Herbal Viagra’ taken by Odom alarms health regulators – NY Daily News

‘Herbal Viagra’ taken in bulk by Lamar Odom before he was found unresponsive has alarmed health regulators for years.
The "herbal Viagra" former basketball star Lamar Odom was said to have taken before he was found unresponsive at a brothel Tuesday afternoon has drawn ire from health experts for years.
Odom, 35, had taken “upwards of 10 herbal Viagras” before staff at the Las Vegas-area Love Ranch discovered him motionless while vomiting and foaming at the mouth, brothel owner Dennis Hof told the Daily News. It’s not yet clear what caused Odom to lose consciousness.
A file photo shows packaging for Reload sexual enhancement pills. Lamar Odom was said to have ingested 10 times the recommended dosage of the product before he was found unresponsive Tuesday afternoon at a Las Vegas-area brothel.
But he had popped Reload pills, one of many non-prescription sexual enhancement products decried by U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials. Sex-aiding supplements show up online or in single-serve packaging at convenience stores with names like “African Superman,” “King of Romance,” “Stiff Nights” or even “Bigger Longer More Time More Sperms.”
A product called "Herb Viagra" is one of many sexual enhancement products decried by FDA officials. Former basketball star Lamar Odom was said to have taken herbal Viagra before he was found unresponsive.
The FDA has been warning against products like this supplement for years.
The dangers of erectile dysfunction products’ unknown or unsafe ingredients or potentially hazardous mixtures with medications alarm FDA officials.
“We’ve seen pills, coffees, chewing gum and dissolvable oral strips that contain hidden drug ingredients or untested chemicals,” said Gary Coody, the FDA’s national health fraud coordinator, in a bulletin issued Oct. 1. “Consumers have no way of knowing which drugs or ingredients are actually in the product just by reading the ingredients on the label.”
Lamar Odom, shown in a 2012 file photo, was found unresponsive at a Las Vegas-area brothel on Tuesday afternoon. The brothel’s owner said he had taken "upwards of 10" herbal Viagras.
Lab tests found undisclosed drug ingredients in 300 different products marketed as alternatives to Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, according to the report. Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, poses risks because it turns up frequently in the sex enhancement products.
FDA officials warned consumers about the presence of sildenafil in Reload in a 2013 advisory. Pictures of the product on the agency’s website show that the packaging recommends only one pill for 72 hours.Yet even if Odom had taken the recommended dosage, he still may have been putting himself at risk.
Blood pressures in men who take medicines for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease can drop dangerously if they ingest the Sildenafil.
FDA regulators warn it’s difficult to discern what ingredients are in cheap, over-the-counter supplements marketed as alternatives to Viagra.
The dangers of unsafe ingredients in sexual enhancement products have alarmed health regulators for years.
This product, called "007 Viagra," is one of many with catchy names that show up in attractive packaging at convenience stores.
“A doctor needs to evaluate your total medical condition to know whether a particular medication is safe for you to use,” M. Daniel Dos Santos of the FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs said in the report. “If consumers are taking products that have undeclared drug ingredients, this leaves patients vulnerable to potentially serious drug interactions.”
The life and career of Lamar Odom.
One problem supplement cited by the agency carries 31 times the prescription dose of tadalafil, which is Cialis’ active ingredient. Under FDA scrutiny, companies have recalled supplements like one called “RockHard Weekend” and pills sold under the name “Mr. Magic Male Enhancer from Don Wands.” A section of the agency’s website called “tainted sexual enhancement products” lists 15 recalls in the last several years and 25 hidden drug notifications since March.
Other health experts also decry the products that Odom apparently had used at the brothel.
“It can be dangerous to take supplements that contain unknown amounts of prescription medications or other unidentified ingredients,” according to a response to the question “Is herbal Viagra safe” posted by a doctor at the Mayo Clinic. “Your safest bet in treating erectile problems is to rely on your doctor’s evaluation and recommendations.”
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