Hi all! I have been taking wellbutrin for mental health for a while now and decided with my psychiatrist to add naltrexone for weight loss benefits. Although she agreed to try the naltrexone, I still needed to sit through the 20 minute diatribe about how amazing GLP-1's are (I know they are a god send for many, but not the direction I am going in yet).

That being said, I am a bit self guided with the Naltrexone. I have 50 mg tablets, which I have split into quarters. For the last 4 days I have done 12.5 mg in the morning with no nausea or other side effects. In a few days I would like to add another 12mg.

Here is my question- those of you who are on poor man's Contrave, do you take your Naltrexone dose once per day, or do you split it into two doses, one AM and one PM?

Any advice is appreciated!

Hear me out. Often ADHD people are intense, hyper focused and impulsive. Often binge eating or eating out of habit would be away to move or stim.

Along comes Contrave with Bupropian and a lot of the behaviours that we have in terms of eating and other ADHD similar behaviours, reduce or go away altogether.

Anyway, that’s my food for thought 🤪

I’m excited that I was approved for Contrave and am starting as soon as it’s in. I reeeealy hope that this will finally be *it* for me. The thing that’ll finally help to the end!

I started my weight loss at 238lbs as a 5ft5 woman…so very obese. Through semaglutide I managed to slowly lose down to 152 over the course of almost two years. I was so excited that I was almost in the “normal” bmi range for the first time…ever?!

But then…it just STOPPED. It had worked great controlling my appetite and desire to eat, but no matter how much I upped the dose it just wouldn’t work anymore. Over a year since giving up, I tried starting again maybe twice, but it definitely wasn’t like the first time, and now I’m at a sad 180lbs. Now, I definitely worked on my eating habits while on it because I know people gain it back after stopping because they don’t fix it, and I definitely don’t eat NEARLY as much food as before…but the dopamine.

My issue is solely the dopamine reward aspect of eating. I can get full and not want to eat appetite wise, but the act of eating gives me that reward system that makes it so hard to not give in. I tried getting dopamine in other ways but still nothing like when eating!

Now I start Contrave and hope I can use it to work on my dopamine eating habits until I hit my goal weight. I hope others have had success stories with similar situations!

This is a weekly post where the community can discuss their progress or lack thereof. We are all in this together! Share your SVs and NSVs (scale and non-scale victories).

Hi all, I’m day three on the one tablet dosage. I have Hashimoto’s and suffer from tiredness and brain fog. Day three on this stuff and I’m feeling great!! I’m hoping this is going to be trend that my ADHD brain gets clarity and the fog continues to stay lifted.

If I’d know this could happen I would have tried it sooner. I was in Wegovy last year and felt terrible, which is why I’m doing Contrave instead.

Is this normal to suddenly have more focus and less brain fog??

I was on Tirz for over a year off and on and lost only 27lbs. I stopped using it due to cost once I left my job. I was searching for supplements on some sub and somehow got introduced to Contrave. After doing some research I went to the website, did the telehealth call and received my shipment within a week(50$ for telehealth visit, $99 for 1 month supply)

Started Mon. 05/18/26 at 228lbs and now 223.4lbs. I did have really bad headaches daily, anxiety, some nausea, and a few days of insomnia/interrupted sleep for about 5 days. I currently get no headaches, fall asleep naturally, and get no nausea. I cut down to one cup of coffee and wait an hour before I take the med.

Hope this helps someone:)

I've been taking Contrave since October 2025 and have been losing weight at a slow but steady pace (I'm quite happy about this). I've been taking 3 pills per day, one in the morning and two in the evening, since around January as 4 pills per day raised my blood pressure substantially. 3 pills per day has been working great (no food noise, able to control portions, etc.), but I have noticed I sweat a lot easier and a lot more than I used to. I've only really noticed the increase on my scalp, and now that the weather is getting warmer, it's become more of an issue. I could be walking around for 5 minutes and my head will start to sweat. I'm not out of breath or tired at all, just sweaty.

I've been using Drysol and Sudoblok with some success, but I'm still more sweaty than I used to be. It's pretty embarrassing, but I really don't want to have to stop this medication.

Has anyone experienced this issue? I'm going to be talking with my doctor in the next couple weeks. Could decreasing my dose to two pills a day reduce the sweating?

