# What were Kurt Cobain's illnesses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643 "2003-11-22T07:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kurdt\_Kobain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/258eb7/32.png) [@Kurdt\_Kobain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kurdt_Kobain)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/21 "2003-11-23T11:06:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeadlyAccurate \* > \*\*:eek: You’re dead, too!? \*\* I didn’t know being dead was a disease. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mearl\_Dox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Mearl\_Dox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mearl_Dox)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/22 "2003-11-23T11:50:43Z")
At least it’s not catching! ---
**Author:** ![Bandanaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ab097/32.png) [@Bandanaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bandanaman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/23 "2003-11-23T12:13:09Z")
I dunno. I think if I was married to that skank, a shotgun would look pretty good to me too. I might just aim it little different though. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/24 "2003-11-23T12:29:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kurdt Kobain \* > \*\*Fuck you! He was a great man. \*\* He was a whiney asshole who couldn’t handle his fifteen minutes of fame. Me, and ten thousand other wannabe singers would have gladly traded places with him, stomach problems and all (altough, most people would have had the common sense to get rid of Courtney). Its too bad he’s dead, 'cause the album after the sucky In Utero would have flopped big, and they would have ended up in the has-been heap with all those other crap 90s alt-rock bands like Soundgarden and Soul Asylum instead of being elevated to Doors-like cult status. Fuck Cobain. Krist Novoselic is cool though! Jon ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/25 "2003-11-23T12:49:12Z")
Nitro, have you got some kind of disease that causes you to start problems with guys asking simple questions? Kurt Cobain was reported to have stomach problems for years before he died, and this guy wanted to know what’s up. Sorry that rubs you the wrong way, although the problem seems to be more of the green-eyed variety. Having offered no answers to the question the OP was asking, shouldn’t you leave this thread alone now? ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/26 "2003-11-23T12:55:40Z")
_ **HIJACK** _ Ernest Hemingway was unquestionably a great man and he ate lead out of the end of a shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/27 "2003-11-23T14:59:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kurdt Kobain \* > \*\*He was obviously trolling. \*\* My point remains. ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/28 "2003-11-23T15:23:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\*My point remains. \*\* Your “point” has nothing to do with the OP. Quit being a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/29 "2003-11-23T15:40:19Z")
Mind explaining how I am being a jerk? This outta be good… ---
**Author:** ![Kurdt\_Kobain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/258eb7/32.png) [@Kurdt\_Kobain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kurdt_Kobain)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/30 "2003-11-23T16:03:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\*My point remains. \*\* So what? Should his trolling be allowed to go unchallenged? ---
**Author:** ![Kurdt\_Kobain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/258eb7/32.png) [@Kurdt\_Kobain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kurdt_Kobain)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/31 "2003-11-23T16:05:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nitroglycerine \* > \*\*He was a whiney asshole who couldn’t handle his fifteen minutes of fame. Me, and ten thousand other wannabe singers would have gladly traded places with him, stomach problems and all (altough, most people would have had the common sense to get rid of Courtney). Its too bad he’s dead, 'cause the album after the sucky In Utero would have flopped big, and they would have ended up in the has-been heap with all those other crap 90s alt-rock bands like Soundgarden and Soul Asylum instead of being elevated to Doors-like cult status. > Fuck Cobain. > Krist Novoselic is cool though! > Jon \*\* He was very mentally ill, he had depression and some other mental problems(what, exactly, is currently known to me, but he did have problems). Also, their is a valid case for Love being the perpetrator of his death, but unfortunately the case for it was closed. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/32 "2003-11-23T17:40:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kurdt Kobain \* > \*\*So what? Should his trolling be allowed to go unchallenged? \*\* If someone is being a dick, a mod will usually deal with it. You can do what you want to. Just take it as friendly advice. ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/33 "2003-11-23T20:10:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\*Mind explaining how I am being a jerk? This outta be good… \*\* Good? Not really. I meant Nitroglycerin, not mouthbreather, and got confused on who posted what. Lack of caffiene and whatnot. My apoligies, mouthbreather. You were being intelligent and helpful. Whistlepig. