Tales of Mirapex Gambling Direct from the Gutter

January 21, 2011, 1:30PM. By Gordon Gibb

Washington, DCThe stories are heartbreaking—the pain flowing from the pens and keyboards of real people who have been stung by Mirapex gambling. Pramipexole is indicated for the treatment of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and Parkinson's. A diagnosis of Parkinson's is bad enough. However, the words of Mirapex patients who have left comments with askapatient.com are compelling.

One gentleman in particular, who identified himself as a 60-year-old Parkinson's patient, posted on January 14 that he had developed a sex addiction that involved porn on the Internet, but also unprotected sex outside his marriage "with anyone I could pick up," he wrote. "Withdrew $10,000 from my IRA, just blew it, nothing to show for it except the sex." The man also writes that he started smoking pot, indulged in compulsive lying, was not content to stay home, was suddenly never satisfied with life, and placed himself "on the road to self destruction."

Mirapex compulsive behavior is but one of various adverse reactions associated with pramipexole. It works by stimulating dopamine production in the brain, in a fashion that is thought to minimize the effects of Parkinson's or RLS and slow its progression.

However, some go off the deep end of the Mirapex side effects pool.

"Doctors never knew, nor did they tell us about these side effects," the 60-year-old writes. "My wife was filing for divorce because of my behavior, which I was continually lying to her about because I could not stop, no matter what, until my wife looked this drug up on the Internet and read about side effects."

The author goes on to say that his wife called the doctor, and the Mirapex drug was soon stopped. While he doesn't explain the outcome of both stopping the medication or the fallout of his outrageous Mirapex behavior, he does offer, "I doubt we will ever recover from this."

Another contributor referenced a complete change in personality and compulsive gambling "that nearly cost me my marriage and did cause loss of over $35,000" due to Mirapex and compulsive gambling.

This gentleman, age 55, did admit that Mirapex helped with the symptoms associated with Parkinson's—"but not worth the agony and hell incurred—stopped the drug and the problem stopped," he writes. "Wish I had known sooner what this drug could cause…"

This past fall the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a number of generic drug manufacturers have received FDA approval for generic versions of Mirapex. That means that a drug linked to compulsive behavior is going to be increasingly available to a larger group of patients. Pramipexole, whether sold as Mirapex or generically, will continue to pose a risk for Mirapex compulsion. According to the Responsible Gambling Council, hundreds of Mirapex patients have consulted with a Mirapex lawyer with regard to their compulsion and the resulting damage.