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Requip Side Effect Lawyers

Keywords: Requip Gambling Lawyer Side Effects Gambling Addiction

The lawyers / attorneys at our firm are investigating potential lawsuits on behalf of  victims of Requip side effects.  Requip is a popular medication used to control tremors associated with Parkinson’s Disease and Restless Leg Syndrome.  Unfortunately, drugs like Requip have been associated with gambling addictions and other compulsive behaviors.  If you or someone you know developed such a problem after starting treatment with this drug, we urge you to contact one of our Requip side effect lawyers as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.

 Most victims of Requip side effects  have had no prior history of obsessive or compulsive behaviors before starting therapy.  And in virtually every case, the compulsive behavior subsided once Requip was discontinued.  Despite such reports, the maker of Requip has denied that there is an association between these behaviors and this medication.  However, our Requip side effect lawyers are aware of numerous studies that show otherwise.

Victims of Requip compulsivity disorders may be entitled to compensation for their pain and suffering.  The Requip side effects lawyers at our firm have been able to achieve excellent results for victims of other defective drugs, and we are committed to making sure those whose lives have been impacted by Requip impulse control disorders receive the compensation they deserve.

Requip is a dopamine agonist and works by mimicking the effects of this neurotransmitter.  Parkinson's Disease occurs because of a lack of  dopamine in certain areas of the brain. Dopamine helps people control their movements and increases feelings of happiness and satisfaction. 

Dopamine agonists are powerful drugs, and can drastically alter brain chemistry.  For example, dopamine is known to produce a “rush” in the brain of people who are anticipating a reward or excitement.  Many experts believe that such a biochemical reaction is behind the reports of compulsive behavior linked to Requip and similar drugs.

The behavioral changes witnessed in some patients whose therapy includes dopamine agonists can be wide-ranging. On the mild side, some start engaging in benign activities - for example,  frequently  buying lottery tickets - and nothing more. Others, however, have been known to develop serious OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), as well as aggressive sexual impulses, overeating, medication abuse, or pathological gambling problems.

Since these personality changes are dramatic and involve conduct that the patient has usually not exhibited in the past, relatives and associates of anyone being treated with Requip should be aware of the potential problem and remain watchful for marked behavioral changes.

The side effects of dopamine agonists like Requip have caused bankruptcies, broken marriages, depression and even suicide.  As a result, more than 300 lawsuits against the makers of these medications have been filed in courts around the country.  These cases have been consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation in the US District Court in Minneapolis.

The first verdict was reached in a "bellwether" dopamine agonist lawsuit in the summer of 2008.    This lawsuit, which involved the drug Mirapex, resulted in an  $8.2 million jury award for the drug's victim, who blamed the dopamine agonist for his compulsive gambling.  In light of this case, the prospects that other dopamine agonist lawsuits will be decided in favor of plaintiffs are extremely good. 

 Studies Link Requip and Similar Drugs to Gambling Addiction, Compulsive Behavior

Scores of Requip users claim to have developed compulsivity problems while taking this drug.  Over the years, researchers have been able to document a strong correlation between drugs like Requip  and these problems.

In 2003, researchers at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona published a study that involved the monitoring of 1,800 Parkinson's patients over a one year period.  Of the 529 patients in the study who took another dopamine agonist called  Mirapex, eight developed gambling addictions. For most patients, the gambling behavior improved after they stopped taking the medication.

In July 2005, Mayo Clinic researchers reported  more documented behavior that supported an association between Requip and other dopamine agonists with gambling addiction and compulsive behaviors. The report detailed 11 Parkinson's patients who developed gambling problems while taking Requip or similar drugs between 2002 and 2004.  After the study’s completion, the Mayo clinic researchers identified 14 additional patients with the problem.

Finally, results from the largest study ever to investigate the connection between compulsive behavior and dopamine agonists like Requip was presented at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders conference in Chicago in 2008.  The study found that, out of 3,000 patients from 46 medical centers in the United States and Canada, 13 percent of those taking dopamine agonists suffered from at least one of four serious behavioral addictions.

The 2008 dopamine agonists study sent shockwaves throughout the medical world. In an article detailing the study in The Chicago Tribune, some doctors said that they would no longer prescribe drugs like Requip.  Others said they were strongly warning their patients who used Requip and similar drugs to be on the lookout for signs that they might be developing compulsive behaviors.

Other Requip Side Effects

In addition to compulsivity problems, Requip has been linked to a variety of other side effects.  The lawyers at our firm are offering free consultations to anyone who was treated with Requip and  developed other problems related to its use.

Other Requip side effects include:

• Abnormal dreams
• Arthritis
• Chest Pain
• Confusion
• Constipation
• Difficulty breathing/walking
• Hallucinations
• Vision abnormalities
• Decrease blood pressure resulting in nausea, fainting, blackouts and profuse sweating.

Help for Requip Side Effect Victims

If you or someone you love developed a gambling addiction or some other compulsive behavior after starting treatment with Requip, you have valuable legal rights. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to speak with an experienced Requip side effects lawyer at our firm.