It's ruined my life': Hundreds tell BBC how medication triggered gambling

[_act_]

This is worth to be read, it is not about drug addiction but about drug that is prescribed by a doctor to their patients.

One mentioned is a women that developed Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy that become worsen over time (a condition thought to be linked to levels of iron). She was prescribed Ropinirole, a drug that can increase dopamine activity in the brain.

Not just this woman, several people have noticed that such during that increase the dopamine activity like this drug caused them to gamble more, leading to gambling addiction. Not only that, but also the people can develop hypersexuality and be having extreme urge to have sex. The drug also caused increase in shopping.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce948d9gxevo

[ZeroVinsonN]

This is worth to be read, it is not about drug addiction but about drug that is prescribed by a doctor to their patients.

One mentioned is a women that developed Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy that become worsen over time (a condition thought to be linked to levels of iron). She was prescribed Ropinirole, a drug that can increase dopamine activity in the brain.

Not just this woman, several people have noticed that such during that increase the dopamine activity like this drug caused them to gamble more, leading to gambling addiction. Not only that, but also the people can develop hypersexuality and be having extreme urge to have sex. The drug also caused increase in shopping.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce948d9gxevo

A simple look up on what dopamine can do would have revealed to them that it increases their chances of engaging in risk taking activities that can in ways bring some kind of pleasure and satisfaction, most drugs that lead to addiction are related to increased levels of dopamine as well. The drug was made to increase mobility by increasing energy and also probably causing a sense of restlessness to keep the patient active, it was bound to bring about the increase in risk taking activities but there is no way gambling would have been the first thing to come to a doctor's mind, increased sex drive is more understandable in order to bring about the pleasure but not gambling. It's really a regrettable side effect.

[Mhizlove]

You see some Durgs that are being prescribed to you will even end up changing Human behaviour not because the person is bad but because of the kind of drug the person take. When the dopamine is too high in human system yes it can push you into gambling , over shopping and you will be active sexually with the person even noticing it early.

That's why it's good to be talking to your doctor and let them monitoring such person because getting treatment suppose to heal your illness and not to spoil lives and again always follow doctor's prescription before taking any drugs or medication

[dimonstration]

I researched on the RLS symptoms and its uncontrollable urge to move the legs. Can’t imagine having a leg problem that will be upgraded to gambling addiction due to this drugs prescribed by a doctor. Worst part, it’s legal and can be use for other recreational purposes aside from gambling that can lead to different addiction.

It’s a dilemma to pick between leg problem and gambling addiction if the only medicine you can have has worst side effect than the problem itself.

[AmaGold70]

This is horrible, and someone in this kind of situation is actually in two difficult situations, every reasonable person want to gamble responsibly and have full control over their gambling lifestyle and even those who are already addicted to gambling want to come out of it. And supposing one is already an addicted gambler and such medication is given to such a person, which condition will the gambler find him or herself? Automatically the person,s gambling lifestyle will definitely become worse.
On the other hand, having sexual urge is not wrong, but when it is much it becomes a problem because your partner will surely complain and at thesame time you will need to be on regular supplement for you to remain healthy and strong.

[_act_]

I researched on the RLS symptoms and its uncontrollable urge to move the legs. Can’t imagine having a leg problem that will be upgraded to gambling addiction due to this drugs prescribed by a doctor. Worst part, it’s legal and can be use for other recreational purposes aside from gambling that can lead to different addiction.

Dopamine play a crucial role in movement coordination and overall motor control. There are some diseases that is as a result of lack of dopamine. Example is Parkinson's disease and according to how news is, RLS is also part of the diseases. But as one disesson is treated, it is leading to another thing which can affect the person.

[Zadicar]

I researched on the RLS symptoms and its uncontrollable urge to move the legs. Can’t imagine having a leg problem that will be upgraded to gambling addiction due to this drugs prescribed by a doctor. Worst part, it’s legal and can be use for other recreational purposes aside from gambling that can lead to different addiction.

It’s a dilemma to pick between leg problem and gambling addiction if the only medicine you can have has worst side effect than the problem itself.

This is what I do have in mind too on how these things that in connected in regarding about a drug that helps a leg problem on which of course if we do speak about dopamine then this wont be only triggered out to play  gambling but also in other things as well. I would say that it is that in connection into someones interest into something because if they've been wanting or liking sexual things before the intake then most likely this would be spark out at the time that they do had that medication. Same goes into those individuals who had been that dealing up with gambling earlier might be that also create that kind of urge to play even more just because they've been that in connected basing up on someones interest or activity that they've been that dealing into, but well these are just my assumptions though.

