How long should patients take contrave?

Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion) is not a “one-time” medicine—it’s typically taken as a long-term treatment for weight management along with diet and exercise, as long as it’s helping and is well tolerated.

That said, the exact duration depends on how the patient responds:

• First 12 weeks: Patients should follow the standard titration schedule to reach the maintenance dose.
• Week 12 check (“continue or stop”): If they haven’t lost at least 5% of baseline body weight by week 12, clinicians usually stop Contrave because it’s unlikely to be effective.
• After week 12 (if it works): Many patients continue ongoing (months to years) with regular monitoring.

Important safety/monitoring: Patients should be followed for blood pressure, mood changes/suicidality risk, seizure risk, and medication interactions.

If you tell me the patient’s starting weight, current dose, and how many weeks they’ve been on it, I can help you interpret what clinicians typically do at their next decision point. (I can’t replace a prescriber’s guidance, but I can summarize the usual approach.)