The medications that can trigger sex and gambling addictions

单集文稿 ...

• 00:00

  Today we've got a special BBC investigation for you all.

• 00:03

  It's a really, really fascinating story.

• 00:06

  But I also want to note that this episode talks about sex and there's a mention of suicide.

• 00:10

  So please take care while listening.

• 00:12

  And if you have little ones around, you might want to listen to this at a different moment.

• 00:17

  When Charlene was 42 years old, living in Massachusetts,

• 00:21

  she began taking this new medicine to help her with mild depression.

• 00:25

  The drug worked.

• 00:26

  Her mood improved.

• 00:27

  But after taking it for a while, her behavior also started to change dramatically.

• 00:33

  I had this kind of insatiable sex drive all of a sudden, and that meant seeking out men wherever I could seek them out.

• 00:44

  What Charlene did n't realize, because the thought never crossed her mind,

• 00:48

  was that these changes were a side effect of her new medication.

• 00:52

  Millions of people all over the world have been prescribed drugs like the one Charlene was taking.

• 00:58

  They're called dopamine agonists.

• 01:01

  And they're used to treat various illnesses, from Parkinson's to depression.

• 01:04

  But for an alarming number of patients, these drugs don't just treat the symptoms of those diseases.

• 01:10

  They also have side effects that can fundamentally alter people's personalities.

• 01:16

  I'm Asma Khalid, and today on The Global Story,

• 01:19

  a new BBC investigation has heard from hundreds of people whose lives were turned

• 全部文稿