Hi Karen,

Some do not like the association between pwp and these behaviors and feel that it prejudices people - like a potential employer, against pwp. others have been thru hell with the disorder and say it goes away when dropping the agonists.

CNS Spectr. 2008 Aug;13(8):690-8.
Impulse-control disorders in Parkinson's disease.

Ferrara JM, Stacy M.
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, and resting tremor. Increasingly, Parkinson's disease has been associated with a broad spectrum of non-motor symptoms, such as olfactory loss, sleep disorders, autonomic dysfunction, cognitive impairment, psychosis, depression, anxiety, and apathy. In addition, a minority of Parkinson's disease patients develop compulsive behaviors while receiving dopamine-replacement therapy, including medication hoarding, pathological gambling, binge eating, hyperlibidinous behavior, compulsive shopping, and punding. These behaviors may result in psychosocial impairment for patients and therapeutic challenges for clinicians. This article reviews the anatomic substrates, behavioral spectrum, associated factors, and potential treatments for dopamine-replacement therapy-related compulsions in Parkinson's disease.

PMID: 18704024 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

article
http://mbldownloads.com/0808CNS_Stacy.pdf

adding another link:
http://www.pdonlineresearch.org/reso...pamine-replace

karen, when I was on one of the agonists at a fairly high daily level, I worked on the computer (photoshop ) for 20 hours a day. It was all i could think about doing. My husband finally convinced me I had a problem. I contacted my neurologist and titrated off the med. i remember when "i got my brain back."

My compulsion was fairly benign, but others have shopping or gambling compulsions (and have done real damage to their savings), sexual compulsions - this isn't all, but I can't think of other examples right now. (oops, read Paula's post --above this one--for more & better examples)

If you think you may be affected, contact your neurologist at once.

good luck,

Jean