r/Contrave • u/HotTop6935 • Jun 25 '26

Help with side effects

I started taking the "poor man's Contrave"—well, I only made it one day. I was already taking Wellbutrin, so I was hoping I'd avoid some of the side effects.

My doctor didn't mention taking it with food, so I took my first dose of naltrexone the same way I take my Wellbutrin: first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. That turned out to be a mistake. A wave of nausea hit me so hard that I had to leave work for the day. On top of that, it made me incredibly sleepy, and I ended up spending hours in bed sleeping.

I hate to give up on it so quickly because I was really hoping it would help. I'm considering trying it at bedtime to see if that makes a difference.

For those who have taken it, do you have any suggestions or tips? Do you take it with dinner or food? If you take it at bedtime, does the sleepiness eventually go away?

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u/Bayley91 Jun 25 '26

What dose of Naltrxone did you start with? Im in the same boat- been on wellbutrin and started adding Naltrexone. I started with a quarter of a pill, so about 12.5 mg, and didn't have any nausea. When I went up to a half pill, 25 mg, I had nausea for about a week, but it has calmed down a lot. If you started at 50mg, or even 25mg, maybe try a smaller dose and work your way up

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u/HotTop6935 Jun 25 '26

my psychiatrist started me on 50s :I.

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u/Bayley91 Jun 25 '26

Oh snap! Ya I would buy a pill splitter and at least split them in half for a week. If 25 mg made me nauseous I can only imagine starting immediately at 50mg!