Parkinson's drugs can turn you into a sex addict: Nearly a fifth of patients develop strange obsessions – from …

By Clare Goldwin

PUBLISHED: 17:45 EST, 30 July 2012 | UPDATED: 09:12 EST, 31 July 2012

When Nikki Baudains was diagnosed with Parkinsons, one of the few positive things that seemed to come out of it was a new burst of creativity.

While previously the closest shed come to being an artist was face-painting children at fetes, two years ago a few months after starting a new medication she had a burning desire to paint.

Suddenly, art dominated her life; she produced thousands of canvases some 2,000 in the past 18 months alone and exhibited near her home in Jersey.

Compulsion: Nikki Baudains painted 12 hours a day. Her obsessive behaviour was a side-effect of the medication she was taking for Parkinson's

Like many other Parkinsons sufferers, Nikkis obsessive behaviour was a side-effect of her medication.

But while hers was expressed creatively, there have been other examples of Parkinsons patients developing more troubling behaviour, such as gambling or sex addictions.

Those affected find themselves trapped in an almost impossible situation: their compulsions are caused by medication, but they cant stop taking it because it would leave them unable to function physically.

For Nikki, 48, her obsession has come at a high cost.

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Parkinson's drugs can turn you into a sex addict: Nearly a fifth of patients develop strange obsessions - from ...