YouTuber Max Gilardi opens up about considering assisted dying amid chronic pain

Kathleen O'BoyleMon, August 3, 2026 at 9:18 PM UTC

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Max Gilardi opens up about fibromyalgia pain -Credit:hotdiggedydemon/YouTube

YouTuber Max Gilardi said he has been considering doctor-assisted euthanasia after years of chronic pain as he opened up about his health in a recent livestream.

Gilardi, 38, who is known on YouTube as 'hotdiggedydemon' for his gaming content, spoke to his 2 million subscribers during an August 1 stream, where he shared a prerecorded video explaining his health situation. He said he began exploring end-of-life options roughly two years after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. “This is a dialogue I’ve been meaning to have for a while now,” he told viewers.

In the video, Gilardi described the ongoing symptoms he has experienced since his diagnosis, including constant pain in his joints and muscles, difficulty sleeping, issues with temperature regulation, frequent brain fog, and trouble controlling saliva and mucus production. This came after another young influencer said he 'felt like he was dying.'

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Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes widespread pain and can also affect sleep, memory, and mood, according to the Mayo Clinic. “In short, I’m sick,” he said. “I’m tired all the time. I spend a lot of my time lying down.”

Gilardi also said the financial strain of his condition has added to his struggles. He shared that he had accumulated credit card debt while paying for medical care and said he could no longer “really afford” to continue seeing a doctor.

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Gilardi said he considered assisted dying -Credit:hotdiggedydemon/YouTube

“My existence has become one where I suffer and barely scrape by so I can continue to sustain an existence where I barely scrape by and suffer,” he said. “All of this, compounded together, has kind of led me to feeling that my life has reached its natural conclusion.”

He explained that he initially looked into medical aid in dying (MAID) in the United States but found he would not qualify because fibromyalgia is not considered a terminal illness.

Gilardi then said he turned his attention to Switzerland, where assisted dying is permitted under certain conditions, including that the individual is not being coerced.

Fibromyalgia causes widespread chronic pain throughout the body -Credit:Getty Images

In the video, he said he was considering pursuing doctor-assisted euthanasia there, though he did not provide further details about any plans.

However, Gilardi appeared to shift his stance shortly after the livestream. On August 2, he posted a series of messages on X that suggested he was reconsidering.

“JEEEEZ you guys okay fine haha jk just kidding!!” he wrote. “Nevermind!! Jk just kidding jk jk!!” In a follow-up post, he added, “Decided I’m not thinking clearly, will reassess.”

Gilardi has not shared additional updates since those posts.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”