Tranquillisers drove me to the brink of suicide
Former RTE star Shane Kenny reveals how being prescribed Valium led to crippling side effects he still suffers today
Shane Kenny
October 9 2016, 12:01am, The Sunday Times
Kenny is now coping with benzodiazepine-related issuesBARRY CRONIN
IT was dubbed "mother's little helper" by the Rolling Stones in the Swinging Sixties. That was the image then of diazepam, the chemical compound in Valium, one of the first benzodiazepine drugs. But there is a very belated, growing realisation that there's a much darker side than simply getting people hooked on their calming, tranquillising effects. Decades after the Stones sang about them, these drugs are still being prescribed by doctors for conditions outside of their recommended use for acute anxiety and insomnia.
For many, like me, they create long-term disabling harm with a terrifying array of painful symptoms which can last many years, or even permanently. I have made a documentary about my experience, Benzodiazepine Medical Disaster. In it a British expert, Professor Heather…