Lamar Odom and the Hard Truth About 'Herbal Viagra'
The FDA is no fan of 'herbal Viagra' supplements. Here's why.
Lamar Odom in action, playing for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game on Jan. 2, 2013 in Oakland, Calif
The hospitalization of former NBA star Lamar Odom has spotlighted the dangers of using supplement products that can contain hidden, potentially harmful ingredients.
Odom, husband to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, was found unconscious – with blood coming from his nose and white fluid coming from his mouth – on Tuesday at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, where he had been staying since Saturday. During his time at the brothel, the 35-year-old reportedly took up to 10 tablets of so-called herbal Viagra that were obtained over the counter, according to a 911 call that was released Wednesday by the Nye County Sheriff's Office in Nevada.
Odom, who reportedly also used cocaine before arriving at the brothel, has been hospitalized in Las Vegas and is said to be on life support. And while it isn't clear what caused his current condition, federal authorities have warned that the type of supplements he took can cause dire health problems.
[READ: Today's Teens Use Less Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs]
According to The Washington Post, Odom took a supplement called "Reload," which the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning notification about two years ago. The supplement, the agency wrote, contained the undeclared ingredient sildenafil, which is the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra, used to treat erectile dysfunction. The ingredient can lower blood pressure and be particularly dangerous to men with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease who often take nitrates.
As pictured in the 2013 FDA notice, Reload's packaging directed users to take one capsule and warned them to "seek advice from a health professional prior to use if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or are using prescription drugs."
"Consumers should stop using this product immediately and throw it away," the FDA said.
A spokesman for the Love Ranch also said that Odom bought another brand of sexual enhancement pill, Libimax Plus, from the brothel's shop. In 2007, the FDA announced that the California-based maker of a supplement called Libimax was voluntarily recalling it after it also was found to include an active ingredient used in an FDA-approved drug for erectile dysfunction.
“Distributors of tainted products are operating outside of the law,” FDA spokeswoman Lyndsay Meyer says. "It's hard for us to keep up."
Supplements like Reload and Libimax aren't preapproved by the FDA, which reviews doctor-prescribed medications like Viagra along with food, drinks and medical devices for safety and effectiveness. Meyer warns that it's a misnomer even to call such products supplements because they contain an active pharmaceutical ingredient. Instead, the FDA refers to them as "tainted products."
Dr. Jennifer Caudle, a family physician and assistant professor at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey, says she's had patients come to her with kidney problems and muscle aches that she attributes to herbal Viagra-type products. People taking other medications that can interact with the supplements are at particular risk of suffering adverse reactions.
"The truth of the matter is that herbal or dietary supplements can have inherent risks in taking them, even if you're not taking illicit drugs with them," she says. "These pills make claims, and many people simply believe them."
Caudle says it's difficult to speculate on the exact dosage of supplements Odom took. But she says in a typical month she prescribes a patient nine or 10 pills of Viagra, and that the maximum dose for that drug is one pill a day.
According to the FDA, consumers perceive supplements and herbal products as safe because they are often sold with labels suggesting they are all-natural alternatives to prescription drugs. But the agency has long warned the public to be wary of sexual performance-enhancement products that claim to be natural and promise rapid or long-lasting effects.
This year alone, the FDA has issued at least 25 notifications about "tainted" products that promise male sexual enhancement.
And while the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act gives the FDA some power to crack down on such products – the agency can send warning letters to those who sell them and even outright ban them – doing so can be difficult.
For example, it took years for the FDA to ban dietary supplements containing ephedra, an herb linked to numerous poisonings and deaths. To create such a ban, the FDA needs to demonstrate that a product caused harm to people who used it as the manufacturer directed on its labeling.
[ALSO: Is Third Time the Charm for ‘Female Viagra’?]
Internet merchants also pose a particular problem.
"Once they know FDA is after them, they'll change their names and websites," Meyer says.
