Gambling Side Effect Medication
I was never a gambler. Once I went to a casino, I was hooked. When that got out of control, I self-banned myself from the local casinos. That didn't work, I continued to go.
Lottery scratch-off tickets became a new obsession. I spent thousands on them.
I became suicidal; almost succeeded the last time. My marriage fell apart because my husband believed that my gambling was a choice not a compulsion or side effect.
Once I was off the drug, my marriage was over, I had lost everything. This has been 7 years ago. My life was shattered. I have moved on but my life, although happy, will never be the same. Mirapex robbed me of everything.
I had contacted attorneys where I lived, but since the side effects and lawsuits were a well known thing (not to me) no one would touch my case. The ones that were willing wanted me to do all of the leg work. I couldn't afford this because I had lost everything.
So, I am left picking up the pieces of my life and the manufacturer of Mirapex got away with ruining another life.
It may sound like a good trial defense but more and more studies are showing that certain medications can lead to compulsive behaviours like gambling.
The antipsychotic drug Rexulti is new on the market, but researchers are already worried about the medication’s ability to cause impulse-control disorders. Excessive gambling; Compulsive shopping; Our attorneys have opened a full investigation into these potential side effects. We need your help. 5 Unexpected Side Effects of Common Medications. Some popular drugs may spark odd, unexpected reactions, like color blindness, deja vu and even compulsive gambling. Doctors now know why medication used to treat Parkinson's disease gives some people a high sex drive and makes others gambling addicts. And researchers hope they can now warn people if they are. Drugs called dopamine agonists have a rare side effect that may result in compulsive behaviors, including gambling, in some people. Certain personality characteristics. Being highly competitive, a workaholic, impulsive, restless or easily bored may increase your risk of compulsive gambling. During a recent study, published in the August 12 issue of Neurology, researchers discovered an unusual finding: Excessive gambling may be a possible side effect of dopamine agonists - drugs.
Of course these side effects are the exception to the rule. Yet as increasing numbers of people with certain medical conditions begin to exhibit these behaviours when taking specific prescribed medications, and find that the same inexplicable compulsions disappear when discontinuing the meds, experts are facing mounting evidence that there may be something to it after all which is adding new chapters to the psychology of gambling.
Here we’ll take a look at some of the leading compulsive behaviour inducing medications so that if you’re on them and find yourself being drawn to excessive, compulsive gambling behaviours, then you can seek help.
Parkinson’s Medications
Gambling Side Effect Of Abilify Medication
It is a well document fact that certain medications used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease have been associated with compulsive behaviours including impulsive and excessive shopping, gambling and sexual activities.
The reason for this is that the class of drugs in question, also known as dopamine antagonists, are designed to replace the loss of dopamine caused by structural breakdowns in areas of the brain that control the ability to move. The increased dopamine levels then affect other areas of the brain such as the dopamine-mediated neural system linked to the pleasure and reward behaviours and the associated emotions which then manifest in impulsive and compulsive actions.
Medication Side Effect Compulsive Gambling
Three popular and widely used Parkinson’s drugs namely Mirapex, Levodopa and Carbidopa have been identified in potentially causing these types of compulsive behaviours in a small number of users.
Mirapex (Pramipexole) is thought to be the most widely used of these drugs, with in excess of $200 million sales in the US alone last year. It has been designed to reduce tremors and stiffness of movement that are the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease and while the medication works wonders for the majority, for some users it is the beginning of a whole new nightmare.
Documented cases at the Mayo Clinic including a cases study of a 68 year old man who experienced losses in excess of $200,000 while gambling during a 6 month period while taking the drug and a 41 year old man who became obsessed with online gambling, losing $5000 in a short space of time. Both men insisted that they had never succumbed to such behaviours before taking the drug.
The same evidence is being presented in other parts of the world and doctors treating Parkinson’s patients now routinely ask patients using the drug if they have suddenly taken up gambling or are shopping or having sex more than usual. Those experiences these side effects are immediately switched to different drugs or have their doses adjusted, often with dramatic effect in that the compulsions vanish immediately.
Restless Leg Syndrome Medications
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a medically documented neurological disorder that manifests as anything from an unpleasant to painful sensation in an individual’s leg when at rest, often leading to sleep disruption and the ability to function due to it.
Interestingly, RLS is treated to drugs similar to those used to treat Parkinson’s disease, also in the dopamine antagonist category.
Two of the drugs in question include Pramipexole and Ropinirole (sold as Requip). Again documented cases of compulsive gambling behaviour coupled with severe losses in excess of $100,000 have been documented. In these cases, users were people with no prior history of problem gambling behaviour.
Schizophrenia / Bipolar Medications
A number of medications are used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders like Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. Abilify (Aripiprazole) is one of the top-selling drugs in this category, and has been linked to compulsive behaviour side effects such as pathological gambling, hyper sexuality and binge eating. These behaviours are again attributed to interference with neurotransmitters in the brain affecting dopamine and serotonin which in turn affect mood and behaviour.
When dopamine is stimulated in response to a specific activity, people experience highs of emotion and pleasure which in normal cases ensure that survival functions like eating are sustained. In people with mental disorders, these systems are often over or under stimulated.
It is believed that Abilify may over-stimulate dopamine reward receptors thus triggering compulsive behaviours.
Several case studies have been made into the link between this drug and excessive gambling behaviours and one study showed that seven out of eight patients who had no prior history of problem gambling behaviour lost control of their gambling habits when using it. After reducing the doses significantly or terminating use, control was regained.
Anti-depressants
Medical experts have also found a surprising link between the commonly used anti-depressant Effexor and addiction to gambling. While no conclusive studies have been conducted, numerous patients have reported compulsive urges to gamble after starting the medication.
Again Effexor affects the serotonin/dopamine centres of the brain, and this could be behind why some of these patients experience compulsive gambling as a side effect.