Wanting To Quit Taking Contrave (Top voted first)

I need to know how to stop taking contrave. Can I just quit cold turkey or do I wean off? If I wean off how do I do it?

REPLY

REPORT

I was looking up how to wean myself off of Contrave and found this comment on here. I've been taking Confrave for about a month or so. I just started the 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills at night dose Sunday (today is Friday). I've felt horrible all week since increasing it. Hot flashes in my face, horrible nausea, glands somewhat hurting in my neck right below my jaw, my stomach never feels right, always hurts a little. It gets worse if I haven't eaten in a while. As I eat, I feel better. As soon as I'm done, I feel nauseous again. I called the doctor and they said to go back down to the 1 pill in the morning and 1 pill in the evening. But with these side effects I've experienced and from what I've read, I really don't want to take it anymore. I also have experienced my fingers move involuntarily( kind of like my husband's legs with restless leg syndrome), which has never happened before and last night while trying to go to sleep my whole body jumped like that involuntarily twice. I was taking it for weight loss but haven't seen any changes after taking it a month. At this point I'd rather have the weight that not be able to function. Can I just taper off and quit Contrave or will that be even worse?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 140

This post is for those individuals who have been taking Contrave 8 or more months. The only two symptoms I have had are constipation and an unpleasant taste in my mouth in the mornings. I shed 25 lbs (more or less depending on water retention.) I lost the weight gradually, not fast. I've been holding at 25 lbs for three months now. On it a total of nine months. I eat well, get plenty of exercise and feel fine on Contrave. It seems my body just doesn't want to lose anymore weight. Anybody else out there experiencing the same thing? Are there any 9 month + takers out there who can give me a reason to stay on it? You know; encouragement.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 71

I have been on contrave for 5 months, I was able to get through all the unpleasant side effects by the end of the 4th month. I have lost a ton of 16 lbs, my problem now is that the !medications doesn't seem to be working as well as it first did, I feel
Ike my food cravings are starting to come back, has anyone eelse experience this?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 66

I was taking Contrave for 10 days. My heart was racing so bad and pulse rate was 101 . I was told to quit taking it. How long til it gets out of my system?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 46

On 4th week of contrave, I think I have had every symptom!pretty. I am taking Two pills twice a day. I am having pretty bad hoarseness. Which usually happens about 45 minutes after taking the Contrave. I still feel a tiny bit of nausea, have hot flashes and feel a bit fuzzy. The worse is the hoarseness. Anyone else experiencing this. I am truest hoping all of this will go away soon.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 34

Agreed. I had to quit because the nausea and migraines were so bad it felt like I was taking a daily dose of poison.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 18

Heather, I'm sorry you've had those side effects from contrave,. 1st, there is discount card on their site that you print where you only pay $70/ month. 2nd, I've been on contrave since Jul/Aug and have had no side effects and have lost 70 lbs. There is a very helpful app (mynetdiary) that helps with counting calories.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 12

I have been taking Contrave for 8 months and lost 40 pounds and last week decided to stop taking it. I was tod by my Dr. AND pharmacist that there is no weaning period needed. After 2 days I have severe dizziness, nausea and migraine. It has slowly gotten better the the last couple of days have been rough. Not sure why but just wanted to warn you just in case. It was to the point that I was unsafe to drive. I hope it foes muc smoother for you!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 12

From what I have learned from my doctor is when I want to stop taking Contrave I need to let him know. He will tell me how he wants to wean me off of it. You see I take an anti depressant already and so he says I need to stay on bupropion only for a while after coming off of Contrave. This is just a precaution so that I don't feel any withdrawal symptoms. But the normal outtake of Contrave is as the same as when you started to take it; except it's reversed.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 13

I have been on Contrave for 4 months now and have lost 27 pounds. Only side effects are like yours, constipation and metal taste in my mouth. The best benefit of this is that it helped me to quit smoking. I was not trying to quit (although I know I should have) but the taste in my mouth made it impossible. I feel great and this drug have helped me lose weight that I have been trying to lose for months. I have 10 pounds left and I know these will probably be hardest to lose but slow and steady win the race.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 10

