Shopping Addiction Scandal: Women's Hidden Struggle

0:00On May 1st, children's author Sally Gardner hit big success in her early 40s with books selling 2.5 million copies and winning top, prizes like the Carnegie Medal. But right around then, she spiraled into a shopping addiction, blowing over 500,000 pounds on stuff like a 3,000 pound bathtub, fancy art, and trips to Paris. Turns out, it was triggered by dopamine agonist drugs, her doctor prescribed for restless legs syndrome, a condition they kept her up all night with, unbearable urges to move. She felt ashamed, but hooked on that dopamine rush, racking up huge debts, selling her North London townhouse, and even hiring an interior designer for. Tens of thousands in her new smaller flat, friends got so worried, one started begging local shops not to sell her anything. This happened while she dealt with divorce, young kids, menopause, and chronic sleeplessness. The drugs fixed her legs at first, but unleashed. Compulsive spending she couldn't explain.

1:01Sally's not alone. The BBC heard from hundreds facing devastating side effects from these drugs, prescribed for restless legs, Parkinson's, and more. Folks built massive debts, wrecked relationships, turned to crime, or worse. Compulsive shopping hit hard, especially women filling homes with useless items like multiple identical shoes or dog beds while others battled sex. Experts say shopping addictions fly under the radar more than gambling or sex urges because they're hidden, done online without quick feedback, and often dismissed as extravagance, particularly in women. Guidelines require doctors to warn Parkinson's patients, mostly men, but nothing for restless legs patients, who are mostly women. The drugs can even worsen symptoms over time, trapping people in a cycle. Now, after hearing a BBC podcast last year, Sally connected the dots, cut her dose, and fights the urges daily, questioning every purchase. She'll carry the financial fallout forever, but finally has answers in what she calls another

2:05scandal sidelining women.