Because the FDA cannot test all products on the market to identify those that contain potentially harmful hidden ingredients, it asks consumers to report potentially dangerous products online through its MedWatch site. It also encourages consumers to sign up for email alerts about products.
Odom, husband to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, was found unconscious – with blood coming from his nose and white fluid coming from his mouth – on Tuesday at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, where he had been staying since Saturday. During his time at the brothel, the 35-year-old reportedly took up to 10 tablets of so-called herbal Viagra that were obtained over the counter, according to a 911 call that was released Wednesday by the Nye County Sheriff's Office in Nevada.
Odom, who reportedly also used cocaine before arriving at the brothel, has been hospitalized in Las Vegas and is said to be on life support. And while it isn't clear what caused his current condition, federal authorities have warned that the type of supplements he took can cause dire health problems.
[READ: Today's Teens Use Less Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs]
According to The Washington Post, Odom took a supplement called "Reload," which the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning notification about two years ago. The supplement, the agency wrote, contained the undeclared ingredient sildenafil, which is the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra, used to treat erectile dysfunction. The ingredient can lower blood pressure and be particularly dangerous to men with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease who often take nitrates.
As pictured in the 2013 FDA notice, Reload's packaging directed users to take one capsule and warned them to "seek advice from a health professional prior to use if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or are using prescription drugs."
"Consumers should stop using this product immediately and throw it away," the FDA said.
A spokesman for the Love Ranch also said that Odom bought another brand of sexual enhancement pill, Libimax Plus, from the brothel's shop. In 2007, the FDA announced that the California-based maker of a supplement called Libimax was voluntarily recalling it after it also was found to include an active ingredient used in an FDA-approved drug for erectile dysfunction.
Signs for Dennis Hof's Love Ranch Las Vegas brothel are shown on Oct. 14, 2015 in Crystal, Nev.
Supplements like Reload and Libimax aren't preapproved by the FDA, which reviews doctor-prescribed medications like Viagra along with food, drinks and medical devices for safety and effectiveness. Meyer warns that it's a misnomer even to call such products supplements because they contain an active pharmaceutical ingredient. Instead, the FDA refers to them as "tainted products."
Dr. Jennifer Caudle, a family physician and assistant professor at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey, says she's had patients come to her with kidney problems and muscle aches that she attributes to herbal Viagra-type products. People taking other medications that can interact with the supplements are at particular risk of suffering adverse reactions.
"The truth of the matter is that herbal or dietary supplements can have inherent risks in taking them, even if you're not taking illicit drugs with them," she says. "These pills make claims, and many people simply believe them."
Caudle says it's difficult to speculate on the exact dosage of supplements Odom took. But she says in a typical month she prescribes a patient nine or 10 pills of Viagra, and that the maximum dose for that drug is one pill a day.
According to the FDA, consumers perceive supplements and herbal products as safe because they are often sold with labels suggesting they are all-natural alternatives to prescription drugs. But the agency has long warned the public to be wary of sexual performance-enhancement products that claim to be natural and promise rapid or long-lasting effects.
This year alone, the FDA has issued at least 25 notifications about "tainted" products that promise male sexual enhancement.
And while the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act gives the FDA some power to crack down on such products – the agency can send warning letters to those who sell them and even outright ban them – doing so can be difficult.
For example, it took years for the FDA to ban dietary supplements containing ephedra, an herb linked to numerous poisonings and deaths. To create such a ban, the FDA needs to demonstrate that a product caused harm to people who used it as the manufacturer directed on its labeling.
[ALSO: Is Third Time the Charm for ‘Female Viagra’?]
Internet merchants also pose a particular problem.
"Once they know FDA is after them, they'll change their names and websites," Meyer says.
Because the FDA cannot test all products on the market to identify those that contain potentially harmful hidden ingredients, it asks consumers to report potentially dangerous products online through its MedWatch site. It also encourages consumers to sign up for email alerts about products.
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