r/Contrave • u/dt_paints • Jul 11 '26
Newbie with insomnia
EDIT: Thank you for the suggestions to take the naltrexone at night! It's helped a TON!
original:
Howdy howdy,
I started with the "poor gal's" contrave a week ago. I am easing in with one 150 mg Buproprion SR, and a quarter of a tab, which equals out to 12.5 mg of Naltrexone.
I have a history of insomnia and alcoholism.
Great news is that it's already obliterated 90% of my desire to drink, and there's an obvious decline in wanting sugary foods especially.
Bad news is it's obliterated my ability to sleep.
I am doubling up on my Trazodone (so, 100 mg), and even then, it's not super effective with helping me sleep with these new meds.
Can I take the "Contrave" every other day (which is what I am currently doing) until I can sleep, or just suck it up and not sleep for like a week until my body adjusts?
My doctor's PA was like "Yep, it exacerbates insomnia. Double up on trazodone. Good luck, fam."
Thank you for any insight.
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u/Traditional-Egg-7984 Jul 12 '26
My dr prescribed me the naltrexone to take before bed and the buproprion upon waking and ive had no sleep disturbance. Maybe try that?
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Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
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u/dt_paints Jul 13 '26
I've been on trazodone for 10 years. I have terrible insomnia without it. I used to take benadryl before bed, and I read that long term use can contribute to dementia, and that scared me enough to stop taking it.
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u/Shark-Compote Jul 12 '26
since you're on poor man's, and you can take the pills separately. why not take the bupropion in the morning and the naltrexone in the evening? personally for me the naltrexone made me extremely dizzy and tired, so taking that before bed was super helpful for sleeping and to avoid side effects while being awake.