The Contrave dose in the label is not a single number: it starts low and steps up over the first weeks to a maintenance total of two tablets taken twice daily. telos rx does not sell Contrave, though it does offer a compounded oral GLP-1.
Searches for "contrave dose" and "contrave dosing chart" want a grid of week numbers and tablet counts. This article deliberately does not print one, and the reason is the most useful thing here. Nothing below is guidance for you. Every figure is a label fact, and only your prescriber decides what you take.
What Is Actually Inside One Contrave Tablet
Contrave is a single extended-release tablet holding two active ingredients. Per the label, each tablet contains 8 mg of naltrexone hydrochloride and 90 mg of bupropion hydrochloride, which is why it is often written as the contrave er 8-90 mg tablet. There is only one tablet strength, so escalation happens by changing how many tablets are taken, not by switching pills.
That answers a common question about how much bupropion is in Contrave. Bupropion is the larger component by milligrams and is the same active ingredient as Wellbutrin. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist used in alcohol and opioid use disorder. The pairing is covered in What Is Contrave? and Contrave vs Wellbutrin.
Why the Label Ramps the Dose Instead of Starting at Maintenance
The stepwise start exists for two reasons, and only one is about comfort. The first is tolerability: starting at a fraction of the maintenance amount gives the body time to adjust, a familiar pattern across weight-management medicines including the class in how GLP-1 medications work.
The second is more serious. Bupropion can cause seizures, and the label states the risk is dose-related. The prescribing information reports seizure incidence of approximately 0.1 percent among people receiving Contrave in clinical trials versus 0 percent on placebo. Because that risk tracks with dose, the label names gradual escalation, divided twice-daily dosing and a ceiling on the total daily amount as measures that reduce it.
This is what gets lost when the schedule is reduced to a chart. The ramp is not a formality to rush through. It is one of the drug's named safety mechanisms.
Why a Dosing Chart in an Article Cannot Replace a Prescription
The label does contain an escalation table, published for prescribers inside a document that also carries contraindications, drug interactions, organ-function adjustments and a boxed warning. Lifted out of that context it looks like a recipe. It is not.
Consider what the table alone omits. The label sets a reduced maximum daily dose in moderate or severe renal impairment and in moderate hepatic impairment, does not recommend Contrave in end-stage renal disease or severe hepatic impairment, and sets another reduced maximum alongside certain interacting medicines.
A chart on a blog knows none of that about you. A prescriber does, because they reviewed your kidney function, liver function, medications and seizure history first. That is the honest answer to how to take Contrave: as your own prescriber directed.
Administration Notes the Label Puts Alongside the Numbers
Several label instructions concern circumstances rather than quantity. Contrave is taken by mouth morning and evening, and in clinical trials it was given with meals. The label also states plainly that Contrave should not be taken with a high-fat meal, because that significantly increases systemic exposure to both bupropion and naltrexone, and ties this directly to seizure risk.
On a missed dose, the label's seizure-risk recommendations say the patient should wait until the next scheduled dose and resume the regular schedule. Doubling up is not part of the label. Again, that is label content, not instruction: a missed dose is a question for your own prescriber or pharmacist.
Why Response Is Assessed Before Treatment Continues
Reaching maintenance is a checkpoint, not a finish line. The label instructs that response should be evaluated after 12 weeks at the maintenance dosage, and that if a patient has not lost at least 5 percent of baseline body weight, Contrave should be discontinued, because meaningful weight loss becomes unlikely with continued treatment.
The pivotal evidence is the COR programme, including COR-I, a 56-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial that itself used a three-week dose escalation. What those trials found is covered in Does Contrave Work?. No head-to-head trial against a GLP-1 medication is cited here, and Contrave and GLP-1 trial figures come from separate studies in different populations, so they are not a direct comparison.
A Different Oral Option, and How It Differs
People comparing oral options often look at both Contrave and compounded oral GLP-1 preparations. They are not the same category.
| Contrave | telos rx compounded oral GLP-1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory status | FDA-approved brand-name medicine, initial US approval 2014 | Not FDA-approved; compounded by licensed US compounding pharmacies |
| Active ingredients | Naltrexone HCl and bupropion HCl in one tablet | Compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide; the tirzepatide formulation is prepared with ondansetron |
| Pathway | Appetite regulation and reward pathways; not a GLP-1 | GLP-1 receptor pathway |
| Form | Extended-release tablet, swallowed whole | Daily sublingual dose held under the tongue about 60 to 90 seconds, then swallowed |
| Who sets the dose | The prescriber, following the approved label | The prescriber, accounting for lower sublingual bioavailability than an injection |
| Boxed warning | Yes, for suicidal thoughts and behaviors | Not applicable; different medicine and different class |
Contrave's approved status is a genuine advantage that compounded preparations do not have. An FDA-approved product has been through the agency's own review of safety and effectiveness. Compounded medications have not. Hold that difference clearly rather than treating the options as equivalent. The route question alone is covered in oral vs injectable GLP-1 medications.
telos rx does not offer Contrave. If you are exploring oral options more broadly, the telos rx programme is a compounded oral GLP-1: a different medicine, a different class, and not FDA-approved.