I'm not a medical professional, but what I do know about antidepressants, which is in Contrave, is that you wean off them. Going off them cold turkey is ill-advised! You can serious, or at least bothersome, side effects. I would gradually go off them if I were you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 12

Hi Sally! I just came across your post and I am in the same boat as you. I have been taking Contrave since last June (7 months ago) and have lost a total of about 30 pounds since then. For the past 2 months or so I have not seen as much progress as I was in the first few months. The side effects mostly stopped after the first month and now I only get dry mouth and constipation. I also exercise regularly and count my calories. I think part of the reason I haven't been losing as much the past couple of months is because of the Holidays, but even now I haven't been seeing too much progress. I have been thinking recently of weening off of the medication, but I'm terrified that when I do I'll just balloon back up to my old weight. Have you spoken with your doctor yet of what to do?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 9

I've been taking Contrave since the first of August. I also experienced some nausea, dry mouth, slight sleep disturbances-mostly from really vivid dreams, and a little constipation. I DO like the decreased appetite. It names me think about what I am going to eat and how much I eat of it. On the plus side, I am more cheerful, have more energy, and get more tasks accomplished. I have only lost 8 pounds but that is my fault because I have not changed my diet as suggested and have not begun exercising regularly. I'm going to continue until the end of February. I am participating in the Scale Down program and have to admit the daily weighing and text messages are an incentive for me. I don't like to get a negative message.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 8

i also have been on contrave for 9 months have lost 35lbs by 6 months since then nothing i was on here to see if this happened to any one else

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

I have been on Contrave for 1 year and have hit the plateau point as well. I've spoken to Takeda pharmacists on 3 occasions re: discontinuing the med. My prescribing physician and I don't feel that it is helping to control my appetite at all any more and I am discontinuing the drug currently. We've also discussed the possibility of revisiting the medication in a few months time (or possibly starting Belviq / Lorcaserin by Arena pharmaceuticals).


Actually, I plateaued about 5 months ago and only because I have been on 400 mg of Bupropion in the past, he prescribed an additional 75 mg of Bupropion as a supplement to the recommended daily dose of Contrave to see if it would help (it hasn't).

The weaning-on process that Contrave users follow (per Takeda pharmaceuticals) is recommended due to the medication's most common side-effect: nausea. Many new Contrave users experience moderate to heavy nausea and dizziness in the first weeks of use; which is lessened considerably when one weans onto the drug.

Starting at 1 tablet in the morning on week 1 , by the 4th week of use the patient is taking the full recommended dose (2 morning + 2 night = 4 tablets p/ day).


Per Takeda pharmacists: it is unnecessary to wean-off of Contrave as the nausea associated with starting the medication is not an issue when discontinuing the drug. The only reason patients wean-on in the first place is to lessen the nausea. Both Takeda pharmacists and my Dr. have said it is perfectly fine to discontinue the med all at once. I personally feel more comfortable weaning-off vs. 'Cold Turkey' but I'm just reporting what they told me.

- Just a side-note: I personally felt extremely nauseated in the 3rd week of starting Contrave (2 morning + 1 night) and because of this remained at 2 morning + 1 night for an additional 2 weeks; finally graduating to the full dose of 2 morning + 2 night at which time I was acclimated well enough to the med and didn't feel queezy.

I had gained approximately 35 lbs. over the 2 years prior to taking Contrave and lost 30 lbs. in the first 4 - 5 months of being on the medication. The most dramatic weight loss taking place in the first 3 months (losing approximately 23 lbs.)

I never felt it was helping with cravings past the 4 - 5 months point and as a matter of fact, I would awake in the middle of the night absolutely famished (and would often times get up and start preparing a whole meal at 2:30 am) which I had never done before taking Contrave. I believe this must have something to do with drug being time-released. 2:30 am must have been the exact point in time that it wore off - (just a guess) and / or my body had simply become immune to the benefits of Contrave into month 5 - 6.


