Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Have you or someone else with RLS, and who has been taking a dopamine agonist (like Permax, pergolide, Mirapex) discovered you have become a compulsive gambler? I have, and for years I didn't see the connection between the meds and the behavior, then when reports started to pop up, I thought they were just an excuse, but now I see many many reputable studies linking the two, but interestingly, more on the Parkinson's Disease web sites than RLS. I'm not looking for names or other identifying information, but would just like to know if there are others out there like me, who had no history or factors predicting addictive behavior, and after permax, turned my life and my family's life into hell. Thanks. Barbara

Hello , I have just joined the RLS Foundation and this is my first time on this site . I was surprised by your comments regarding RLS and gambling . I have also had a very serious bout of out of control addictive gambling and have completely ruined my credit and am deeply in debt . I had no idea there might be a connection to my RLS medication . THANK YOU !!!! for putting that info out in the public domain . tbolduc

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkin ... se/BN00043

Holy crap

Check out this blog, where dozens of people who have had the experience of compulsive gambling while on dopamine agonists (Mirapex, Requip and Permax) have posted their stories.... http://loveandcasinowar.com/blogarch/000267.php. Also, know that when you stop taking the meds, (or reduce the dose sufficiently), the desire to gamble goes away. But don't stop cold turkey...do this under your doctor's supervision (although you may well be educating your doctor about this side effect, and he or she may be skeptical). Other compulsive behaviors have been associated with this drugs...sex, eating, shopping. Amazing

We've had several posts about this off and on for a year or so. And many skeptics. I, for one, know all about it, but it was food for me. I gained 50 pounds while on Mirapex - 24/7 all I wanted to do was eat. The day I stopped it, I started losing weight, without dieting. I've lost 35 pounds to date, so 15 to go before I fit into my prior wardrobe (I had to buy two small wardrobes while I was gaining and losing).

But I've only seen three or four people post that they had problems out of hundreds that took it for RLS. Our doses are smaller, so maybe that helps prevent it to some degree. And the percentage of people affected is still small (albeit their lives are totally changed by this).

If I had to choose which drug to take, I'd still try the DAs first, given our current choices. Of course, with the knowledge that should I start gaining weight, having frequent sex with strangers, or spending the mortgage money at the slot machines, that I needed to stop taking it immediately and find another option.

Ann

Hi all
I'm new to this site as of tonight, but not to rls. I have been putting up with it for 26 years, as I am getting older, it getting worse. I have heard about the rls drugs/gambling connection, I'm sticking to my Klonapin for now, and sleeping on the floor with my legs agaist an immovable object!

the gambling and other addictions according to my neurologist has only been found with the requip and mirapex at higher dosages and not with sinemet.

just fyi

dee

ViewsAskew wrote:If I had to choose which drug to take, I'd still try the DAs first, given our current choices. Of course, with the knowledge that should I start gaining weight, having frequent sex with strangers, or spending the please notify moderators to remove this message money at the slot machines, that I needed to stop taking it immediately and find another option.
Ann

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are.

Git-R-Done

I'm sorry Lord be with the Starving Pygmies in New Guinea!

dee

A few months back I was on this board and saw someting about mirapex and gambling and did a Google on the subject.

I've been gambling way too much since a trip to Las Vegas in September. Since then I've kept gambling at local casinos, and it's gotten quite compulsive (i.e. run out of money and go to the cash machine until I've reached my daily limit, then wait till after midnight and withdraw more! Seldom hang onto my winnings, usually keep playing till they're gone. Think about going to the casino much of the time that I'm not there).

I read about problem gambling, and didn't think I was there yet. Turns out that something that happened to me in Las Vegas is a big factor in the development of gambling addiction--a big slot machine win soon after starting. A big reward for little effort or risk, but a lot of adrenaline and excitement. Suddenly my trip had paid for itself! Wow, have to keep trying this, maybe it's a streak... It wasn't. But the urge stayed with me throughout the trip and continued after I got back.

As it went on, I felt weak-willed and self-destructive over all the losses and of course the guilt and blame tended to lead me towards something that offered solace--more gambling. I saw it as my problem, but since I was able to occasionally make myself go home with some winnings, I tended to see the problem as less than it was--"getting caught up" "getting tired and not thinking" "forgetting to quit when I'm ahead a little and not trying for the impossible big win," that sort of thinking--it's not gambling addiction, it's just miscalculation at the moment.

I've been on mirapex for about 5 years, so of course I saw no connection.

Then I read the lawsuit site and some research that reminded me that dopaminergics are connected to addiction and to pleasurable or needful behaviors(like eating, sex, risk-taking/thrill-seeking).


Then some things clicked.

I'd gambled in the past. In the 90's I played blackjack as a bit of a hobby. I always budgeted small amounts, usually tried to see how long I could play before it was gone, never went to the cash machies, just went home when I played it out. I'd also played slots a couple times and found them boring and a big waste of money.

So: I gambled for several years before mirapex without addictive behavior. I went several years on mirapex without gambling. As soon as I gambled on mirapex, I got hooked.

Since stopping mirapex (well, cutting back as we switch to neurontin), the urge has gradually waned. I still do get the urge, but haven't gone overboard the last few times. Last night I had planned to go to the casino for a few hours, but just didn't feel like putting down my book, shaving and going out... While the loss of motivation was a bit distressing, the fact that I wasn't consumed with gambling is a relief. It hasn't quite been like flipping a switch, more like turning off a faucet. I can see the point where the behavior that is normally "me" became exagerated by the medication and it's subtle impact on my body's (my brain's) reaction to various stimuli.

I know it's kind of hard to think a drug or medication can make someone do things like this; I hope my little story might make it a bit clearer for others and help someone catch things before they go as far as they have for me. Which, thanks to thsi website, wasn't nearly as far as things have gone for others with the same problem!

I haven't had any problem with compulsive gambling. And my MS seems to have dealt effectively with any uncoltrollable sexual urges (darn it!)

But, I do seem to have developed a compulsive behavior--I'm blaming it on Mirapex. It's shopping. Not anything really extravagent, but just a continuous urge. If I get a coupon for some store, or they are having a good sale, I feel obligated to go and buy something. I've started my Christmas shopping; it makes a good excuse.

Probably the most telling factor would be if you could see the closet in my office/workroom. It's about half filled with yarn. Somebody has a good buy on some, and I think yeah, I'd like to make something out of that.

Anybody got any good crochet patterns?

The Wreck

That seems to be a harmless enough compulsion, Wreck. I share a similar compulsion to buy pretty fabric at the local quilt shop, and I'm not even on any DAs. I can only let myself go there about once a year. There's just something about fiber and pretty colors that makes me crazy (and happy).