See the telos rx oral GLP-1The Boxed Warning Belongs in Any Dosing Conversation
Contrave carries a boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It reflects the increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior seen in children, adolescents and young adults taking antidepressants, and bupropion is an antidepressant. The label directs monitoring for emerging or worsening suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and states Contrave is not approved for use in pediatric patients.
The escalation schedule arrives attached to monitoring only a clinician who knows your history can carry out. The Contrave prescribing information on DailyMed is the primary source above; the safety picture is in Contrave side effects and the boxed warning.
How the telos rx Evaluation Works
telos rx is an online-first, asynchronous telehealth service and is LegitScript-certified. You complete a written intake covering health history and current medications, and a licensed provider reviews it and responds in writing without a scheduled appointment. Everything is subject to medical approval by a licensed provider, and approval is not guaranteed.
Eligibility is generally framed as a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with a weight-related condition. As of publication the page lists pricing from $9 a day on the prepaid three-month plan, with the online visit and expedited shipping included; the tirzepatide formulation is prepared with ondansetron. Service covers all 50 states through licensed US compounding pharmacies, and formulations vary by state. See how to start GLP-1 therapy.
Keep Reading
- Is Contrave a GLP-1? How It Compares to Wegovy
- Contrave vs Qsymia vs Phentermine: Pills Compared
- Contrave Cost: With and Without Insurance
- What Is Semaglutide? A Complete Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maintenance dose of Contrave?
The label describes a maintenance total of 32 mg naltrexone and 360 mg bupropion per day, which is two 8 mg/90 mg tablets taken twice daily, reached at the start of week 4. That is reported here as label content and is not guidance for any individual. Your prescriber sets and confirms what applies to you.
How much bupropion is in Contrave?
Each Contrave extended-release tablet contains 90 mg of bupropion hydrochloride alongside 8 mg of naltrexone hydrochloride. There is only one tablet strength. Bupropion is the same active ingredient as Wellbutrin, which is why the label carries antidepressant-class warnings and seizure precautions a prescriber weighs before writing it.
What does the Contrave label say about a missed dose?
The label's seizure-risk recommendations state that if a dose is missed, the patient should wait until the next scheduled dose and resume the regular schedule rather than doubling up. That describes label content, not advice for your situation. Ask your own prescriber or pharmacist what to do about a missed dose.
Should Contrave be taken with food?
The label notes that in clinical trials Contrave was administered with meals, and states it should not be taken with a high-fat meal, because that significantly increases systemic exposure to both bupropion and naltrexone. The label links avoiding high-fat meals to reducing seizure risk. The label also states that tablets should not be cut, chewed or crushed. That is label content, not instruction for you.
Is there a Contrave dosing chart I can follow?
The prescribing information contains an escalation table, but it is written for prescribers and sits beside contraindications, drug interactions and reduced maximums for renal impairment, hepatic impairment and certain interacting medicines. No chart in an article can account for your kidney function, liver function, medications or seizure history. Only your prescriber can.
Does telos rx prescribe Contrave?
No. telos rx does not sell, prescribe or supply Contrave. telos rx offers a compounded oral GLP-1, a different medicine in a different class, and it is not FDA-approved. Contrave is FDA-approved and must be obtained through a licensed provider and pharmacy independently of telos rx.
TelosRX is LegitScript-certified. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and are prepared under federal compounding regulations. Approval is subject to evaluation by a licensed provider; approval is not guaranteed. Individual results vary. TelosRX operates as an online-first, asynchronous telehealth service.
If Contrave is what you are considering, take this to a licensed provider who can prescribe it, because telos rx cannot. If you would rather explore a different option, the telos rx compounded oral GLP-1 programme is not Contrave and is not FDA-approved, and you can complete the written intake here: start an online visit for the oral GLP-1. A licensed provider reviews every request; approval is not guaranteed.