10 Outrageous Hard Rock Stories
8. Duff McKagan Was Eaten From The Inside Out!
During their time in Guns n' Roses, Slash and Duff McKagen’s drinking was known for being out of control. The gruesome and life-threatening consequences of this behaviour became apparent in 1994, when Duff McKagen awoke to an excruciating pain in his abdomen.
At the height of McKagan’s drinking, he has admitted to going through a gallon of vodka a day, and as a way to mediate that, he tried switching to wine. A mere ten bottles a day was said to be an improvement for the bass player, but rock stars have never been known for sticking to the recommended 14 units a week.
The pain McKagan experienced was due to his over-expanded pancreas inflating to the size of an American football, bursting and subsequently leaking fat and protein-dissolving enzymes into his body. This guy was literally being eaten from the inside.
McKagan recalled that every time he moved, the pain would spread, as the enzymes leaked through his intestine. Luckily, a friend found him just in time to whisk him off to the hospital.
No stranger to opioids, McKagan recounts being administered heavy doses of painkillers - only for them to have no effect. He was apparently begging for the doctors to kill him, but eventually the pain subsided and his pancreas began to recover. It was quite literally the wake-up call he needed, and he has remained sober since that terrifying incident.