Courtney Love: I almost died last year

Hole singer Courtney Love has taken to social media to detail her battles against ill health, saying that she almost died in 2020.

In an Instagram post, Love says, "People, I’ve been sad, and extremely sick. Debilitated, in indescribable pain, and in August at 97 pounds I almost died in hospital from anaemia."

She continues, taking the medical profession to task taking not her condition seriously and saying she "was stigmatised for being an addict for nine months by many ill-equipped doctors, backwards doctors and quacks, while in debilitating, acute pain. Then I met the most empathic wise pain management doctor. I’m so grateful!"

Love goes on to say that her health improved after she started taking CBD oil (a product derived from cannabis, whose proponents claim it can help patients suffering from anxiety, depression, acne and heart disease, and assist with pain relief).

"I used to scoff at cannabis/THC," says Love. "And I also am no fan of the narcotic effect, hate weed feeling. This isn’t that. It’s woman and nature supporting us. It’s magic."

Love then goes on to thank actor and drug reform campaigner Woody Harrelson for showing her an issue of Popular Mechanics from 1959 which featured "the 67 uses of hemp.”

Love ends her post by saying, "Bear with me as I start to try and have a blast and help others every pain free day! I’ve been basically bedridden. I thought I was broken for sure this time. But I’m ok ! So I’m just waking and I’m frail. I’ll be strong again soon!"

In November, Love, who's currently living in London, hinted that Hole might reform, telling the NME, "Before I came back I actually had Melissa [Auf der Maur, bass] and Patty [Schemel, drums] come with our tech to this old-world rehearsal studio. We had a good session, but it takes a bit of time to get back into the rhythm of it all.

"It’s something I’d love to do and [I've] been taking guitar lessons over Zoom during lockdown and I’m writing again so we’ll see!"

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Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.