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How interesting to read this now. I know from personal experience it is true. I was prescribed Permax (Pergolide) for severe restless legs/periodic leg movements in 2001. Shortly after that, through an ironic twist of fate, I was exposed to electronic gaming machines. I became almost immediately hooked and remained so for almost four years. It was only when I took myself off the Permax in November 2005 that I was able to contemplate stopping using the machines. I did not stop immediately because the habit had become so entrenched but I was able to stop altogether a couple of months later. Although Permax gave me immediate relief from the movement disorder it had almost immediate other side effects. I became quite depressed and felt "in the grip" of something beyond my understanding. I did request the physician to prescribe something else but he refused. My RLS/PMLS symptoms, validated by two clinical studies, were severe. Sometimes I found it impossible to drive and my sleep was very badly disrupted. I should note that I have MS as well as the other disorders. As time progressed both the Permax and the gambling threw me into a terrible cycle. It is almost though both simultaneously enhance negative effects. I think that people in Australia who experience this should report it to their doctors. There are possibly many more than are known. Medical science is already trying to put parameters around this by excluding people who may not have stopped gambling immediately or who may have had previous addictions, although they have long recovered from these. The reality is that the dopamine agonists seem to create a craving in susceptible individuals which is biochemically stimulated. Hopefully this discovery will create more interest into research into the chemical bases of compulsive disorders. Nobody is saying that this is all there is to "addiction" or compulsive disorders. We are simply saying that various factors contribute to the problems and we should be open to exploring them all.