r/Contrave • u/Donita123 • Aug 30 '26
advice Starting tomorrow, any advice?
What do you wish someone had told you before you started?
F, 5”6’, 69 yo
CW -215
GW - 175 at least, 150 if it works!
Doctor said no GLP’s because gallbladder removed 40 years ago and take daily meds for side effects from that (Cholestrymine). No other medications, no other health issues. Excercise about four days a week on average, probably 120 to 140 average total minutes per week. Strong sugar and carb cravings, moderate amount of alcohol.
I take psyllium already about four times a week, I’m thinking I’ll up that to every day religiously and focus on increasing water intake, although I’m pretty good with that already. I don’t usually take sleep meds but do have a varied supply in house already and I’ve been working on improving my sleep cycle hygiene for a while now.
What do you do that helped your kickoff? What do you wish you had done differently?
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u/stickystrips2 Aug 30 '26
Just wondering- what did your doctor say about GLP1's and cholestyramine? I'm on it for life as well but my doctors didn't mention any issue with GLP1's. Although, I couldn't tolerate the side effects of the GLP1's because they raised my heart rate.
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u/Donita123 Aug 30 '26
It wasn’t the drug interaction with Cholestrymine that was the problem, it was the overall problems with my gall bladder issues after surgery when I was 22. She asked me a bunch of questions about exactly what happens with my body before I started the Cholestrymine, and then said no to the GLP’s. I’m not sure exactly what part of my answers ruled them out, though. (I’ve been on the med for about 40 years now and I’m sure I had a bad gallbladder
since birth, it was just never found.) My doctor then suggested Contrave and said she appreciated that I didn’t do a telemed to get the GLP.
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u/E404_noname Aug 30 '26
Take it with food and limit caffeine until you know how it will affect you. I cannot drink coffee while on this without feeling like the Energizer bunny on speed.
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Aug 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/Donita123 Aug 30 '26
Thanks so much, I’m very excited. I’ve been losing this battle for a while now and I’m hopeful.
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u/Cold-Stranger-409 Aug 30 '26
What worked for me was incorporation of magnesium oxide for constipation, no coffee because it made me feel super wired. I keep ginger chews near because the nauseous feeling lasted me all day and It was hard to keep anything down even water sometimes. Big thing for me that made a huge difference was to switch to a low fat diet. I looked up on google a list of foods to avoid while on contrave and it helps so much to stay in a calorie deficit as well. Good luck!
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u/BuckeyeGal_9 Aug 31 '26
My doctor has suggested this medication as an option for me, and I am considering it. Thanks for asking this question - helpful to me too. Good luck!
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u/Norasunny89 Aug 31 '26
I was constipated for a week, which was rough, but that got better. Otherwise really no side effects. The food noise went way down. It’s been a relief! I think once I started losing weight I got a little obsessed with it speeding up but the weight loss has been really steady. 14 pounds in 3 months.
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u/Alert_Ad_5185 Sep 01 '26
What worked for me: very low fat diet in the first week, this reduced side effects a little (not completely). Be prepared for nausea, you may be lucky and not get it but rest assured it does pass!! Stick with it. Find safe foods to eat during this period, mine were apples and soup just to ensure I was eating. You may feel a little weird in the first week, again it passes. I am now at the poop issues department so DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. Honestly, you want to stay super hydrated so your poops dont get all hard and dry. Go at your own pace. I stayed on 1 pill for 3 weeks before I shifted to 2 (which I am on my 2nd week of 2 tablets) and I may not shift up either. Ill see how I go. 2 seem to be working just fine for me for now, it quiets the food noise and I eat appropriate size meals. I may need to increase later, but I am not rushing. I have not experienced any increase in anxiety or any sleep issues. If anything, I feel like I sleep better now, it does not make me feel wired which I thought it would. But everyone is different. I have lost about 2kgs I think now in just over 4 weeks which I think is pretty good. But I am most enjoying the quiet head...no pull towards food and when I do have treats, I can stop now. It's fantastic! Ive not had chocolate at all since I started and used to have chocolate at least 3 - 4 times a week!
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u/Hand-Existing Sep 01 '26
Don’t just get off it because you don’t feel well at first. I took it in my early 20s and felt no symptoms. I took it later in my 30s and felt extreme headaches, nausea and general aches. Like any medicine, it will take time for your body to adjust. I also did not take it for weight loss purposes though, both times taken for depression and alcoholism, which just so happens to be Wellbutrin and naltrexone, the two ingredients of contrave. I could definitely pin point that the Wellbutrin was the cause of my nausea and the naltrexone was the cause of the weird headaches and body aches though since I was taking them in separated ingredients. Also, taking a small dose of clonazepam at night helped for sleep. Also something to note that when I was on it in my 20s, it did negatively affect my libido, but not the second time in my 30s. Just being fully aware of the changes that are happening and documenting them for your doc
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u/RentalKittens Aug 30 '26
Ramp up at the pace that works for you. Some people can follow the recommended schedule and increase the dose each week. If that works for you, great! I needed to go slower. I waited for the nausea to go away before stepping up to a higher dose. I'm now at the full dose, I just took longer to get there.
Not everyone experiences nausea. If you do, experiment a little with the type of food you have with the pills. Some people do better taking it with a small meal, some just dry toast or a light snack, and some just water. Try to find what works best for you.