apparently, the same paragraph regarding impulse control disorders and gambling, word for word, that appears in the Mirapex product labeling was inserted into Sinemet product labeling late last year - read more about it here:

http://anukets-crusade.blogspot.com/...-who-knew.html

and

http://anukets-crusade.blogspot.com/...n-sinemet.html

product label can be found here.

here is the paragraph from the 12/08 sinemet label that cautions of a possible association with impulse control disorders:

"There have been reports of patients experiencing intense urges to gamble, increased sexual urges, and other intense urges, and the inability to control these urges while taking one or more of the medications that increase central dopaminergic tone and that are generally used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, including SINEMET. Although it is not proven that the medications caused these events, these urges were reported to have stopped in some cases when the dose was reduced or the medication was stopped. Prescribers should ask patients about the development of new or increased gambling urges, sexual urges or other urges while being treated with SINEMET. Patients should inform their physician if they experience new or increased gambling urges, increased sexual urges, or other intense urges while taking SINEMET. Physicians should consider dose reduction or stopping the medication if a patient develops such urges while taking SINEMET."

Yeah, I noticed that myself. And I think it's true, altho for me night and day between sinemet and mirapex. But I think it's probably true for anything that skews your dopamine so much. I think it's basically not nice to fool Mother Nature - which doesn't mean for me that we shouldn't look for treatment, but that we should increase our understanding of what the whole context of dealing with the neurotransmitters - if you agitate one, it's going to affect the others. Seems like a no-brainer to me - but then I guess that's easy for me to say, LOL!!!!

Thanks to Anuket for finding this. I have no idea what is going on. The studies about destructive compulsive behavior were about the agonists. Years of media reports and hundreds of lawsuits. And last year, apparently with no publicity, sinemet suddenly runs out and says, "Me, too, me too". After 60 years of being the gold standard, suddenly it volunteers to join Mirapex as the drug from hell? Are they trying to take the heat off Mirapex? Or are they covering their rear ends by warning us, so we cannot say we were not warned. But we have seen no studies implicating sinemet, have we? So the sinemet makers are protecting themselves just in case. But then they could make a 400 page warning, that would warn about everything anyone can imagine. They are defending themselves from an accusation no one has made.
Sorry, I have completely lost track of this whole thing. What little I thought I understood about it just fell through a crack in the floor. A controversy about agonists rages for years; now the makers of sinemet say, "Ho hum, big deal, sinemet has exactly, almost word-for-word, the same guilt as Mirapex. And no one noticed for 60 years. And now we warn about it, and still nobody knows unless they stumble upon one of our warning labels, which usually no one ever reads."
I feel like Dyan's Mr. Jones. I know something is going on there, but I have no idea what it is.
I guess it long since has nothing to do with science; it's just obscure, Byzantine corporate spin-doctoring. But I have no idea, other than sensing that I have reached the Utter Futility at the Edge of the Universe, and so I can go away feeling content that I have already seen it all, and so need question no more.