Pete Doherty has said doctors warned he would have to have his toes amputated if he didn’t make lifestyle changes following his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
The Libertines frontman 46, has been open about his health struggles in recent years, claiming in 2023 that he feels “death is lurking” after years of drug and alcohol abuse took its toll on his body.
Those with diabetes run the risk of foot-related complications as high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, affecting the blood flow to feet and legs.
Speaking to Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, Doherty revealed he had to change his diet and stop drinking to avoid losing his toes.
Foot infections and unhealed ulcers are the primary cause of diabetes-related amputations, with the latter preceding more than 80 per cent of amputations.
“They were going to have to come off,” Doherty said. “They’re kind of on the mend now…I’m letting myself have a drink once in a while, like, every 10 days.
“But something has sort of shifted in me,” he added. “There’s not that need [to drink].”
Doherty said his close bond with his wife Katia de Vidas and their young daughter Billie-May has helped him develop healthier drinking habits.
“It’s just evolved, our relationship,” he said. “The closer we’ve got, and the more time we’ve spent together, the less I’ve needed to do it.
“It turned out she preferred me not on drugs,” Doherty continued. “I preferred it when she liked me, and we built a life.”
The Libertines frontman said he also felt greater pressure to write his first solo album in nine years, Felt Better Alive, because he thought he didn’t have much time left.
“I’d think, ‘I’m dying. I’ve got to write a brilliant song right now’...that would happen a lot,” he said.
“I’m not that arsed really about writing. I love playing music but that need to write and create, it was fuelled by anxiety and darkness,” the musician admitted.
Speaking to Louis Theroux in November 2023, Doherty said of his lifestyle: “I’ve battered it, haven’t I? I’ve f***ing caned it. [The] heroin and the crack… I surrendered to that, and then it was cocaine and the smoking and the alcohol, and now it’s cheese and the saucisson, and the sugar in the tea.
"It's all gotta go. They told me a little while ago if you don't change your diet then you're gonna have diabetes and cholesterol problems. Death's lurking, you know what I mean? That's why I carry that stick."
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