Requip: "Will My Family Ever Forgive Me?"

April 4, 2009, 08:00:00AM. By Jane Mundy

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Bensalem, PA: "When I found out Requip is to blame for my gambling I was relieved that I wasn't a bad person but I don't think my family will ever forgive me," says Cass, crying. It is very difficult for her to talk but she wants to get her story told. Cass's gambling—a Requip side effect-- was so out of control that she stole her boyfriend's credit cards and more.

Cass says she had never had a gambling problem until her doctor prescribed Requip for Restless Leg Syndrome. " My doctor gave me the Requip multi-pack to determine the right dosage and I was taking 1mg, 3 times a day," says Cass. "It definitely helped stop my legs from twitching but I started going to Bingo a lot (I used to go twice a week and now I was going 6 days a week). I was buying lottery tickets as well and then I started going to the casino. All I could think about was gambling, every hour, every minute…

In March 2008 my doctor upped the dosage to 2 mg and that is when it got worse.

I opened credit cards in my boyfriend's name and he found out. He asked me why $300 was taken out of our bank account and I would just lie, saying I had to lend it to someone or just pay a bill. Instead I had spent it at the casino.

I went to Gamblers Anonymous but that only lasted a few weeks-gambling was always on my mind. Then my boyfriend's daughter moved in. I maxed out her credit card and her checking account and now she wants to press charges against me; I don't blame her because she had to file bankruptcy. I ruined their credit—and there is nothing I can do.

My last day of gambling was March 14th; that is when everything hit the fan. My sister caught me red-handed and my family also found out about my boyfriend's daughter's credit cards.

I have lied to everyone and that is just not me. They don't understand that it was because of Requip; they wonder how I could have done this to them. (At this point Cass can't talk—she is crying and distraught)…

I kept seeing a commercial on TV about the Requip side effects but it still didn't register. Just a few weeks ago I went back to Gamblers Anonymous—I promised my family that I would go 3 times a week. I met a pharmacy technician (another gambler) at one of the meetings; we started talking and I asked if she knew about any side effects of Requip.

'Ohmigod don't tell me you take that,' she said. 'Yes, I am taking it now,' I replied.

Then I began to wonder, is it me or is it the meds that is causing my compulsive gambling? She advised me to do some research and that is when I came across LawyersandSettlements . I had no idea Requip was to blame. I had never read about any side effects and nobody, including my doctor, ever told me.

I would rather go through the agony of the pain in my legs than go through the pain of hurting my family like I did. I am scheduled to call my doctor tomorrow and I hope that I can get an alternative drug or come off Requip quickly. I am hopeful that once I come off Requip I will pull myself together and try to make amends with my family. I'm not sure if I can ever get their trust back; my boyfriend told me that I am dead to him right now because I hurt him and his daughter so much."

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