Curing restless legs syndrome could cost you the farm
If you’re taking medication to help your restless legs and suddenly get a hankering to go gambling, then proceed with caution. You’ll want to be aware that this just happens to be a side effect of a lot of the drugs used to treat this irritating syndrome. Instead of gambling, consider tossing that prescription bottle and trying a natural cure that won’t lead to bankruptcy and the loss of your children’s inheritance.
Impulsiveness is a side effect of the drugs that are commonly used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome (both are neurological disorders), and it creates an increased risk for pathologic gambling.
A research team took a look at some interesting case studies of patients who were taking the drugs used to treat restless legs syndrome, which are in the drug class of dopamine agonists. Specifically, they took a look at three patients who had developed a compulsive gambling problem, where before they had either never gambled, or only on occasion for recreation.
The three patients were taking an average of 0.5 mg a day of pramipexole, with one of the patients being on a daily dose of 0.25 mg of ropinirole. All of them were being treated for an average of 9.3 months. With each increase in dosage, the gambling behavior worsened. Once drug treatment was stopped, the gambling either stopped right along with it, or at least decreased drastically enough that two of the patients who still indulged on occasion at least weren’t losing their shirts.
As I’ve recommended in the past, you might want to reach for a plain old bottle of tonic water instead. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try—just drink a small bottle each evening for a few days and see if it helps. In my humble country doctor opinion, it’s better to reach for a bottle of a safe mineral supplement than a seat at the slot machine.
By the way, many drug and vitamin stores have products with other chelated forms of magnesium—malate, orotate, or fumurate—which can work great, too. Avoid magnesium oxide, if possible. It’s much more likely to cause diarrhea and very little of it is actually absorbed into your bloodstream.