By month 8 I had gained back 11 lbs. and continued on with the Contrave even though I felt no benefit at all. By month 11 - 12 I had gained back another 8 lbs.


The reason it's best to discontinue the med vs. continue to take it (with no benefit) is because it's too taxing on the liver to do so. Also, if you read the prescribing information you'll see that it recommends that a patient discontinue Contrave if they haven't lost at least 10 - 15 lbs. in the first 3 months.

While the prescribing info doesn't really touch on discontinuing the drug, I consulted the Takeda pharmacists about it. I asked them if one is supposed to just continue the med indefinitely (explaining that I had definitely hit a plateau and was not getting any benefit at all). They said no... that a patient will build a tolerance to the Bupropion as well as Naltrexone and it's best to discontinue vs. just remaining on the med.

Takeda also reiterated what my Dr. said - that discontinuing the med which was no longer effective and 're-visiting' in a few months would be best.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

I'm in the same boat. I have been on for 10 months, lost 27 lbs., and it has been slow. I have constipation and ringing in my ears. I am happy with the weight loss, but most of it took place the first 6 months that I was on Contrave. I don't want to regain, but am thinking of weaning off and trying something else.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 7

Not to scare you, but after taking it for 8 months I was having insomnia and jumping/twitching while falling asleep pretty frequently. Especially in the last month. I was told by Dr and pharmacist no weaning off period is needex but I definitely had some sort of withdrawl..very dizzy all day to the point I couldnt drive, nausea and terrible headaches. That lasted 4 or 5 days and now I fesl perfectly dine. It is stored in the liver and takes time to detox depending on how long you took it. For me its up to 6 weeks. Hopefully you dont have those effects!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

I have been taking contrave now since 11-1-15. I am moving into my 3rd month. I have lost as of this morning 27 pounds. I did have problem the 1st week of the 2 pills in the am and 2 pills at night, but after I made it through the week everything got better again. Now the only time i have a problem really is when I eat too much bread. When that happen I will throw it all up. I have had really great results with this compared to things i have tried so far.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Has anyone else experienced urinary retention as a result of taking Contrave? It's not a listed side effect but since I began taking it I jave difficulty urinating. Starting my 3rd month.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Yes, stay on it, if you afford to.I have been taking Contravene for over 1 year, lost 55 lbs, and I am able to keep it off.

One side effect, hot flashes, followed by a fleeting feeling of panic. I am going through major life changes, so perhaps this contributes, it does subside, but it's not a pleasant sensation.

A few positives? Here we go:

No urge to drink or eat excessively
NO HANGOVERS!! ??
Feel a bit more positive overall
Keeping weight off

So, it's worth it.

Best of luck to all

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

I have been taking contrive for 2 months. I haven't lost any weight on it as I cannot exercise because I need knee r...

2 REPLIES

I've taken Contrave for a week, Can I stop taking it with? Well there be any side effects from stopping with out gra...

13 REPLIES

Are these two OK to take together? I haven't noticed any major changes, but know they both may effect how you feel. ...

1 REPLY

I HAVE ALWAYS GOT THE BLUE OXYCODONE 30 S ,BUT THIS TIME THEY ARE WHITE WITH A M ON ONE SIDE IN A BOX AN A 30 AT THE TOP...

1 REPLY

I have been on Contrave for 4 weeks now. The previous weeks I had no side effects. Now all of a sudden I have severe nau...

2 REPLIES

I recently took contrave for a year and had wonderful success! I had all the horrible side effects in the beginning and ...

8 REPLIES

I'm on 2nd week of Contrave 1 pill Am 1 pill pm. I have had a minor procedure which requires Norco 325/7.5. Is it...

2 REPLIES

Can a bariatric patient who had gastric by pass take it? Gaining a few pounds don’t want to get it out of control....

May I take one Xanax with Contrave or would there be a negative effect? I only take Xanax about 3 times a year, but one ...

1 REPLY

I took Contrave for about four months and lost 10 lbs. Decided I would stop and didn't take it for a month. I immedi...

3 REPLIES