Contrave Vs. Qysmia

I have tried both medications at different times over the past two year. I was placed on them having gained 80 pounds in 9 months and having difficulty with obesity for most of my life. Also I was diagnosed as diabetic type 2 at about the same time and needed to curb my appetite.

Initially I took Qsymia - yes it is more than twice as expensive than Contrave. Qsymia cost about $220 for a month's supply with a discount card you can get from the company who makes the medication or your Pharmacy may have a card they can use. Insurance does not cover either drug as far as I know. Contrave costs less than half at $80 for a month's suppy.

It can be up to a week before your script is filled.

If you bring your script into a Pharmacy not associated with a hospital they may need to order the medication or specific strength or can call around to see if other CVS's or Walgreen's in your area have it and it can be sent to your Pharmacy or can pick it up.

I was very excited to start on diet pills thinking I would go back to the days when food was not calling out my name and to stop constant binge eating mostly at night.

For full disclosure, my Primary does not prescribe diet pills, but she did let me know which hospital does in my area and I was able to make an appt there paying my usual $20 co-pay. They did want to take diagnostics which I let them and was stuck with a $400 medical insurance bill because they were repeat evaluations already done at the first hospital. If you want to avoid this get copies of your exams sent or bring copies with you to avoid their not giving you the pills until they do your medical evaluations.

Here is what happened: I lost 25 pounds while on Qysmia but I will say I also made life style changes such as exercising for 60 minutes a day, 90 to 2 hours on weekends, using portion control more often and listening to OA meetings to bond abd talk with other food addicts - also felt less alone at night as they go on every night until 3:30am east coast time! Plus throwing out my heavy clothes and dressing better for motivation.

I did feel more in control and whether it was because of the drug or in my mind I can't be sure. The problem for me was after a few months at the highest dosages for both medications I developed side effects.

So I researched how to wean off, was off the Qysmia, quickly gained back 15 pounds and decided to get a script for Contrave.

The benefits of Contrave are; it is about a $120 monthly savings over Qsymia; you gradually work up to 2 pills twice a day with the max at four pills twice a day which I thought would disperse the pills and their effectiveness day and evening better. (Qysmia is a one time released capsule a day and you can't break up either medication over time I thought it wore off in the evening) finally, Cintrave is supposedly better to control binge eating.

Like Qysmia, Contrave I lost weight less than on Qysmia - in the beginning but after two months I was so tired every day. I think it was due to being on a antidepression and that Contrave has another antidepressant as its second ingredients so I was doubling up. I found I could barely get out of bed and would wake up at 4pm in the afternoon groogy as I would when my anti-depressant is increased in the winter for seasonal affect disorder. Then I developed horrible constipation that was so bad my doctor told me to get off Contrave and it seems to have been the culprit.

Overall, the middle doses of both medications caused me to lose weight but then I needed more and that is when I developed either extreme sleepiness and constipation (Contrave) or was noticeably jittery (Qsymia).

Now I am taking a break from diet pills and trying to drink more water. I did get a prescription again for Qysmia just in case and I would be interested in the new medication that is out to control binge eating. If anyone out there is on it or has any tips to share please get back to me.

Good luck!

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Hello, Amanda! How are you?

Are you referring to Belviq? It targets a hunger receptor in the brain, to help you feel fuller longer. Its typical side effects can include nausea, dizziness, weight loss, nervousness, insomnia and anorexia, as listed by the FDA.

Vyvanse has also been approved by the FDA to treat binge eating and its typical side effects may include nausea, dizziness, headache and insomnia.

Does anyone else have any ideas or tips that may help?

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