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

[Rain1620]

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

The truth is, many has no idea that dopamine agonists like Ropinirole can basically alter impulse control. While these drugs are ground-breaking for illnesses like Parkinson’s or RLS, their side effects including impulse control disorders (ICDs) are not just behavioral habits, the reactions are psychological, more emphasis should be made on pharmacists and doctors warning families to be observant of sudden changes pertaining to spending, sexual activity and gambling, as the patient may not realize it’s the effects from the drugs till it’s too late.

There are reasons why such things happen but then, it’s heartbreaking, Dopamine is the basic neurotransmitter that is involved in the brain reward system. When certain medications increases Dopamine activity artificially for the treatment of physical symptoms like RLS, it can critically overdrive the reward seeking center, this brings sexual, gambling and shopping habits into a hyper stimulating loop that the reasonable mind conflicts to supersede. This is a chemical hijack not a behavioral failure.

This shows that there is so much gap in the medical system. Because these cases of patients been treated for physical illness without proper monitoring on their behavioral or mental health is unsettling. If soo much people are reporting same side effect case then stricter monitoring protocols should be provided for such patients. Let’s leave the stigma’s of addiction aside in such cases and come to realization that this is an adverse drug reaction (ADR).

[Findingnemo]

I am not an expert in medicine or the chemistry but if the medicine is already causing the dopamine rush as one of the side effect then how it leads to gambling, the same effect we get from gambling too, so it's the user at the fault who decides to double the dopamine probably due to dopamine resistance and ended up getting addicted.

[Alpha Marine]

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.

I doubt they even knew the content of the drug. When you get a prescription from a professional, you don't think about the content of the drug, you just assume and trust that the medical practitioner knows what he doing.
I doubt the people who prescribed the drugs thought too hard about the side effects. There are many side effects to drugs that people don't pay attention to. It's a case of negligence on their part.

The real question is, does this only happen to that woman or just a few people?
Most likely it’s just a coincidence and not something that’s clearly proven to be caused by the drug itself.
If it was really that dangerous, regulators would’ve stepped in by now.

If you read the article, you would have seen that more than 200 people are reported to have similar side effects, and it's not just a one-time thing.
Reposrt even shows that similar cases have been recorded since 2000. So it didn't start today. There are also lawsuits against the company in other countries.
The company knew their drugs does this things because they were testing the drug to see if it helps with sexual dysfunction.

[Fiatless]

Are we talking about an already known gambler taking this drug and making his gambling habit worse off?

This has been discussed in the article. They said that the users had no previous history of such behaviors, and that they had no idea it was caused by the drug they were taking.

In another BBC article, a patient had a history of porn and sex activities. The use of a drug called Pramipexole increased his activities and he became addicted. So this drug also has a record of increasing a behavior that could lead to addiction.   

Before his diagnosis, Andrew had used webcams and sex-chat sites roughly once a week. But in the year after he started on the pills, he made nearly 500 payments to them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clym0g4rlr2o

[rachael9385]

Haven't heard about this drug before but from your explanation it amplifies and increases the urge to do certain things a person is already engaged in. This also works like alcohol and some hard drugs that people take, for gamblers it increases the urge to gamble which leads to lots of losses or in some cases addiction. I have heard that some antidepressants given to some patients have this effect but I'm not sure about that.

[Floxynice]

To avoid situations like this, I usually research a new drug I am not familiar with before taking them. I watch out for the advance side effects and what to do if any negative effect occurs. At least if dopamine increases, I know what happened and I can either discontinue or speak with my doctor.

Maybe they didn't bother since they trust the doctors, they're experts in their field after all. But yeah, one google search is all it takes, see the AI overview below for Ropinirole's side effects. I do agree that what happened to the patients is due to the doctor's negligence, although I'm not sure if they could be held liable for it.

When a doctor prescribes a medication that puts the patients at risk of serious side effects, the doctor tells his patients what they may experience after taking the medication. He will also tell them what to do if any occurs. The patients have every right to sue the doctor for not explaining better to them. The damages from impulsive gambling can be unbearable, especially when it is done in an unstable state of mind.

[Doan9269]

I have heard a lot of people talk about dopamine function in related to gambling and how they react to this hormone, had it been it was not being specified that this is not about drugs but instead in taking medication, I would have just concluded by saying that it was as a result of their intake of some of these drugs, but come to think of it if truly dopamine have an effect on increasing the tendency for gambling, visually some of the prescription we receive from the medications with take could actually increase this hormone and thereby helping addiction towards whatever we do that relates to gambling.

[acroman08]

After reading the article, this reminds me of a thread that was posted here before. If I remember correctly, the thread was talking about medications for parkinsons disease, and the medication has something to do with increasing the dopamine in the body, and the side effects were very similar to what was mentioned in this thread. It is quite sad that there are medicines that could help with one problem but cause another to arise. I might look for the thread I mentioned and share it here in case anyone is interested.

edit: here's the thread that I was talking about There Are Medicines That Can Make You A Compulsive Gambler.

[EarnOnVictor]

This can be serious, and it's the reason why doctors should always tell patients the possible consequences of the drugs they prescribed. But first, these people can't just start gambling from the blues, they might have been active in gambling before the drugs aggravates it. Such drugs don't just pick an addiction for you, but what you are very used to.

People should even be aware of the natural chemical compound that are often consumed daily, like Caffeine, Rare Alkaloids/ Methylxanthines families etc, when they accumulate in the body, it's a problem, a reason for some strange behaviours at times. This why it's good to know what we take into our body, an informed lifestyle matters.