[Swordsoffreedom]

This is worth to be read, it is not about drug addiction but about drug that is prescribed by a doctor to their patients.

One mentioned is a women that developed Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy that become worsen over time (a condition thought to be linked to levels of iron). She was prescribed Ropinirole, a drug that can increase dopamine activity in the brain.

Not just this woman, several people have noticed that such during that increase the dopamine activity like this drug caused them to gamble more, leading to gambling addiction. Not only that, but also the people can develop hypersexuality and be having extreme urge to have sex. The drug also caused increase in shopping.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce948d9gxevo

A simple look up on what dopamine can do would have revealed to them that it increases their chances of engaging in risk taking activities that can in ways bring some kind of pleasure and satisfaction, most drugs that lead to addiction are related to increased levels of dopamine as well. The drug was made to increase mobility by increasing energy and also probably causing a sense of restlessness to keep the patient active, it was bound to bring about the increase in risk taking activities but there is no way gambling would have been the first thing to come to a doctor's mind, increased sex drive is more understandable in order to bring about the pleasure but not gambling. It's really a regrettable side effect.

Dopamine is not bad for the human body. It increases our attention , memory and learning ability. But it  becomes bad when there is excess dopamine release. And the final stage of this is addiction. And it can be, addiction to drugs , gambling or social media. Excess dopamine  release can cause any of these.
I agree with you that excess dopamine release will only  cause gambling addiction, it does not seem credible to me. If someone is involved in gambling  and takes the medicine mentioned by @_act_, then there is a possibility of increasing gambling addiction. But why would a common person only develop gambling addiction as a result of taking a medicine ?

[Nwada001]

But this shouldn’t be happening if the doctors know their job very well. There was a study conducted on classes of drugs, which are referred to as dopamine agonists, back in 2014, and it was already proven the drugs, aside from helping in what they are prescribed for, also have a serious side effect that contributes to an uncontrollable desire for gambling and sex.

If hundreds of patients are already complaining of losing money and the effect they have experienced due to intake of the drugs, those medical practitioners have failed and should be questioned because they are supposed to have warned the patients of the effects before giving them the drugs and also keep them under close watch.

There Are Medicines That Can Make You A Compulsive Gambler.

[PrivacyG]

If it can influence your behavior and emotions, it can influence your addictions and the rest of your life too.  I thought this was already pretty clear already, it is not much different from being prescribed medication by the psychiatrist.  It may do good on one side and a lot worse on others.

[Kelward]

If the dopamine drug can cause people to become addicted to gambling it means that they are gamblers before taking the drug because I doubt that any medication will instantly make none gamblers to become addicted to gambling. What it means is that anything that you normally do on the average the drug can trigger a dopamine that will cause you increased activities so if you like to run it can make you to be running faster. Perhaps the medication was prescribed to mostly gamblers and that can be why most of them were complaining of uncontrollable urge to gamble. Such drugs should only be given to patients that will be monitored we don't know people with very bad habits that the drug can trigger their attitudes.

[lovesmayfamilis]

You see some Durgs that are being prescribed to you will even end up changing Human behaviour not because the person is bad but because of the kind of drug the person take. When the dopamine is too high in human system yes it can push you into gambling , over shopping and you will be active sexually with the person even noticing it early.

That's why it's good to be talking to your doctor and let them monitoring such person because getting treatment suppose to heal your illness and not to spoil lives and again always follow doctor's prescription before taking any drugs or medication

On the contrary, I would say that any drug has contraindications and side effects that every "sick" person can read about in the instructions or on the Internet, and it is even better to conduct some investigation before trusting it. We must understand that doctors are the same people, and they can make mistakes. But the fact that every doctor prescribes a huge list of medicines, the sale of which works for the pharmaceutical industry, should always be understood, and these medicines should be trusted with caution.

[danherbias07]

Wow! I didn't know there was a drug such as that. Dopamine increases as a side effect. It's horrible. That kind of drug should be banned because many lives will be ruined by it.

Anyway, I think the victim should sue whoever prescribed it to her, or she could seek help from the government to sue whoever made it. It should not be given to people if there are so many risks involved. What more if it were given to a gambler? It will totally be a problem for them because it could trigger a gambling addiction that they didn't have before. I mean, from being a responsible gambler to suddenly becoming a gambling addict with just one drug.

[SamReomo]

She was prescribed Ropinirole, a drug that can increase dopamine activity in the brain.

That drug is known to cause impulsive control disorders and it's because of that someone has to gamble a lot and since one won't be able to control their impulses and thus over gambling, over eating, or over sexual activity can't be controlled. In some people there's possibility of increase in hunger levels and thus leads to over eating. Dopamine agonists can cause some other issues as well.