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/34 "2003-11-23T20:47:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nitroglycerine \* > \*\*He was a whiney asshole who couldn’t handle his fifteen minutes of fame. Me, and ten thousand other wannabe singers would have gladly traded places with him, stomach problems and all (altough, most people would have had the common sense to get rid of Courtney). Its too bad he’s dead, 'cause the album after the sucky In Utero would have flopped big, and they would have ended up in the has-been heap with all those other crap 90s alt-rock bands like Soundgarden and Soul Asylum instead of being elevated to Doors-like cult status. > Fuck Cobain. > Krist Novoselic is cool though! > \*\* I’m glad you can pass such judgment on people with mental illness. From all accounts I’ve heard, Kobain was a nice enough guy who really couldn’t handle the fame. I used to think that it’s whiny of rocks stars and celebrities to complain about their fame, but I think there are some who are wholly unprepared for it, and Kurt Kobain was one of these people. I would not ever want to trade places with him. If you think it’s fun being a mentally fucked-up artist with stomach problems, then you must possess a serious lack of empathy. As for In Utero, I’m not even a big Nirvana fan, but if you think it was a sucky album…then I must really question your taste in rock music. In my opinion, it musically surpassed Nevermind. And if album three did completely flop, Nirvana was already a legend. Smells Like Teen Spirit was firmly established as a rock milestone, taking us out of 80s-hair-rock into 90s-alt-rock. Like it or not, Nirvana would be legends no matter what happened. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/35 "2003-11-23T20:54:43Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kurdt Kobain \* > \*\* Also, their is a valid case for Love being the perpetrator of his death_\* No, there isn’t. There are only harebrained conspiracy theories which fall apart easily upon examination. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/36 "2003-11-23T21:36:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*Nitro, have you got some kind of disease that causes you to start problems with guys asking simple questions? Kurt Cobain was reported to have stomach problems for years before he died, and this guy wanted to know what’s up. Sorry that rubs you the wrong way, although the problem seems to be more of the green-eyed variety. Having offered no answers to the question the OP was asking, shouldn’t you leave this thread alone now? \*\* Aww…you’re right. I’m not really a dick. I always seem to get uncontrolably anal when someone says how great Cobain was. I loved (and still do) love Bleach, and then I watched as they became taken over by the corporate machine. In fact, one of the greatest all time punk-rock moments was when Nirvana was talking shit about Axl Rose (See, he said dicky insensitive things at the wrong times too 🙂 ) at that awards show. A few days after that, Kurt was all remorseful and apologetic. That did it for me. I saw that they were more into playing the corporate game instead of remaining true to their ideals. THATS what rubs me the wrong way. Anyway, I shouldn’t have posted that, and I apologize. It was still early in the morning and I hadn’t had my coffee yet. When I saw the Op’s response “Fuck you! He was a great man”, I just typed something off the cuff without really thinking about it. While I’m hijacking this thread…I gotta say that Krist IS a great man. He’s actually taking his ideals (whatever they might be, I don’t know) and entering public service so he can try to actually do something about the country’s problems instead of just bitching and whining about them like 99% of all the other blowhard punks from the 80s and 90s (Jello Biafra and Joey Shithead being two other exceptions). Again, Sorry for being an asshole. Jon ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/37 "2003-11-24T04:44:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > \*\*Without trying to be a smart ass, I think that his major problem was Crohn’s disease. \*\* Oddly enough, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready also suffers from Crohn’s disease. Like Cobain, McCready used to “self-medicate” with illicit drugs, but was fortunately able to get clean and find some more successful medical treatments. He is now involved in raising money for Crohn’s research. ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/38 "2003-11-24T11:06:16Z")
Porno-rocker El Duce (of the infamous Mentors) gave interviews in which he stated that Love tried to hire him to kill Cobain. Granted, the man was a angel-dust/alcohol addict and put out videotapes of himself masterbating to porno mags, spraying Raid in his mouth during while drunk, and coaxing groupies to urinate on him in front of crowds, but he DID pass a polygraph test. Shortly after going public with his claims, he was found dead, apparently run over by a train. Did he pass out drunk on the train tracks or did someone connected to Courtney Love give him a little push? You be the judge. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/39 "2003-11-24T11:14:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Porno-rocker El Duce (of the infamous Mentors) gave interviews in which he stated that Love tried to hire him to kill Cobain. Granted, the man was a angel-dust/alcohol addict and put out videotapes of himself masterbating to porno mags, spraying Raid in his mouth during while drunk, and coaxing groupies to urinate on him in front of crowds, but he DID pass a polygraph test. …Which proves only two things: 1) polygraph tests are not even close to perfect, which is old news, and 2) the guy was so insane that he may have believed what he was saying. Even if polygraph tests WERE perfect, they wouldn’t catch someone who was so nuts he believed whatever crap he was spewing. ---
**Author:** ![Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Live_Better_Electrically)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643/40 "2003-11-24T13:02:41Z")
According to the religious tract with Cobain’s picture on the front I found in a public restroom last night, his affliction was that he didn’t turn to Jesus to fill the “aching void in his life.” “Kurt didn’t have the answer to happiness in life,” it says here. True enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-kurt-cobains-illnesses/214643.md?page=3)