excerpted from Mercola.com

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has updated the package insert for its restless legs syndrome (RLS) drug Requip. According to the new insert, Requip may cause “pathological gambling” and “increased libido including hypersexuality.”

These side effects are reportedly a class-wide effect, which impact all the drugs belonging to the non-ergoline dopamine agonist class of drugs. Specifically, the insert reads:

Another RLS drug, Mirapex (which is also used to treat Parkinson’s disease), has reported similar symptoms. The Mirapex package insert reads:

A 2005 study published in the Archives of Neurology also found that dozens of patients using Mirapex or similar drugs developed serious gambling addictions.

Hundreds of people have reportedly contacted lawyers about joining class-action lawsuits that allege Mirapex and Requip caused unusual side effects such as compulsive gambling, shopping, painting and eating. 

BrandWeekNRX.com August 14, 2007

Archives of Neurology July 11, 2005 (Free Full-Text Article)

This is a classic example of the extreme and potent side effects that medications can have on you. Imagine taking a drug and suddenly gambling away your life savings or becoming inexplicably hypersexual. And, to add one more nail to the coffin, imagine suffering these side effects from drugs that are intended to “cure” a disease that’s been popularized because of disease mongering. In disease mongering, a feeling or symptom that would normally be considered a normal part of life is labeled as a disease that requires a drug to treat it. Social phobias, pre-hypertension, attention deficit disorder (ADD), high cholesterol and, of course, restless legs syndrome (RLS), are all examples of conditions that may have been subject to this advertising practice. RLS, for instance, was once an obscure condition. It has gained much attention in the public's eye only after GlaxoSmithKline ran a commercial for their RLS drug Requip. GlaxoSmithKline spent $27 million to advertise Requip for the treatment of RLS in 2005. Perhaps as a result, 2006 sales increased from $97 million to $146 million. As one reader put it, “This is killing a mosquito with a cannonball.” In the case of Requip, the sad truth is that most people will NOT read the package insert to become informed about the side effects. A quick perusal of it, though, shows that a gambling addiction and hypersexuality are just the tip of the iceberg. How about this other, little publicized risk (the following is taken directly from Requip’s package insert): “Patients treated with REQUIP have reported falling asleep while engaged in activities of daily living, including the operation of motor vehicles, which sometimes resulted in accidents… some perceived that they had no warning signs such as excessive drowsiness, and believed that they were alert immediately prior to the event. Some of these events have been reported as late as 1 year after initiation of treatment.” Clearly, you are always better off turning to natural solutions for most any health problem you face (with one exception being an acute emergency trauma). If you decide to take a drug, the very least thing you should do to protect yourself is to READ the package insert so you know what you’re getting into.