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News,11 Mar 2025,5 mins

The prescription drugs that gave me a gambling addiction

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Like many people, Sue would only bet once a year - on the Grand National. But after she was prescribed medication to ease her Restless Leg Syndrome, she developed a gambling problem that left her in £80,000 of debt. And she's not alone. The BBC's Noel Titheradge has spoken to dozens of fellow sufferers of movement disorders who say they weren't warned by doctors of the serious side effects which went on to ruin their lives. Dopamine agonist drugs, used to treat these conditions, can cause some patients to change their behaviour and even develop addictions to gambling and sex.

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