Heartburn from L-Argenine and Pycnogenol?

[Cal30]

Hi All,

I recently started taking l-argenine and pycnogenol to help strengthen my erections. - (1g L-Argenine + 60mg Pycnogenol per day).

The l-argenine pills are rather large (500mg pills) and I'd often times experience some discomfort just from swallowing them. - It would sort of feel like the pill got lodged in the bottom of my throat and got stuck there, and it would continue to feel this way for hours, even after drinking water to "wash it down."

This minor irritation has progressed into significant pain every time I swallow food or liquid. It feels a bit like heartburn. The pain is pretty mild but constant, and it gets worse when I swallow.

I've temporarily stopped taking these supplements to give my esophagus time to heal.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

This is a shame since, after several days of taking these supplements, I was noticing improvement of my morning erections and a fuller appearance and feel of my penis in the flaccid state.

[NeoV]

I had heartburn only with my CoQ10 because of the peperine in it. Make sure you eat something before hand. I`m sorry to hear that!

[user of no names]

L citrulline is supposed to have the same benefits of l arginine without the stomach upset.  Try taking a tums throughout the day or prilosec short term to heal any issues that arose.

[james1947]

Cal

L - Arginine comes also as powder. Maybe you should try it.
I had the problem of not "sliding" down also with the 1000 mg, but not heartburn.

James  

[Cal30]

Get Bent - Thanks for the tip on l-citruline. What is your daily dose?

James - Thanks for the tip. I tried cutting open the pills with scissors and then mixing the powder with water and drinking it. (l-argenine mixed with pycnogenol powder tastes absolutely awful, btw.) I was able to drink it without gagging, but my heartburn like symptoms got worse. - The powder was the last thing I tried before I decided to give it a rest.

The reason I was taking the two together (l-argenine and pycnogenol) is because I heard they work together to help boost nitric oxide production. I think the pycnogenol is the culprit behind the heartburn and mild nausea I feel when I take these two supplements.

Maybe I'll give l-citruline a shot too. Good to know there is a readily available alternative available for a comparable price.  

Looks like I've got some experimenting to do once my esophagus heals.  

[DmitriyEM]

I remember taking L-Arginine last year around this time for about 2-3 months indeed did start to experience more heartburn to the point that in mid December after my endoscopy I was told that I had some minor ulceration at the top of my stomach.