Reporting side effects - like gambling cause by Mirapex

[ViewsAskew]

I sent an email to the RLSF earlier today as I was concerned about the fact that people are reporting problems with Mirapex related to gambling, yet there is no information about this in the medical community.

The reason is that no one taking Mirapex for RLS has reported any problems as of yet! But, we now have at least 3 people just on this Website that have reported gambling problems associated with Mirapex. Until we report it and it is investigated, nothing can be done about it, and no warnings have to be put on the medicine.

So, I asked Dr B what we need to do. Here is what he wrote me, "All you have to do is get in touch with the manufacturer. They will send you all the reporting forms (and also to your treating physician separately) that you need. I get these all the time. Once they are registered, they can be investigated and into the scientific data base."

I urge any of you who have had unlisted side effects to contact the manufacturer and start the process, especially severe ones. This is for any drug, not just Mirapex and gambling. These researchers and doctors have their hands tied until we report these problems.

I went to the Mirapex Website to contact them and found this info: "This website is not intended as a method for reporting unexpected drug effects or adverse events for any Boehringer Ingelheim product. Please report any unexpected effects or product problems to the Drug Information Unit by calling 1-800-542-6257(option 4) [TTY: 1-800-459-9906]."

I will be calling them myself, as I gained a significant amount of weight. For me, it was compulsive eating, that I had no control over. As soon as I stopped it, the need to eat diminished and I started losing. I truly feel that Mirapex was responsible, and it was an addiction. Again, I urge those of you who reported gambling problems to do the same. I'd love to have company throughout this process!

Ann