"i have been on and off this medicine for a year or so and what i&#039;ve found is that when i stay on it and take it like i&#039;m supposed to, i lose weight and eat healthier.  when  go off i eat horribly but it&#039;s honestly more of me going off my diet so i don&#039;t bother with the contrave.  now i have been taking it faithfully since february 1st and eating low carb and i&#039;m down over 25 lbs.  i think it does really work and it helps me make better choices.  my main reason for this review is to let all of the &quot;newbies&quot; know that the side effects will go away.  i felt horrible for the first few weeks as i was building up my dosage but i have absolutely no side effects now.  start very slowly and gradually build up to the full dose"