Patients blame medications for triggering gambling and addictive behaviors, and the numbers are growing

Hundreds of people are reporting that their gambling, shopping, and even sex addictions are actually side effects of the medication they’re taking for movement disorders. This isn’t just a handful of cases; over 250 individuals have reached out about these issues. The United Kingdom government called the findings “hugely concerning,” and the MPs’ Health Select Committee has asked the UK drug regulator to review current warnings.

Emma is one such patient who said the medication ‘ruined her life.’ She suddenly developed a spending and gambling problem and couldn’t understand it. That is, until her husband stumbled across a report linking her medication, Ropinirole, to such behaviors. Emma is especially frustrated that her doctor never made the connection despite being told of the medicine and the addiction. Per the BBC, she lost at least £30,000 until a medication switch changed things. 

These powerful drugs, including Ropinirole, are part of a family of dopamine agonists. They work by boosting dopamine activity, a chemical crucial for regulating movement, but also incredibly important for motivation and reward. When these systems are overstimulated by medication, it can lead to impulsive and addictive behaviors that patients simply can’t control.

Addictions of any kind destroys lives

This isn’t just about gambling; people have reported binge eating, cross-dressing, reckless investing, etc. There’s also a recurring and distressing theme of older women reporting that their husbands of many decades have become sexually coercive. Shockingly, about one in six Parkinson’s patients on these drugs experience some form of impulsive behavior, making these side effects “very common.” 

One family recently shared the tragic news that both a father and son took their own lives after the father’s impulsive behavior led him to steal £600,000 from clients to pay for sex. Other men have since come forward, recognizing their own hypersexuality in these reports. It’s much more damaging than stupid behavior associated with addiction. 

Ropinirole manufacturer, GSK,, knew about a case of pedophilia linked to its drug as early as 2000. The case was included in a 2003 report describing a link between Ropinirole and what GSK called “deviant” sexual behavior. It was years before patient leaflets warned of “sexual urges,” but the specific language about “deviancy,” or specific “addictive” side effects, never made it in. 

During the same period, GSK applied to use Ropinirole for Restless Legs Syndrome and collaborated with a private hospital to see if the drug could treat sexual dysfunction. Many affected individuals feel they have no legal recourse for side effects they weren’t warned about. However, legal cases are emerging internationally. A Belgian man was acquitted of a sexual crime because of his use of Ropinirole, and next month concludes a case in France on compulsive gambling. 

The hardest bit for most patients is probably that their lives are getting ruined by legal drugs that they need for  quality of life, and not illegal drugs like most would expect.