Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
Hi everyone,
I'm so glad to have found this group. I've been struggling with gambling addiction for the past few years and was in a very dark place in my life... lying to my family, secretly taking money from our "vacation" account to go to the casino and buy scratch tickets, trying to make up for past losses and always telling myself if I could just win one more time...
By what we believe is divine intervention, I won a jackpot from a slot machine on Dec 4th and it was too big to hide. My wife put 2 and 2 together and I confessed to her that I'd been gambling for a long time. That night she was reading online about gambling addiction and almost immediately found a connection with a medication I've been on since 2008.... Mirapex. This is a drug used to treat Restless Leg Syndrome, and we have since found out that gambling and other compulsive behaviors are a side effect of this medication for some people. It is a dopamine agonist which we have since learned has to do with the pleasure and reward part of the brain. (I also have had some of the other compulsions, including excessive alcohol and food. Compulsive lying is also part of it.)
Long story short, we met with my doctor who confirmed all this, and I tapered off the medication and I'm now completely off of it. While the urges have diminished, they are not totally gone and this was put to the test last week when I had $30 cash in hand for the first time since Dec 4th. I was definitely feeling the urge to buy scratch tickets and it terrified me. I believe that even though I'm off the medication, the compulsion/addiction/habit is something I'll have to battle for the rest of my life.
I have been keeping a journal and it has been 42 days since I've been to the casino and 40 days since the last scratch ticket. I also use it to keep track of alcohol and lying. It is helping me stay on track more than anything else.
I struggle with the adrenaline that I'm missing from the rush I used to get from gambling. I have a very hard time sitting still and find that I feel antsy most of the time. I've tried doing other things like exercise, baking, and just keeping myself busy with my family and that all helps but I do still feel anxious a lot of the time.
I have read a lot of the discussions on here and identify with almost all of them. I was really hoping that getting off the medication would end it all, but there are still some urges in there and I'm so scared to go down that road again. I hope this group will be another source of support to help keep me on the right track.
Thank you!
I'm so glad to have found this group. I've been struggling with gambling addiction for the past few years and was in a very dark place in my life... lying to my family, secretly taking money from our "vacation" account to go to the casino and buy scratch tickets, trying to make up for past losses and always telling myself if I could just win one more time...
By what we believe is divine intervention, I won a jackpot from a slot machine on Dec 4th and it was too big to hide. My wife put 2 and 2 together and I confessed to her that I'd been gambling for a long time. That night she was reading online about gambling addiction and almost immediately found a connection with a medication I've been on since 2008.... Mirapex. This is a drug used to treat Restless Leg Syndrome, and we have since found out that gambling and other compulsive behaviors are a side effect of this medication for some people. It is a dopamine agonist which we have since learned has to do with the pleasure and reward part of the brain. (I also have had some of the other compulsions, including excessive alcohol and food. Compulsive lying is also part of it.)
Long story short, we met with my doctor who confirmed all this, and I tapered off the medication and I'm now completely off of it. While the urges have diminished, they are not totally gone and this was put to the test last week when I had $30 cash in hand for the first time since Dec 4th. I was definitely feeling the urge to buy scratch tickets and it terrified me. I believe that even though I'm off the medication, the compulsion/addiction/habit is something I'll have to battle for the rest of my life.
I have been keeping a journal and it has been 42 days since I've been to the casino and 40 days since the last scratch ticket. I also use it to keep track of alcohol and lying. It is helping me stay on track more than anything else.
I struggle with the adrenaline that I'm missing from the rush I used to get from gambling. I have a very hard time sitting still and find that I feel antsy most of the time. I've tried doing other things like exercise, baking, and just keeping myself busy with my family and that all helps but I do still feel anxious a lot of the time.
I have read a lot of the discussions on here and identify with almost all of them. I was really hoping that getting off the medication would end it all, but there are still some urges in there and I'm so scared to go down that road again. I hope this group will be another source of support to help keep me on the right track.
Thank you!
It's sounds like you've got a great start and a great support in your wife, that helps tremendously. Keep it simple and focus on today!
It won't be easy, but almost anything worth doing isn't. You can do it!
Jay
Hawkfan-Chris
Thank you for this post. I'd like to think that a change in medication will help me overcome this problem.
Can I ask .....what medication did your Dr. prescribe for RLS as a substitute?
I am not taking anything for RLS right now. I decided to hold off and let some time go by to see how my body reacted. I have found since I've been off it that my RLS is not nearly as bad as it once was. I was taking 3-4 pills (.25mg) nightly (which was an increase from the 1-2 I used to take in the beginning) I also dramatically decreased my alcohol consumption and that has also had a huge impact.
My best suggestion is to talk to your sleep doctor right away and be sure to taper off the Mirapex - don't go cold turkey. Also read and get as much info as you can about this. We are working with my sleep doctor to change the way he discusses these side effects with his patients and he is planning to change the follow-up questionnaire to specifically ask about gambling, shopping, eating, sex, and other compulsive behaviors. If I had seen that on a form at one of my past visits, I'm sure it would have made a difference. We are asking him to also share this info with his colleagues so that they will do the same thing.
SO glad this may have shed some light for you! My wife and I are planning to share this information as much as we can to hopefully help as many people as possible.
I hope you'll keep me posted. Feel free to ask me any other questions that come up. Happy to help.
I've read that Requip is sometimes used as an alternative but I believe that is also a dopamine agonist and many people have the same side effects with that one.
If I have a thought to gamble or an urge, I can log on here and write about it or read about someone else struggling. I am not sure why but the urge passes.
GA or other face to face support group(s) really help.
Relaxation with hypnosis really helped me get through the anxiety of the first few weeks.
Thank you for sharing your experience, hawkfan. I think that there are alot of medicines out there that address one medical need, but then have a negative impact on something else. So glad you found the co-relation between mirapex and compulsive disorders!! Keep coming back.
I can understand that there are some pharmcutical mechanisms that can move one toward compulsive gambling, but I would put less stock in that than maybe just being sick.
Everyday I keep watch for my disease to trick me, to undermine my recovery and I grasp my powerlessness like my life depends on it.
From my powerlessness I get my strength.
I know I am sick and if I keep on point for nine more months it will be ten years.