Medications are supposed to make us better, not worse. Except that sometimes, the medications we take do a little more than we ask them to. For most people, taking medicine for any affliction is a trade-off: no more urinary tract infection, but now that the antibiotics have killed off all your helpful bacteria, you’re stuck with a yeast infection. Congratulations—you’re sort of cured!
We’re used to suffering a little bit for the greater good. Many common prescriptions cause mild but tolerable side effects, like nausea, loss of appetite, or drowsiness, and if the condition is severe enough, we’ll even put up with moderately upsetting side effects, such as weight gain, sensitivity to light, or heartburn. But there are some drugs out there whose side effects—while rare—are bizarre enough to cause some people to decide they’d rather live with the affliction than with the treatment.
Chantix—Extreme Sleep Disturbances
Many drugs cause insomnia, but a large number of Chantix users report having extremely vivid dreams, disturbing hallucinations, night terrors, and nightmares when they take this smoking-cessation medication; some have even reported other severe changes in mood or behavior. The good news is that even though Chantix acknowledges that “changes in dreaming” are a common side effect, it boasts a 44 percent success rate in helping people kick a terrible habit. Many who have tried the drug, however, find the hallucinations and dreams too upsetting; it’s actually been known to cause suicidal ideation—even in patients without a history of mental illness.
Requip, Mirapex—Impulse Control Disorders
These medications belong to a class of drugs called dopamine agonists. These specific brands’ primary use is to treat restless-leg syndrome, but they’re being prescribed increasingly for early-stage Parkinson’s disease as well, and many who have taken them have reported suddenly developing compulsive urges and behavior. In one study of three thousand Parkinson’s patients, researchers found that 13.6 percent had developed impulse-control disorders, such as compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, binge eating, and hypersexuality. The study showed that men were more likely to be affected than women, as were those patients who had developed early-onset Parkinson’s, smoked cigarettes, or had a family history of such disorders. Both brand-name medications have also been associated with hallucinations and amnesia.
