Doctors didn't warn women of 'risky sex' drug urges

Patients prescribed drugs for movement disorders - including restless leg syndrome (RLS) - say doctors did not warn them about serious side effects that led them to seek out risky sexual behaviour.

Twenty women have told the BBC that the drugs - given to them for RLS, which causes an irresistible urge to move - ruined their lives.

A report by drugs firm GSK - seen by the BBC - shows it learned in 2003 of a link between the medicines, known as dopamine agonist drugs, and what it described as "deviant" sexual behaviour. It cited a case of a man who had sexually assaulted a child while taking the drug for Parkinson's.

While there is no explicit reference to this side effect in patient leaflets, the UK medicines regulator told us there was a general warning, external about increased libido and harmful behaviour. GSK says a risk of "altered" sexual interest is also referred to in the leaflets.

Some of the women who described being drawn to risky sexual behaviour told us they had no idea of what was causing it. Others said they felt compelled to gamble or shop with no history of such activities. One accumulated debts of more than £150,000.

In a statement, GSK told the BBC Ropinirole had been prescribed for more than 17 million treatments and undergone "extensive clinical trials". It added the drug had proven to be effective and had a "well-characterised safety profile".

"As with all medicines, [it] has potential side effects and these are clearly stated in the prescribing information," it said.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said that while a specific reference to "deviant" sexual behaviour is not included in warnings, such impulses vary and a general warning about activities which may be harmful is included.

It also said that it is important for healthcare professionals to explain the possible risk to patients and not all experience these types of side effects.

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Source: BBC News, 11 March 2025