u/SunnyBlue8731

Trying to decide if I should quit or if it’s worth battling through.

Need to lose about 20 pounds. Did lose 45 pounds on Contrave a year ago until it stopped working last summer. Did one month on 1.5mg and started 4mg this week. While on 1.5 I had three episodes of vomiting. Also feel fatigued. No vomiting on 4 until today (Day 4). I don’t feel great and I have a full time job and the fatigue and vomiting are interfering.

I have tried all the tips - hydrating, electrolytes, low fat high protein non greasy food. No sugar at all. I also don’t have much of an appetite yet and only losing about 1 pound a week. I took a trip the third week of 1.5 and ate out most meals. No vomiting and I felt mostly fine.

I read that some people struggle early on with a new dose and then it all balances out and they are fine. I know everyone is different so don’t know whether this is likely. Anyone have a similar path and made a decision to quit or keep going?

I turn 65 in mid December 2031. My husband turns 65 in mid June 2032. I am currently working and my health insurance covers both of us. We won’t take social security until after age 65. He is not working.

I like my job and am happy to work as long as I need to not to have a gap in health coverage. I don’t want to sign up for an Affordable Care Act plan as we did that a few years ago in between jobs and had to change doctors and it was just a bit of a hassle and if we have any real medical issues at that time I don’t want to deal with it. I am happy to retire before I am 65 and pay for Cobra as that won’t change our coverage.

Relying on Cobra and then moving to Medicare when eligible, how does the timing work? Do I work until December 2030 - which is 18 months before my husband is 65, meaning he will have full Cobra coverage until he is Medicare eligible? If yes, do I still sign up for Medicare in the 3 months before I turn 65 but indicate I’ll have Cobra until June 2032?

I’m not too worried about timing it exactly - happy to work until Jan/Feb 2031 to ensure no gap but can’t seem to find any resources indicating how my employer based coverage/Cobra and Medicare interact when I am the older spouse. Happy to be pointed to some good resources and as we get closer I’m sure we’ll get some actual broker advice.

Thanks for any help with this!

I’ve had one month on 1.5. Lost about 8 pounds which is great but I think the first few were water weight. Anyway, my appetite is still there and so is the food noise. Mostly, the loss is due to using it as a tool and consciously walking more and eating less.

But also, I’ve had three vomiting episodes and I don’t vomit normally at all. So that explains some of the loss as well. One turned into four days of not feeling well even though I didn’t take the pill on days 2-4.

I had to decide whether to move up after only the first episode and with the appetite and food noise there I decided to move up.

My last episode was on Friday and I felt better by end of the day. I’m making better food choices - fewer smaller meals and prioritizing protein more and I now have an electrolyte drink every morning. I am pretty sure the episodes were triggered by eating somewhat greasy food.

Has anyone else experienced this? Some nausea/vomiting but not paired with actual effectiveness? What did you do? Have you been successful with certain foods (or eliminating some) or timing the pill with anything? Any other tips?

If it’s awful on 4mg I will go back to 1.5. But on 1.5 it feels like it’s more willpower than an actual change and I know willpower only goes so far. (Posted first by mistake in another sub)