A man in Oregon nearly died after a pet rattlesnake that he put in his mouth while drinking with some friends bit him inside his throat.

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VIDEO: Snake Bites Man's Throat -- (Graphic Images)

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Matt Wilkinson said when he put his eastern diamondback rattlesnake down his throat, he immediately noticed a shot-like sensation.

"Me, being me, I put his head in my mouth," Wilkinson said. "At first, it felt like someone had given me a shot in the mouth."

Wilkinson's throat began to swell and close as poison rushed through his body.

Doctors stuck a breathing tube down his throat, injected several rounds of anti-venin and then put him in a medical coma for three days.

Wilkinson, who nearly died from the incident, is still recovering from the bite.

"They said I had enough venom in me to kill between 12 and 15 people," Wilkinson said.

"If he would have taken any longer to get to the hospital he probably would have died of asphyxiation," Dr. Richard Mullins told KGW-TV in Oregon. "If you have an obstructed airway and you can't breathe, you'll die in about seven minutes."

"I still love snakes but I will take a little more care in handling them," Wilkinson said. "It is kind of my own stupid fault."

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.