Are supplements riskier than prescription or over-the-counter erectile dysfunction drugs?Ī. Unlike prescription and over-the-counter drugs, supplement makers aren't required to post warnings about such side effects or drug interactions on their product labels, Bell said.
Unlike prescription drugs, which must prove they're safe and effective before being approved by the FDA, supplement makers don't have to prove that their products work before selling them, said Charles Bell, programs director for Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports magazine. Because supplements aren't tested through a rigorous scientific process, consumers have no way to know if they really work. No supplements have ever been shown to be effective for erectile dysfunction, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Supplements that claim to work as quickly as drugs are probably laced with drugs.Ī. While pharmaceuticals can work that quickly, Hopp said that plants don't. Some herbal sexual supplements promise results in 30 minutes, for example. Odom reportedly took 10 of the pills.Ĭonsumers should be skeptical about claims that appear too good to be true, said Craig Hopp, program director of extramural research the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health. Sexual supplements that contain Viagra-like drugs are especially risky if men take large doses, Glatter said.
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Consumers who have experienced any negative side effects should consult a health care professional as soon as possible."Įven prescription erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, which are regulated much more tightly than herbal supplements, can cause heart attacks, Glatter said. In its 2013 warning about Reload, the FDA said: "Consumers should stop using this product immediately and throw it away. Taken together, the combination can cause heart rhythm problems, heart attacks and strokes. That's a big risk, given that the older men who seek out erectile dysfunction drugs are often the same ones who take nitroglycerin, including men with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease.īoth Viagra-like drugs and nitroglycerin lower blood pressure, Glatter said. That's because the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction drugs can interact with prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin, used to treat chest pain and other heart problems, according to the FDA. According to the FDA, the hidden ingredients in these supplements can pose life-threatening risks. So men could get much less of the active ingredient they're looking for - or much more.Ī. Unlike Viagra, however, which comes in a standard dose, supplements may not have a standard dose of medication. Chinese companies sell sexual supplements for a fraction of the cost of Viagra, but can still make a profit. Although Viagra is expensive in the USA, it's dirt cheap in China, which makes many of these supplements, Cohen said. Why would supplement makers put an expensive drug like Viagra, which can sell for $5 to $10 a pill, into an herbal supplement?Ī. "You don't know what you're getting any time you open a bottle of 'herbal Viagra.'" Taking a sexual supplement "is like playing Russian roulette," said Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In 2009, the manufacturer of LibiMax recalled the product after tests found that it contained tadalafil, another drug for erectile dysfunction. Tests by the FDA in 2013 found sildenafil, Viagra's active ingredient, in Reload. Lamar Odom's sex enhancement supplements may have been spiked Odom apparently took supplements called Reload 72-hour Strong and Libimax, according a spokesman for the legal Nevada brothel where he collapsed, who spoke to the Associated Press. Although these supplements are often called "herbal Viagra" – suggesting that they contain a safer or more natural form of the little blue pill – many contain the active ingredient in real Viagra, according to the Food and Drug Administration. What is in a sexual performance supplement?Ī. USA TODAY's Liz Szabo talked to medical experts about these products.
Odom is now on life support at a Nevada hospital. Basketball player Lamar Odom's collapse this week – after allegedly using cocaine and sexual supplements – has raised questions about the supplements and their safety and whether they could increase the dangers posed by illegal drugs.
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