In a 1984 interview with David Letterman, Andre confirmed he once drank 117 beers in one night but admitted he had quit drinking beer in order to reduce his weight from 560 to 470 pounds (though he copped to the occasional two or three bottles of white wine with dinner). Elwes explains that despite his heavy drinking, he didn’t believe Andre was an alcoholic and suggests he drank as a form of self-medication. In particular, Andre suffered from chronic back pain caused by his wrestling injuries and the symptoms of acromelagy, the disease which caused his gigantism.