Former NBA star, Lamar Odom remains on life support in a Las Vegas hospital following his collapse Tuesday at a Nevada brothel. As his family members and celebrity friends rush to his bedside, everybody's attention is turning to the substances he allegedly took before he lost consciousness at the Love Ranch.
Odom had taken cocaine and sexual performance enhancer supplements days before his hospitalization, Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said at a press conference Wednesday. In an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday,Dennis Hof, owner of the brothel where Odom was found, admitted that Odom had purchased and took lots of the so-called "herbal Viagra" pills during his stay at the brothel.
He also said Odom purchased pills known as "Reload" from the same place he was found unconscious. He added that the pill is an herbal supplement, which is neither a pharmaceutical nor a prescription drug that gives energy. It's an over-the-counter drug that is originally for erectile dysfunction. "It's a pill form of an energy drink." The brothel owner described.
What Hof failed to mention however, was that "Reload" itself can be dangerous, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA issued a warningthat this pill contains a hidden drug ingredient that could lead to dangerous reactions. This unknown ingredient may react with nitrates found in some prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin and may lower blood pressure to a very life threatening level.
A spokesman for the Love Ranch told the Associated Press that Odom had also purchased another brand of sexual enhancement pill, Libimax Plus, from the brothel's shop. Like Reload, the FDA has also been on the look-out for Libimax Plus for secretly including a powerful prescription drug that requires a doctor's approval. Herbal supplements do not follow the same process of approval as prescription drugs. Some herbal sexual enhancement pills, are being sold as a "natural" way of combating the side effects of cocaine use.
The cause of Odom's collapse is still unclear as of the moment.