Eminem Admits He Nearly Died From Prescription Drug Abuse

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Eminem has opened up about his brush with death due to prescription drug abuse.

The rapper, now 40, reveals the harrowing details of his journey with addiction in a new documentary, “How To Make Money Selling Drugs” (produced by former “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier).

“Once I took my first Vicodin, it was like this feeling of, ‘Ahhhhh,’ like everything was not only mellow, but [I] didn’t feel any pain,” he says in a clip from the film posted on YouTube. “It just kinda numbed things. I don’t remember when exactly it became a problem, I just remember liking it more and more.”

The artist said he didn’t believe he was abusing drugs, as they were all legal medications – and he alienated anyone who tried to tell him differently.

“I would say, ‘Get that f**king person outta here, I can’t believe they said that s**t to me,’” he said. “‘They don’t know nothing about my f**king life, are they out of their f**king mind? I’m not out there shooting heroin, I’m not out there putting coke up my nose, I’m not smoking crack.’”

Adding, “I literally thought I could control it.”

Eventually, the abuse nearly took his life; he received medical attention in the knick of time.

“Had I got to the hospital about two hours later, I would have died,” he said. “My organs were shutting down. My liver, kidneys, everything. They were gonna have to put me on dialysis, they didn’t think I was gonna make it. My bottom was gonna be death.”

Despite the stark reminder of his own mortality, Eminem said he relapsed “within a month.”

“I shot right back up to the amount of pills I [had been] taking,” he said. “I remember just walking around my house and thinking every single day, like, I’m gonna f**king die. I’m looking at my kids, and like, I need to be here for this.”

Once h decided to get clean, detoxing from the pills brought many side effects, including what Eminem described as weeks of severe insomnia.

“I literally was up 24 hours a day for three weeks straight – and I mean not sleeping at all. Not even nodding off for a f**king minute,” he said. “I had to regain motor skills, I had to regain talking skills. It’s been a learning process.”

The rapper said he’s come a long way and offered encouragement to those who may be struggling with the same addictions.

“I’m growing. [In the beginning] I just couldn’t believe that anybody could be naturally happy or naturally function or be just enjoying life in general without being on something,” he said. “So I would say to anybody, ‘It does get better, you know.’ It just does.’”

“How To Make Money Selling Drugs” also features interviews with Russell Simmons, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson and more.