Suboxone is not absorbed due to Suboxones route of administration being sublingual (under the tongue).

Naltrexone in contrave is absorbed due to Contraves route of administration being oral (into da belly).

I hope that clears it up.. they're extremely contraindicated in the preparations known as Contrave and Suboxone.. you'll precipitate nasty withdrawals

(This stuff's so confusing.. and so important to know.. both of these medications can and have made drastic improvements to people's quality of life and they need to be understood rather than confused and taken away from everyone).

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I'm confused. If Suboxone and Contrave have the same ingredient in them...And they BOTH block opiates, why do they not work well together?

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My wife just got contrave and didn't tell her to stop the sub and now she is in wd and has been of pain pills for for a year and she is going through the wd bad how do I get them to stop

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In lay terms if you take naltrexone present in contrave it will attach to the same spots in ur brain that the buprenorphine (subutex/suboxone brand active ingredients) does. However you will create cold turkey withdrawals as though you immediately stopped taking the opioid. This will be irreversible for the entire time the naltrexone you ate (from the contrave) is active in your system.. up to 2 days of cold turkey opioid withdrawal that can't be stopped because you ate a drug with opioid cancelling effects and it lasts longer and is a "stronger" compound in that it kicks buprenorphine off the receptor.

Don't take any oral naltrexone (like in contrave) unless you can go two days straight without subutex or suboxone without any discomfort.

Very confusing due to similar names however they are very very different. Naltrexone is not naloxone because you can eat naloxone without effect; however eating naltrexone will give you an effect. Naloxone is mainly used medically via other routes like IV to stop an impending opioid overdose... when u eat naloxone it does nothing so suboxone is basically subutex with an abuse deterrent built in (u can't melt suboxone and take intravenously because the naloxone will block the effects)...

That's about as "lay" as it gets and all this has been stated previously in this conversation! Be responsible, it is your body and your quality of life and your loved ones who have to deal with you if you accidentally throw yourself into cold turkey buprenorphine withdrawals!

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Good Afternoon,

About 2 weeks ago, I was prescribed Contrave for weight loss. Ever since I began the medication, I haven't felt right. I feel like my emotions are all over the place and my anxiety is through the roof. However, I know the medication is working because I have already lost 7 lbs and my appetite had decreased greatly. I am having some issues though... First, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 40 yr old caucasian female who has been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Narcolepsy, Restless Leg Syndrome, ADD, and have a history of opioid abuse, but I have been sober since August of 2013. Here is a list of the medications that I am on:

1-Mirapex 1mg x Day = RLS, 2-Provigual 200mg x 2Day = Narcolepsy, 3-Dexedrine 20mg x 2Day = ADD, 4-Klonopin 1mg x 3Day = Anxiety, 5-Humira 40mg Inj's. x 2 every other week = Crohn's, 6-Suboxone sublingual film 8mg/2mg x 1day = Opioid Addiction, 7-Risperidone .5mg x 2day = Anxiety, and 8-Lexapro 10mg x 1day = Anxiety (which I stopped taking over a week ago because I read that it was a major contraindication with Contrave); which would be medication #10 8mg/90mg x 1day = weight loss.

I told my PCM Dr (who prescribed me the Contrave last week that I had stopped taking the Lexapro and she said that was fine as long as it had been 3 days w/o any major problems. I am to see her in 2 weeks for a F/U appt. My question is, I know something is wrong with me and it has to be the Contrave mixing with one or more of my other medications. Plus, I have been on antidepressants for almost 15yrs and the Lexapro was helping. My problem is, I want to continue to take the Contrave because I am losing weight (I am 30lbs overweight, but losing it finally, and I do workout). But, I feel extremely manic and have increased anxiety ever since starting the Contrave. What do I do?

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I've been talking about 1/8 Of an 8mg tablet of suboxone daily. I was given Contrave & I didn't read the risk of mixing the two. I've been sick with WD effects all day. I wanna stop the sub & take the contrave. Anyone know how long I'll feel this way? It says to be off the subs for 10 days before starting the contrave.

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I figure your getting double the blockers of the opiate which subs have so that's why the WD's bc of not only just one blocker but two? I'm very confused myself.

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Ray, I am so sorry to hear that this very easy mistake has caused your wife discomfort in the slightest..let alone precipitated Suboxone withdrawals!

This condition can feel like you're dieing.. straight out.

If she has benzodiazapene prescriptions from a doctor filled by a pharmacist in her name she could try taking one.. if the nausea prevents her from eating it call a doctor and ask about having her put one under her tongue and maybe go shower if she can stand it.. wait about 20-45min to attempt to allow it to sublingually absorb (straight to the blood stream from the vessels under your tongue)

Other non-prescription things that have helped others in the past:
Ginger for the nausea and magnesium for the anxiety/discomfort .. some people said treating it like a flu and using a "carpet bomb" preparation like day/nightquil...

