"i am back on contrave after a break. i took it for 1 year until my rx ran out &amp; my wedding was over :)  had lost a total of 35lbs, 3 dress sizes, and went from 36 to 31 bmi. was off it for about 4 months and gained back 10lbs in the first month or so. i tapered off the drug just like i had tapered on and i think that helped to lessen the side effects, even though the cravings came back very strong about 2 weeks after i had completely stopped taking it. things have plateaued now and i am losing weight on my own, just not as fast as with contrave, so am going back on to get to my goal bmi of 25."