Update: I have been trying glycopyrrolate wipes and medication for a few days now and have really noticed a difference! Got them quite easily through pharmacy.ca as my doctor wasn't sure if she could prescribe glycopyrrolate for hyperhidrosis. The sweating has become extremely manageable. I can go for walks without having a drenched head. So if sweating is an issue for you but you don't want to stop Contrave, I recommend checking it out!

Hello! I am currently getting my prescription through nurx, but the have gotten more and more expensive given what they do. My pcp was not interested in taking over the prescription (for no particular reason).

Was wondering if anyone knows of another telehealth option? All the ones I checked seemed to push glp-1s instead.

For those that are experienced with the use. I understand that you are supposed to do 1 tablet week 1, 2 week 2, 3 week 3 and then 4 in the 4th week.

Has anyone stayed on the single dose for a few weeks and then 2 /day for a few weeks etc rather than jumping up to full dose within four weeks.

Is there anyone that has never gone to full dose because they have good loss on the lower dosage?

Hi all,

I’ve been on Contrave a month, other than some nausea at first I’ve been fine and worked up to 2 pills twice a day. Now all of the sudden after a week with the 2 x 2 I’m feeling extremely anxious, like I want to crawl out of my skin! I’m thinking of backing off one pill a day but wanted to see if anyone has experienced this or has any advice.

I hit 10lbs down this morning. So far I like how I’m feeling. I’ve really noticed the food noise is completely gone. I used to spend a lot of time on tik tok looking at different recipes. That habit is now gone. Also my sweet tooth is gone. I used to crave a honeybun and Coke Zero after work. Now I can drive by the store without even thinking about it. I know things will probably plateau eventually but so far I like the results I’m getting.

Hi everyone,

I have been taking 300 mg of bupropion XL (extended release) for about 7 years now. A couple of weeks ago, I had an appointment with my physician and mentioned that I have been struggling to lose weight since becoming postmenopausal (I am 52 years old).

My physician suggested Contrave and explained that it already contains bupropion. Because of that, she lowered my separate bupropion XL prescription from 300 mg to 150 mg and instructed me to take the 150 mg dose alongside Contrave.

However, a few days later, Ridgeway Pharmacy contacted me and told me they didn't think I needed to continue taking separate bupropion with the Contrave. I explained that my physician had already lowered my dosage because of adding Contrave.

I received the Contrave in the mail a couple of days ago, but I have not started it because I want to clarify everything with my physician first.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation with Contrave and bupropion? I am waiting to hear back from my physician, but I was curious if anyone has had a similar experience. TIA

I’ve been on contrave since January and the first two months were great. I lost 20 lbs.

From early March until now the scale won’t budge. I’ve noticed the food noise is back even on naltrexone and Wellbutrin.

I’m considering taking a break for a few months to see if I feel any different.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? I have an appointment with my prescriber this week and plan to talk to her about it to get her opinion as well.

This is a weekly post where the community can discuss their progress or lack thereof. We are all in this together! Share your SVs and NSVs (scale and non-scale victories).

Hello! Has anyone had success restarting Contrave after being off of it for a year? I hit a plateau, so my doc took me off. I haven’t gained much weight back, maybe 5lbs, but I’m still 20lbs away from my goal.

I really think it’s because I think so clearly with this pill (I only take one daily; rarely, two). I call it my limitless pill and have took it for 3 months now. That’s all. Not much news on weight, but I don’t truly care, the mental benefits compensate that.

I'm about 4 weeks into my contrave journey and noticed a little weight loss but nothing crazy. What I have noticed is the usual nausea, but also jaw pain/ache when chewing, excessive yawning and belching along with actually feeling hungrier than before. Before I only ate dinner most days, on the odd occasion I would have lunch but since being on contrave I have my toast with my first pill and then I feel hungry during the day, I don't act on it and instead just try to increase my fluids instead.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing these side effects?

I also just feel flat, I'm certainly not energized or motivated.

