What To Expect When Starting CONTRAVE

CONTRAVE is a unique combination of two drugs—naltrexone and bupropion—within a single extended-release tablet clinically proven to help you lose weight and keep it off when combined with diet and exercise.

Remember this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Big changes won’t happen overnight. But when you take CONTRAVE as your doctor prescribed, coupled with diet and exercise, you are setting yourself up for success. Just stick with the plan, and even if you don’t see the scale move right away, you might witness other non-scale victories to help reinforce that you are on the right path.

CONTRAVE is Clinically Proven to Help You Lose Weight

Across 3 studies, patients who were overweight or suffering from obesity lost approximately 2-4x more weight over 1 year by adding CONTRAVE than with diet and exercise alone.*

Nearly half of the patients taking CONTRAVE lost 5% or more body weight and kept it off (vs 23% of patients taking placebo).*

One of the most important things to know when starting CONTRAVE (or any weight loss program) is that success looks different for each person. How fast this success happens for you and how many inches you lose or pounds you drop will depend on your body. In clinical studies, the most dramatic weight loss was typically seen after 4 months (16 weeks) of taking CONTRAVE as prescribed.

*According to 3 multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled obesity trials (BMI ≥30 kg/m² , or BMI ≥27 kg/m² with at least 1 comorbidity of hypertension, dyslipidemia, or type 2 diabetes) conducted to evaluate the effect of CONTRAVE in conjunction with reduced caloric intake and increased physical activity, the average percentage of weight loss in patients at 56 weeks ranged from 3.7% to 8.1% with CONTRAVE, compared to 1.3% to 4.9% with placebo. The percentage of patients who achieved a clinically meaningful treatment response (defined as achieving at least 5% weight loss after 1 year of treatment) ranged from 36% to 57% with CONTRAVE, compared to 17% to 43% with placebo.

Real World Success Stories

Managing Potential Side Effects

CONTRAVE safety was evaluated in thousands of patients.

The most common side effects of CONTRAVE include nausea, constipation, headache, vomiting, dizziness, trouble sleeping (insomnia), dry mouth, and diarrhea. These are not all the possible side effects of CONTRAVE.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
This is important because CONTRAVE may affect the way other medicines work, especially opioid medicines or medicines to help stop taking opioids.

Here are some things you can try if you are experiencing the following side effects.

Nausea: Generally, you should drink plenty of water when taking CONTRAVE. If you experience nausea, you may also want to eat a small amount of dry toast when taking CONTRAVE. Your doctor may recommend an over-the-counter anti-nausea medication, or you can try ginger tea or ginger chews to help curb nausea naturally.

Constipation: To help with constipation be sure you are drinking about 8 glasses of water per day or more if possible. Eating foods high in fiber such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes can help your weight loss efforts and ease constipation. Light exercise such as walking has also been known to help combat constipation.

Headache, vomiting, dizziness, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, and diarrhea have also occurred and usually can be managed with over-the-counter products your doctor can recommend.

What else to know:

People experienced side effects more often during the first 4 weeks of taking CONTRAVE. This is also the period when people taking CONTRAVE are slowly increasing the dose of the medication to a maintenance phase.
The common GI-related adverse events, such as nausea and constipation, were generally temporary and resolved quickly.
It is not recommended to drink alcohol while taking CONTRAVE (but there are plenty of delicious mocktail recipes out there).

If you’re experiencing any unwanted side effects of your medication, don’t hesitate to reach out to your healthcare provider or pharmacist—they can give you personalized guidance.

You are also encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Taking CONTRAVE

For best results, take CONTRAVE as directed by your healthcare provider. Most patients begin with 1 morning pill during the first week and gradually work their way up to 2 pills twice a day by week 4. Always take CONTRAVE exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Your doctor may change your dose as needed.

Not actual tablet size.

Drink Plenty of Water When Taking CONTRAVE

A good rule of thumb is to take CONTRAVE with 8 oz of water, and then throughout your day, drink additional glasses of water.
This can help with both weight loss and, for some people, with preventing constipation.

Swallow CONTRAVE Pills Whole

DO NOT cut, chew, or crush CONTRAVE pills. Tell your doctor if you cannot swallow CONTRAVE pills whole.
DO NOT take more than 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills in the evening.
DO NOT take more than 2 pills at the same time or more than 4 pills in 1 day.
DO NOT take CONTRAVE with high-fat meals. It affects the absorption of the medication which can increase the risk of seizures.
If you miss a dose of CONTRAVE, wait until your next regular time to take it. DO NOT take more than 1 dose of CONTRAVE at a time.

Resources to Support You from the Start

We know that being successful in achieving your weight-loss goals takes planning and time – that’s why we want to make sure you have all the resources you need to start your journey.

Get Real Advice From Real Patients!

Alisha: “Think of your weight loss and exercise program as a form of self-care.”

Janet: “Not only are you capable of positive change, but you also deserve it.”

Tori: “Learn to become friends with food—not enemies.”

Kalan: “Don’t restrict foods from yourself but pay attention to when you’re full.”