Lamar Odom 'alive, sober, and happy' after finding ketamine

Lamar Odom has credited pain relief medication ketamine for helping him stay sober.

The basketball star narrowly avoided death in 2015, when he was found unresponsive in a brothel in Las Vegas, after a drug overdose led to him having numerous strokes and his heart stopping.

He attempted to get clean after that, and, after a few false starts, has now committed to staying sober - with ketamine on hand to help him on his journey.

"I went to rehab and did some other things, but ketamine came into my life at the right time," he told Good Morning America on Monday. "I'm feeling amazing... I'm alive. I'm sober. I'm happy."

Health officials have only started using ketamine, which has hallucinogenic effects, as a way of treating conditions such as addiction, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in recent years.

And Lamar only uses very small doses to help him maintain his sobriety.

"I don't wake up looking to do lines, or waking up in a park place or feeling unfulfilled," the 41-year-old insisted. "When Kobe (Bryant) passed away, you know, the old Lamar, that'd have been every excuse in the world for me to go get high, (but) doing drugs didn't even enter my mind."

As for whether or not he'll ever stop taking ketamine, Lamar doesn't see that happening.

"I don't think I will stop it," he stated. "I don't want to try to stop to be great. If I have greatness inside of me, I want to try to get it out."

Lamar's use of ketamine will be explored in documentary Lamar Odom Reborn, which airs on YouTube and MTV Live on 20 May.