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Contrave

Missed a Contrave dose? Here is what to do

Wait for the next scheduled dose — and never take two at once

Last reviewed: September 2026

Contrave is taken twice a day, morning and evening. The FDA label says that if you miss a dose you wait until your next regular time to take it, and that you should never take more than one dose at a time. This is not just tidiness: the label lists waiting for the next scheduled dose among the specific steps that reduce the risk of seizure with Contrave.

The rules

Three scenarios, three clear answers.

You missed the morning or the evening dose

Wait for the next scheduled dose

The Medication Guide says that if you miss a dose of Contrave, wait until your next regular time to take it. The prescribing information gives the same instruction in its list of steps for reducing seizure risk.

Two doses at once

Never

The Medication Guide says not to take more than 1 dose of Contrave at a time, not to take more than 2 tablets at the same time, and not to take more than 4 tablets in 1 day. Bupropion, one of the two ingredients, can cause seizures, and the label says the risk is dose-related.

You also take opioid medicines

Know that a gap changes your sensitivity

The Medication Guide says you may be more sensitive to the effects of lower amounts of opioids when your next dose of Contrave is due, if you miss a dose, after you stop treatment, and after detoxification — and that this can lead to overdose. It says to tell the people closest to you about this.

Decision flow

Step through this to figure out what to do right now.

1
Which dose did you miss — morning or evening?
Either way, the rule is the same

Contrave is a twice-daily extended-release tablet. The label does not distinguish between the two doses when one is missed.

2
Is your next scheduled dose still ahead of you?
Wait and take that one normally

Take your usual number of tablets at your usual time. Do not add the missed tablets to it.

3
Tempted to take both doses together?
No — this is a seizure-risk step

The label lists waiting for the next scheduled dose, never taking more than two tablets at one time, and staying within four tablets a day among the measures that reduce seizure risk.

Doubling up is a seizure risk with Contrave

Contrave contains bupropion, which can cause seizures — the incidence in the clinical trials was about 0.1% against 0% on placebo — and the label says the risk is dose-related. The label lists the ways to reduce that risk: keep the total daily dose within 360 mg of the bupropion component (four tablets), split it into two daily doses, escalate gradually, never take more than two tablets at one time, avoid high-fat meals, and if a dose is missed wait until the next scheduled dose.

Common questions

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