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Article: Anti-Anxiety Drugs Raise New Fears [Correction 7/7/09]
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 30, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Stan Starr, a 54-year-old financial consultant, sat in the back
of the room filled with blue chairs, quietly tapping his Converse
sneakers on the carpet. The 12 steps to recovery, enshrined by
Alcoholics Anonymous, were printed in large black letters on a wall.
But Starr was there because of a different drug -- a class of
prescription medication called benzodiazepines.
Five years ago, he couldn't sleep at night, his heart raced, he
had wrenching stomach pains and felt as if his skin were crawling
off his bones. He was in the midst of a 21/2-year battle to withdraw
from the drug Klonopin, which his psychiatrist had prescribed to him
for anxiety. "I went through sheer living hell," he said. ...