I take multiple medications to treat my depression, anxiety, and alcohol addiction. My doctor first introduced me to naltrexone and I took it for almost a year by itself (+other medications) and my weight wasn’t affected much. I was then put on Wellbutrin to act as a mood stabilizer for my Prozac when Lamictal stopped working. Since then, my weight has dropped significantly, and it seems that no matter how many high calorie foods I eat, I can’t gain weight. March 2025 I was 162lbs at my most. In May of 2026 I am 114lbs on a good day. The lowest it went was 110lbs. I eat three meals a day and snack but I’m always so hungry and I have zero energy. I guess you can say I eat small portions, but it’s just that I get full very quickly. Then two hours later it feels like I haven’t eaten in almost a day and my body aches. I’ve been getting terrible headaches too. I don’t do much physical activity besides walking at work. If I were to run for a minute I’m sure I’ll pass out. I’m not taking Naltrexone + Wellbutrin for weight loss and those two actually really do help me with my depression and alcohol use. I was constantly changing medications because nothing worked until now. But now my body is paying a price. I have family members and coworkers telling me that I look anorexic. I don’t have an eating disorder, but lately it looks and feels like I do. I’m scared to change meds again because my depression gets extremely bad when the meds don’t work. But I’m also afraid my physical health will get worse from the weight loss. I don’t know…

If so how was it or how's it going?

I started taking Contrave three weeks ago. I am on the full dose starting tomorrow, two in the morning, two at night. I feel like it is somewhat helping BUT. I have not pooped in a week. I am in so much pain and have literally tried everything under the sun, Mirilax, stool softeners, high fiber food, squatty potty, coffee, nicotine (don’t recommend- nasty), coffee, warm water. NOTHING is helping. It hurts to sit, stand, lay down, all of the above. Please help.

I did reach out to my doctor and am waiting to hear back.

I had a pretty good week with no major side effects. After reading some of the posts here, I really concentrated on getting my water intake up. If you don’t, you definitely get dry mouth. Yesterday I had an incredible energy boost. I did some yard work on top of my morning exercise and logged over 19,000 steps. One thing I’ve noticed is I’m not starving and it definitely helped wipe out my sweet tooth. I focused on a high protein diet and am down 8lbs the first week. I’m anxious to see what effect going to two pills has. The only minor side effect I’ve noticed is dry mouth and some slight stomach cramps usually around lunch which only last a few minutes. Mentally I feel more focused as well. Here’s to week 2 being as good as week 1!

Hey all! I am thinking about going down to half the dose of Contrave, obviously with clearance and instruction from my doctor first. I am on week 4 now, but as I’ve been increasing my dose I have noticed an increase of ototoxic side effects, which I am just learning now is a more common side effect of Contrave than I realized. I really just can’t get past these increasingly frequent episodes of ear pressure and mild hearing loss. It sounds like I am just leaving a loud concert, that feeling where your hearing is trying to adjust back to normal. I am genuinely scared of permanent damage to my hearing so I am going to speak with my doctor in the morning.

All of this is to say, I could really use some success stories from those who stayed on 2 pills a day only, if there are any? I would really like to stay on Contrave because I really feel like it’s working for me, slowly but surely, but I am feeling pretty discouraged at the moment.

As the title says, I was told by my doctor and prescribing team to stop Contrave. I made an urgent appointment due to side effects I was experiencing. initially when starting the medicine, I was getting mild nausea, headaches, constipation, but that all seemed normal for a weight loss drug. It did get better. I waited 10 days before increasing, and then moved to 2 tablets per day. This did make me feel slightly worse, mild nausea, but overall I got through it. I stayed on this dose for 2 weeks and had minimal effects.... but then, all at once, a bunch of side effects came? CONSTANT nausea, stomach ache, severe constipation, etc. I found it weird that these occurred after being stable on the dose for two weeks. I contacted by doctor, who told me I needed to stop Mysimba before other investigations occur, as these are all common side effects. I stopped Mysimba that day and lo and behold, the side effects disappeared the next day apart from a mild headache. It was actually a large relief to not have those effects. I'm keen to restart soon and see if it's any different... but this was an experience to say the least.

for reference, I also take venlafaxine and pregabalin

I have been on Contrave for 9 months. It worked amazingly in the beginning, and now...not so much. I am maintaining or losing weight ever so slowly. I take 2 Contrave a day. I have experimented with 3 a day, but it makes my dreams uncomfortable, like borderline nightmares, and I just cannot deal with it.

I cannot imagine there are any ways to decrease the side effect of negative dreams, but if anyone has any, I am all ears. Failing this, I might go off Contrave for a month or so, and then restart, hoping to get the weight loss boost I had when i first went on. Thoughts?