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The Gambling and Sex Tie-In to Parkinson's

A funny thing has been happening to Parkinson's disease patients. Many have developed gambling tendencies and sex addictions when they have never before shown any propensity toward them. The medications these patients have been taking to curb the tremors and other symptoms are the likely cause because once they discontinued them, within a few days, those impulsive behaviors diminished greatly.

Impulsive Behaviors as a Side Effect

Gambling and sex are not the only impulsive behaviors that have reared their ugly heads as a result of taking Parkinson's medications. Compulsive shopping, eating and other habits manifest themselves to the extreme as well. Men have a tendency towards gambling, drinking and sex addictions while on certain medications while women lean towards the compulsive eating and shopping.

In most instances, once the medications were stopped and leached out of the body, those impulsive behaviors greatly declined or disappeared altogether. The primary culprits in all of these behaviors have been the very medications that have greatly helped reduce Parkinson's disease symptoms - dopamine agonists such as Mirapax and Requip which work to mimic the chemical dopamine which the brain produces.

How Dopamine Agonists Work

Of course, not everyone experiences impulsive behaviors on these dopamine agonists but there has been enough of a prevalence to make cause for concern and prompt doctors to start giving the warnings to their patients. The primary consensus among doctors and medical researchers is that these Parkinson's disease medications over-stimulate the pleasure centers in the brain and not in a very uniform way either.

Patients who must take medications like Mirapax or Requip experience a significant reduction in Parkinson's symptoms like tremors and balance problems but at what price should they continue if the result is poor impulse control in certain behaviors? The effects of these behaviors have the potential to be devastating, not only to a person's financial health but physical health as well, particularly when compulsive or binge eating is the behavior in question.

When dopamine in the body works naturally, it often triggers the pleasure centers in the brain. For example, compulsive eaters get a type of "high" from gorging themselves on food but there is an inevitable crash and a feeling of the guilties and inadequacies. However, with Parkinson's patients, because the dopamine is released at regular intervals, there is no inevitable low, therefore creating a big problem.

Luckily, most patients who discontinue the medication, with doctor supervision, notice an almost immediate improvement in impulsive behaviors. Of course, not all medications prescribed for Parkinson's disease are the dopamine agonists. There are some drugs like levodopa that work to stimulate the brain itself to produce more dopamine on its own. These drugs do not manifest any propensity towards impulsive behaviors.

The bottom line is when patients are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease they must directly ask the doctor about side effects and potential problems of the medications. Not enough doctors are fully informed yet of the risks some patients may have so the patients must take some responsibility to research it themselves and become educated in the possibilities. Knowing the potential problems can better help patients identify uncharacteristic behaviors in themselves and get help as soon as possible.