Just do what you can to comfort her and let her know it will subside within 24 hours .. Naltrexone has a 4 hour halflife and its metabolite a 13 hour half life..

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Contrave and Suboxone are the same. While seeing the new commercials in my area I noticed that the ingredients were similar. I take 1 mg per day of Suboxone. There are withdrawal symptoms associated with that small amount and I have found it hard to stop. That's why I wanted to know more. Is this how the big pharmaceutical's make more money?
I don't understand either. Will people become dependent on Contrave also?

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The two drug sound the same but they're not, look carefully at the two names they look similar but they're not the same drugs at all. The reason I know this is because the reason I got to this thread is because I thought it looked the same too, as soon as I Googled it I realize they were two different drugs with two different drugs in each pill.

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The reason you most likely have gained weight with the suboxone actually has nothing to do with the suboxone ironically. Generally when you get sober, especially from opiates, you start eating better and more! Meaning that when you were on said opiate you probably didn't eat much or had a notso good diet. So when taking the suboxone you are now healthy again, therefore you're eating right and that's generally what causes the weight gain. It has nothing to do with the drug itself. Also as to why the sub doesn't keep the weight off like contrave, 1. This is probably weight your body needs, 2. Contrave is similar but not the exact same drug. They have different ingredients, therefore you won't experience the same results.

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The way I understand it is that the naloxone in suboxone isn't absorbed unless you try to inject it. The naloxnoe in contrave must be absorbed and sends an opitae user into precipitated wd. Also the opitae in suboxone
(buprenorphine) isn't the same as bupropion (the drug in contrave). The bupropion isn't an opiate but is actually the same drug used in Wellbutrin, antidepressants, and other drugs to help you quit smoking. Anyways, that's my understanding.

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You dang rite . The BIG PHARMACEUTICAL companies have been doin it for years. They told me oxicontin wasn't addictive 15 yrs ago and since goin thru he'll gettin off of them now I'm hooked on methadone and can't find a Dr to prescribe it for chronic pain.

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Same here. I had to go to a methadone clinic after a couple years of pain management. Was on methadone for like 4 years and now on suboxone. Surely there is an end somewhere!

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They don't have the same ingredient, although similar, naltrexone and naloxone are a bit different:

Naloxone is for acute opioid overdose. You give that to keep the person from dying in the ambulance or ED.

Naltrexone is a long term treatment to help achieve abstinence from opioids and/or alcohol, used as an outpatient treatment for highly motivated patients. Naltrexone decreases opioid cravings but you can still feel euphoria. For alcohol it decreases the craving and the effect, so you can drink without getting drunk. DON'T GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS CURRENTLY under the influence because it precipitates withdrawal, which is very crappy for the patient. Naloxone keeps them from dying without making the next few hours totally miserable.

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Re: Kbear (# 19)

Omg you are on far too many meds and.many of them that contraindicate one another! Are these all prescribed from the same doc? If so there is something truly wrong and if not then u do all docs knw what eachother have prescribed?!?! No wonder ur feeling so uneasy and anxious. You need to stop taking half of those meds! Thats ridiculous!

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Re: Kbear (# 19)


You may have already solved your issue but i ask do you receive all thelse meds from 1 physician or different ones. You are on some pretty significant meds. If it's 2 or more physicians I'd try and find a doctot who can manage you meds. If possible a specialist like some one at a university/teaching hospital or someone in your area especially before adding another new med that has the possibility of interaction or unsure of how it interacts with such a numerous variety of meds like you are taking. Do you know the old saying, Sometimes less is more! I'd seek a professional you feel comfortable with before seeking what to take or about how or what's the issues are about meds from strangers on a discussion board. Just because one may say they're professionals or knows what they're talking about on this discussion site may not always apply to everyone across the board. Me personally, not in any way telling what to do but I would be cautious and seek helpwith some I have researched and met about taking meds before some major interaction occurs.Just because a doctor gives you something doesn't mean it's a magic pill and will work.

I too am on suboxone to help me not make the foolish choices I once did that about cost me my life. I suffer also from several things you mentioned too but It may be simply pulling you off of everything under medical supervision and reintroducing things to you one by one. But please sensible. I'm sure you have family that would have a huge void if you weren't there and a part of there live. I'm not try to be harsh or ugly but don't trust those you don't know and even me for that fact. Just be smart. I read these sites to see what people are going through and if there are some things I haven't Houghton about but mainly I take these discussion boards with a grain of salt never doing what is suggested without talking with a medical professional I trust. Take card! Please do not be offended take it for what it's worth. If it's nothing then you've lost nothing.

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