[Zlantann]

This is horrible, and someone in this kind of situation is actually in two difficult situations, every reasonable person want to gamble responsibly and have full control over their gambling lifestyle and even those who are already addicted to gambling want to come out of it. And supposing one is already an addicted gambler and such medication is given to such a person, which condition will the gambler find him or herself? Automatically the person,s gambling lifestyle will definitely become worse.
On the other hand, having sexual urge is not wrong, but when it is much it becomes a problem because your partner will surely complain and at thesame time you will need to be on regular supplement for you to remain healthy and strong.

The drug is also prescribed for people with Parkinson's disease and sexual dysfunction. The problem is that doctors didn't explain the effect of this drug to patients before prescribing it. If they were informed, I think some of them would have sought other means to curb the effect of these drugs or seek alternative medication. Now, many life has been ruined because of gambling, sex and other forms of impulsive behaviors. It is also a lesson to everyone to always do research on any drugs before use.  Gaming, sexual urge, shopping and other activities are not wrong. But it becomes a problem when it is uncontrollable.

[CryptoHeadlineNews]

This is worth to be read, it is not about drug addiction but about drug that is prescribed by a doctor to their patients.

One mentioned is a women that developed Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy that become worsen over time (a condition thought to be linked to levels of iron). She was prescribed Ropinirole, a drug that can increase dopamine activity in the brain.

Not just this woman, several people have noticed that such during that increase the dopamine activity like this drug caused them to gamble more, leading to gambling addiction. Not only that, but also the people can develop hypersexuality and be having extreme urge to have sex. The drug also caused increase in shopping.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce948d9gxevo

All drugs has both negative and positive side effects, and that's a more reason why a doctor's prescription is always important, so as to know the dosage one is expected to take, in other to avoid overdose of it, which might cause a negative side effect just like the intense urge of hyper sex and strong desire for gambling. Because I'm 100% sure that for doctors to have prescribed "Ropinirole" as a drug to be used when a woman develops "Restless Legs Syndrome" (i.e RLS) during, before or after pregnancy, then I'm perfectly sure they knew that was the perfect drug for restless leg pains. Ans likewise a strick test and prescription is meant to be taken, to avoid overdose of it. Because if only people he taken the drugs in moderation, there wouldn't have been any intensed urge for the sex and gambling. However, if the negative effects now seems to be highly than the positive effects, then the government now needs to search for another better alternative.

[Charles-Tim]

Now, many life has been ruined because of gambling, sex and other forms of impulsive behaviors. It is also a lesson to everyone to always do research on any drugs before use.  Gaming, sexual urge, shopping and other activities are not wrong. But it becomes a problem when it is uncontrollable.

Researching about a drug before use is a good advice, but people see doctors as the final, like they believe what doctor will say than what they will see online. Have you not seen a situation that doctor will say someone should not believe what he is reading online? They will tell you that without you telling them you went online. They believe people like to go online to make research about what they are going through before coming to them. I will not blame any patient on this, it is the doctors that we should blame. The patients have the right to know what the side effects of drug would be on them.

[KiaKia]

I don't believe this, if dopamine of a human is increased, it will only affect what they already love to do, someone who already hates gambling will never think about gambling if their dopamine is increased.

Those people already have one or two things for gambling already, the dopamine just happen to make them desire even more for gambling.

If someone hates gambling without dopamine they will do the we after dopamine is high, the dopamine will be directed towards something they are already excited about.

[aioc]

This is worth to be read, it is not about drug addiction but about drug that is prescribed by a doctor to their patients.

It's important to know not only what the drug will treat but also its side effects, so you can tell your doctor if you experience something new that you haven't had before and that only started when you took the drug your doctor prescribed.

Any prescription drug has a side effects and the doctor should first warn you of the after effect and ask you after a few treatment about the side effects.

Especially if the drug can have an effect on your behavior, which could develop into another ailment.

[_act_]

I don't believe this, if dopamine of a human is increased, it will only affect what they already love to do, someone who already hates gambling will never think about gambling if their dopamine is increased.

Those people already have one or two things for gambling already, the dopamine just happen to make them desire even more for gambling.

If someone hates gambling without dopamine they will do the we after dopamine is high, the dopamine will be directed towards something they are already excited about.

So what do you not believe about it?

Many of us that are posting on the gambling board of this forum are gambling. I gamble at least two time weekly but recently I gamble almost everyday as I am not using more than $2 each day on roulettes with $0.1 on each bet. That is not more than $15 even if I used all the money but it is although not like that. What if someone is like me but later started to take the drug? Such person can later become addicted.