Requip

ropinirole hcl

Requip is a dopamine booster that is also prescribed for Parkinson’s disease. The drug is increasingly being linked to side effects such as sudden narcolepsy, where victims will fall asleep without warning, and compulsive or addictive behavior, such as gambling, and compulsive shopping.

Requip and Mirapex, a similar dopamine drug, are part of a class of drugs being closely studied by drug researchers for their link to these compulsive behaviors.

Researchers say that dopamine serves as a chemical “pleasure stimulator” that when continually turned on reinforces addictive habits like drug-taking, gambling and obsessively playing video games without stopping.

Requip’s manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, has aggressively marketed the drug as a treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome, or RLS.

Critics of pharmaceutical advertising say Glaxo causes people who may just have a hard time sitting still to think they have a dangerous condition. That may lead these persons to take a drug that may be more risky than they think.

Common side effects observed in patients using Requip are:

• nausea
• dizziness
• drowsiness
• difficulty sleeping
• constipation
• unusual weakness
• upset stomach
• stomach pain
• headache
• dry mouth

Patients who experience any of the following seriously, but somewhat unlikely, side effects should immediately contact their doctors:

• hallucinations
• difficulty moving or walking
• difficulty breathing
• confusion
• restlessness
• leg or foot swelling
• fainting
• twitching
• chest pain
• unusually fast or slow heartbeat
• muscle pain
• vision problems
• fever
• severe muscle stiffness
• sudden irresistible urge to sleep

Source: “ROPINIROLE - ORAL”, MedicineNet.com, May 2007.