Potential Side Effects of Prescription Sleep Drugs

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Compulsive behaviors

If you suffer from severe restless legs syndrome, you may be prescribed a dopamine agonist such as ropinirole or pramipexole. Side effects include nausea and dizziness, but these medications have also been linked to compulsive gambling, eating, and sexual habits. A 2005 Mayo Clinic study found 11 cases of patients who had developed gambling habits while taking dopamine agonists for Parkinson's disease. In 2007, three RLS patients (including a woman who lost more than $140,000) were cited in another report.

Dopamine agonists target receptors in the brain associated with motivation and reward; researchers suggest that anyone taking these drugs be screened for compulsive behaviors and monitored carefully for warning signs.

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