Many Ohio residents take dietary supplements for a variety of reasons. Part of the problem with the supplements is that they do not undergo testing necessarily undergo the same scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration as prescribed medications do, which means they are often classified as unapproved drugs, especially if they contain medications ordinarily prescribed by doctors. The recent recall of a dietary supplement claiming to help with libido occurred because it contained an unapproved drug.
The Med Man supplement, called Up2, was found to contain sildenafil, which is prescribed for erectile dysfunction. This medication may be approved by the FDA for prescription by a doctor, but not for use in this dietary supplement. Part of the reason for this is that there could be dangerous drug interaction issues. For example, those who take nitrates, such as nitroglycerin, could experience life-threatening low blood pressure when taking the recalled supplement and these medications.
Anyone with diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol or high blood pressure are at risk if they take nitrates and this product. For this reason, all lots of the product are to be removed from the market and destroyed. At the time of the recall, no reports of adverse health events were reported.
However, that does not mean that the Food and Drug Administration and the company will get the word out in time. Before all of the dietary supplement is removed from the market, someone could end up suffering harm from its use. If that happens, that individual, or his or her family in the event of death, could pursue restitution through the filing of pharmaceutical litigation in an Ohio civil court.
