"here&#039;s my situation: female, mid 30&#039;s, smoker, drinker, bipolar depression. i was already taking wellbutrine for depression, so i just stopped taking it when i started with contrave. smooth sailing. the benefit of having bipolar in this situation is that the medication i take for that, lamotrigine, is not only a mood stabilizer but an anti-seizure med. the bottom line: i haven&#039;t thought about smoking at all, haven&#039;t felt the need to drink and don&#039;t even think about it, and my mood and temperament is even keeled. this is great! i have found a med that tackles all of my problems, and it works! so i&#039;m on week 2 now. after the 1st week, i lost 8 pounds in my gut. no change the 2nd week. i have been staying under 1200 calories/day and exercising"