Gambler cured by Brain Surgery

[harry 3]

This is cheap at £30k.

A compulsive gambler who lost thousands on fruit machines has undergone radical brain surgery to cure his addiction.

Raymond Mandale, 58, took the drastic decision after losing more than £10,000 at his local bingo hall in a single year.


During a six-hour operation which cost £30,000 surgeons fitted a "neuro stimulator" to Mr Mandale's brain.


The battery-operated device is then used to send electrical pulses to "reset" the area that stimulates the desire to gamble.


The surgery, which was paid for by the NHS, is now Mr Mandale's last hope of beating his addiction.


Normally used to treat patients with Parkinson's Disease, new research has shown it can also benefit those with addictive personalities.


Mr Mandale, of Workington, Cumbria, claims it was side effects from drugs he was given to treat the effects of Parkinson's that caused him to start gambling in the first place.


The father of two, who controls the neuro-stimulator himself, said yesterday: "When I was gambling, I begged, borrowed, stole and I lied.


"I was totally out of control for a year. I would sometimes tell my wife that I was going round to the shops and I would be straight round to the bingo hall."


Mr Mandale's gambling habit, which has seen him thrown away £10,000 on gaming machines at his local bingo hall, had wife Joan, 55, in despair.


The only solution to his problem was to undergo the radical surgery, which the father-of-two said cost the NHS thousands of pounds.


He was previously a non-gambler and is now taking legal advice, saying he might sue the drug's American manufacturers for their failure to warn him of the possibility of addictive and compulsive side effects.


Since his case came to light, clearer warnings are now included by the manufacturers.


Mr Mandale's small fortune went into gaming machines at Workington's Opera Bingo centre in Cumbria.


Doctors decided that the only way he could be cured of his habit was through a six-hour operation at Newcastle General Hospital in February.


Probes were fixed into his brain, and then wired to a neuro-stimulator sewn into his chest.


Mr Mandale, a paper factory fitter, is still on moderate medication, but electrical stimulation using apparatus controlled by him has replaced most of the chemical stimulation he obtained from the drugs.


On legal advice, he has chosen not to name the specific drug.

He said its effectiveness was not in question but the side effects were unforeseen.

He did not blame his doctors he said and added: "When I was gambling, I begged, borrowed, stole and I lied.

"I was totally out of control for a year.

"I would sometimes tell Joan I was going round to the shops and I would be straight round to the bingo hall.

"I had some wins, of course, but it all went back in.

"Sometimes in the mornings I would stop and think and tell myself I had to stop, but then I took my medication and all resistance ended."

His wife Joan said: "We are a close family and we have a strong marriage, but it almost came apart.

"I was off from work for seven months with stress and shingles.

"There was no way I could face my customers.

"All I wanted to do was to stay at home and cry."

West Cumbria consultant neurologist Nick Russell was not available for comment this week.

A fellow doctor said: "As far as I know, these unwanted effects are very rare.

"Most drug companies do list possible harmful effects."

A spokesman for Graves (Cumberland) Limited, which operates Opera Bingo, said they complied with the Gambling Act of 2005, which aims to protect children and vulnerable persons.

Bingo operations manager Shaun Edwards said: "We have a self-exclusion scheme and we do everything to inform and enable people how to control their gambling.

"We remember Raymond as a nice guy and as a happy customer and a regular customer. None of his actions ever gave us any cause for concern."

[cashino]

And BACTA class most UK slots as 'AMUSEMENTS with prizes'.............
Self-exclusion is bollox, what performance-related manager wants to ban a saddict??? Like a pub banning all its alcoholics.....or football club all its fanatics?
I'm starting to wish the govt would just simply ban slots altogether except old 1p+2p ones at seaside and in casinos.

[RUDE]

What a twat.

£30k of OUR money to help an addict?!?! Hope it shorts out and kills the f**ker!!

[PMK]

Raymond Mandale, 58, took the drastic decision after losing more than £10,000 at his local bingo hall in a single year.

I kept telling him not to follow the PMK on those golden games!!!!

[mr lugsy]

we have to leave gamcare leaflets all over the s16 b3 and cat c sections of the arcade. they gather dust, no one is interested in these things, as cashino states , no operator in their right mind would bar or coerse a big spender or addict into self exclusion. when the rare occurence of somebody actually requesting self exclusion happens we do have to record it and bar them for 6 months , but this is extremely uncommon,i have only seen this work once.

[RUDE]

There's plenty of help available for problem gamblers. Gamcare and GA are just 2 (for the record I have a friend attending GA for his Roulette 'habit' and it's working wonders!)

Why oh why should the taxpayer stump up £30k+ because of an addiction.

Pathetic!!

[Cardinal Sin]

Ever got drunk and ended up in casualty? I'm sure many of you have... I could use your same argument and say "No joy to you. Nobody asked you to get drunk. Treating you is a waste of tax-payer's money etc...."

But no, you get treated, and there's nothing stopping you going out the next weekend, getting trolleyed and ending up in hospital again.

Whereas this chap is actually having treatment which will prevent him gambling again. I assume that a large majority of problem addicts will steal to feed their addiction. Remove their addiction = Remove the stealing.

30,000 notes is a fair price in my opinion.

[harry 3]

The thing is how do you know a person has a gambling problem ? They can hide their addiction much more easily than an alcoholic or drug abuser ? When I worked in arcade one women inherited a house off of her ex husband and blew approximately £20,000 in a year on one machine. The machine was a 10p play £2 jackpot each way shuffle. She would play from 9.00am to about 1.30 pm, then go to bingo, come back at about 4.00 pm and play until 6.30 before going back to bingo for the evening session, six days a week.

[alcozar]

If the current crop of machines with £8 minimum for boards, e.t.c doesn't put you off gambling, nothing will.

Even an addict friend of mine is steering clear of most machines atm.

[RUDE]

Ever got drunk and ended up in casualty? I'm sure many of you have... I could use your same argument and say "No joy to you. Nobody asked you to get drunk. Treating you is a waste of tax-payer's money etc...."

Nope, never, if I think I've had too much I'll stop drinking. If I was stupid enough to end up in casualty I wouldn't blame the hospital for sending me a bill.

Typical of modern-day Britain, nobody takes responsibility for themselves anymore!

[harry 3]

Ever got drunk and ended up in casualty? I'm sure many of you have... I could use your same argument and say "No joy to you. Nobody asked you to get drunk. Treating you is a waste of tax-payer's money etc...."

Nope, never, if I think I've had too much I'll stop drinking. If I was stupid enough to end up in casualty I wouldn't blame the hospital for sending me a bill.

Typical of modern-day Britain, nobody takes responsibility for themselves anymore!

Exactly right. Drunks in hospital should pay for their treatment. If they can afford to drink, they can afford to pay. Everyone nicked for being D&D should cough up £500 a time also to pay for the time coppers are off the street filling in the paperwork and the money spent catching more serious criminals.