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Emma struggled to understand why she had suddenly developed a severe gambling addiction until she came across a BBC News article that shed light on her condition. Over a year, she lost tens of thousands of pounds but hadn’t suspected that her medication was a contributing factor. Emma is among more than 250 individuals who have reached out about addictions—including gambling, sex, and shopping—that have been linked to a family of drugs commonly prescribed for movement disorders.
Among those affected by these medications are professionals with responsible roles such as police officers, nurses, doctors, and even a bank’s director of risk. Despite initial reports highlighting the devastating consequences of impulsive behaviours associated with these drugs nearly a year ago, many patients say doctors still do not adequately warn them about these side effects or their high frequency. Although these drugs have recently been reclassified and are no longer considered first-line treatments for Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), prescription rates from general practitioners in England have not decreased.
Emma’s story highlights the personal toll these medications can take. She first developed RLS during pregnancy, a condition believed to be linked to iron levels. As her symptoms worsened, she was prescribed Ropinirole, produced by the pharmaceutical company GSK. Emma then began experiencing uncontrollable urges to gamble and overspend, feeling overwhelmed by what she described as something “controlling me.” It was only after her husband found a BBC story connecting her symptoms with the medication that she understood the root cause. Despite telling her GP about her gambling addiction and the medication she was on, Emma says her doctor failed to identify the link between the two and did not warn her appropriately. She estimates her gambling losses to be at least £30,000 and laments, “It’s ruined my life – we’re going to be in debt for God knows how long paying it off.”
The medication in question works by increasing dopamine activity, a chemical important for regulating movement, motivation, and reward. This overstimulation can lead to impulsive behaviours, causing significant distress to patients and their families across the UK. Reports from affected individuals describe destructive outcomes including substantial debt, broken relationships, criminal actions, and even suicide. Examples of side effects include binge eating, cross-dressing, reckless investing, and new sexual behaviours, including some men developing hypersexuality. Older women have also reported instances where their long-term husbands became sexually coercive, with none of the patients having any prior history of such behaviours or awareness that their medication could be responsible.
Despite about one-sixth of Parkinson’s patients on these drugs being affected by impulsive behaviours—considered “very common”—official medication leaflets do not reflect this prevalence and have been criticized for vaguely describing the side effects without detailing specific actions such as pornography addiction. In one notable case from last year, a family tragedy unfolded when a father’s impulsive behaviour led to him stealing £600,000 from clients, and both he and his son subsequently took their own lives. This story resonated with many others who have later come forward to share similar experiences.
Among the most concerning revelations is that GSK was aware of extreme side effects linked to Ropinirole as early as 2000. The company learned of a case in which a 63-year-old man on the drug sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl and was imprisoned. Although GSK reported this in 2003, labeling the behaviour as “deviant,” no warnings have ever specifically used such terminology. Instead, patient leaflets mention increased libido and “altered sexual interest” without explicitly addressing the severity or variety of potential behaviours. Simultaneously, GSK pursued Ropinirole’s approval for treating RLS and later collaborated on research to test its efficacy for sexual dysfunction, though the company states it did not sponsor or design those trials.
Regulators have explained that official
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