[Slow death]

The article doesn't say when people started gambling and when they started taking the medication. This would be very important information to understand if people took pills and then felt the urge to gamble, or if they were already involved in gambling and only then took the pills. An addicted person will always use some external reason to escape their responsibility. I know the article blames the medication, but would someone who has never been involved in gambling immediately create an account at a casino and become addicted upon taking the pill?

[Agbe]

I thought drugs are supposed to go through tests before they can be sold and then prescribed to patients that actually needs them, well, there's a possibility that these things won't be detected until they start reacting after been taken. I still don't understand how it is able to interfere with a persons psychological construct and make them addicted to gambling or any other thing. if that's the case it should be regulated.

[crwth]

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

So basically it amplifies the dopamine activity that you are doing? I didn't know that RLS can be treated with that and that there is a drug for increased dopamine activity. I don't think it's safe because you can get dependent on it people might get addicted to it as well just like what happened before with meth or any painkiller.

[FirmWars]

I read a snip from the article, I was looking to see if any of those victims were already gamblers before they started taking that drug but I didn't see a specific statement regarding that, so I will assume that they were probably gamblers but because the drugs they were taking is a dopamine drugs, it helped to also boost their urge, it's normal because drugs can do that, just that the doctor didn't also know that that's what the drug is going to cause for them, else he would have changed it. 

[fredericktaylor]

I thought drugs are supposed to go through tests before they can be sold and then prescribed  to patients that actually needs them, well, there's a possibility that these things won't be detected until they start reacting after been taken. I still don't understand how it is able to interfere with a persons psychological construct and make them addicted to gambling or any other thing. if that's the case it should be regulated.

Yes, after making a drugs, it is released in the market after thoroughly testing how effective it is for the human body. There are some medicines that do not cause any problems immediately after taking the patient, but a patient may gradually develop side effects after taking the medicine for a long time. So among all the drugs that the doctor prescribes to the patient, if the patient may have any problems in the future by taking any drugs, then the doctor gives medicine in advance to destroy the side effects.

[robelneo]

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.

This is one of the risks of taking drugs if it has side effects that can ruin your behavior. I think all prescription drugs have side effects on the body, and our task is to check what they are and what their harmful side effects are. In this case, the heightened drive to gambling, which, for me, is a dangerous side effect.

Doctors are aware of this, and if they fail to tell the side effects, then they are held liable. As a patient, you should also check its effect so you can consult your doctor; some effects are subtle, but every change in behavior should be reported.

[suzanne5223]

This is a type of issue is the reason why some people never trust the medical profession because there's no way someone will visit the Doctor for a solution to an issue, and what the Doctor does is double the issue instead of providing the patient the needed solution.
It is either the Doctor purposely prescribes the medication to make the patient have an increased interest in gambling addiction and hypersexuality. Besides, this type of medical prescription is considered to be medical negligence/malpractice, and if i were the victim, I would press charges against the Doctor to win settlements from atleast $100,000 to a million dollars.

.

[TypoTonic]

-snip-

In another BBC article, a patient had a history of porn and sex activities. The use of a drug called Pramipexole increased his activities and he became addicted. So this drug also has a record of increasing a behavior that could lead to addiction.

The drug seems to be another dopamine agonist used for treating RLS as well, so it makes sense that it also has the same side effects. The urge intensifies if the person already does such activities before.

-snip-

When a doctor prescribes a medication that puts the patients at risk of serious side effects, the doctor tells his patients what they may experience after taking the medication. He will also tell them what to do if any occurs. The patients have every right to sue the doctor for not explaining better to them. The damages from impulsive gambling can be unbearable, especially when it is done in an unstable state of mind.

Yeah they probably could. The patient clearly told her doctor about the behavior that she developed, but the doctor didn't seem to explain it to her. Quoting from the article:

When she books an appointment at her local GP surgery, Emma says she is required to fill in an online form where she must list any medication she is taking. But despite stating she had developed a gambling addiction - and was taking Ropinirole - Emma says her doctor never connected her behaviour with the drug's known side effects.

[Joy- maker]

It is said that Dopamine is a chemical messenger in humans brain, And there are drugs that can increase or strongly affect dopamine, Leading to gambling addiction and other addictions. And I did some research on ropinirole, and ropinirole happens to be the drug that is mainly prescribe for people with Parkinson's disease, and restless legs syndrome, but it didn't end there. The source also said that, ropinirole act like dopamine in the brain. And any drugs that can act like dopamine in the brain, can as trigger pleasure and reward.

And Frankly speaking, I am really feeling for those people whom ropinirole has triggered their dopamine, making them to crave for pleasure and rewards. And what mavel me the more is the fact that,  doctors are fully aware that ropinirole can trigger dopamine. Which can lead to gambling addiction and other addictions. But why prescribing ropinirole for your patients? there are drugs that can be use for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and restless legs syndrome, that can't trigger someone dopamine.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

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.

Thanks for sharing, this is the obvious side effect of this drug and if we go our way then it should be prohibited or even stop manufacturing it because of this side effects to the body and mind to increased the activity of dopamine and push us to do things like gambling and be addicted to it.

And perhaps what we really known for many years, that this big pharma are producing drugs that have literally affects our brain without telling the full information. It's a billion dollar business and so gonna be hard for anyone to really have this kind of drugs shelf off the market.

[Churchillvv]

I think this drugs is only going to increase whatever one has an interest in or maybe something that one has been practicing and if kept on as the same with the use of the drugs they could now develop a new sense of addiction or they may think that it’s the only thing that gives them joy meanwhile it’s the effect of the drugs that is affecting them. I guess now I believe we are at risk just for being alive.