Self-reported withdrawal symptoms and pathological gambling.

A broad spectrum of pathological gamblers (N = 222) were queried with regard to physical symptoms when attempting to slow down or stop gambling. Results were compared with a control group of substance-dependent patients who gambled at least casually. Sixty-five percent of the pathological gamblers (us. only 2% of controls) experienced at least one of the following: insomnia (50%), headaches (36%), upset stomach or diarrhea (34%), loss of appetite (29%), physical weakness (27%), heart racing or palpitations (26%), shaking (19%), muscle aches or cramps (17%), difficulty breathing (13%), sweating (12%), and chills or fever (6.5%). In addition, 91 % experienced “cravings” and 87% felt “restless and irritable” when attempting to cut down or stop gambling. Contrary to expectations, none of the symptoms correlated with gender, type of gambling, extent of alcohol or drug use while gambling, or self-described alcoholism or drug addiction. Symptoms did correlate with number of hours spent gambling, severity of the ...