How Long Does it Take for L-arginine to Work Sexually?

What Is L-arginine?

L-arginine is an amino acid necessary for making proteins in the body. It is found naturally in meat, nuts, and dairy products or commercially as a supplement. When taken, L-arginine is converted into a chemical called nitric oxide that helps to improve the flow of blood through blood vessels. This action has made L-arginine a possible remedy for blood flow related to health concerns like chest pain, high blood pressure, and erectile dysfunction.¹

How Does L-arginine Work Sexually?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is just one of many sexual disorders. It is often treated by increasing the amount of nitric oxide in the body to help with vasodilation. Vasodilation is the action of blood vessels opening up to allow more blood flow. Since erectile dysfunction often happens due to problems with blood flow within the penis during arousal, increasing nitric oxide provides benefits by opening up the blood vessels of the penis. Additional blood flow may lead to achieving and maintaining an erection.

When L-arginine is taken by mouth daily, it is converted into nitric oxide in the body. By increasing the amount of L-arginine in your body, the amount of nitric oxide in the body is also increased. This allows for an improved ability to get an erection and improved performance.^{1, 2}

It’s important to note that L-arginine is thought to be possibly effective for erectile dysfunction. More research is needed to understand how safe and effective L-arginine is for treating erectile dysfunction.

Does L-arginine Work Like Viagra?

Viagra is one of many FDA-approved medications used to treat erectile dysfunction. It works by enhancing the effect of active nitric oxide in the body during arousal.³ Its action produces stronger and longer erections than without Viagra. While L-arginine works slightly differently than Viagra, they both aid in increasing the effect of nitric oxide during sexual arousal.

Does L-arginine Work for Female Sexual Arousal Disorder?

L-arginine does not provide any benefit to those with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD). Erectile dysfunction and FSAD happen for different reasons, and taking L-arginine will not help improve symptoms of FSAD. Treatment can be in the form of therapy, changes to medications, or a prescribed medication specifically to treat FSAD.

Is L-arginine for Sexual Disorders Effective?

L-arginine can be helpful for those with erectile dysfunction.¹ Many cases of erectile dysfunction are caused by a deficiency of nitric oxide in the body, and taking L-arginine can improve symptoms by increasing nitric oxide. Studies have shown that L-arginine is safe and mostly effective when taken by mouth daily. The recommended dose is 2.5g to 5g once daily.

While L-arginine can be beneficial and is mostly safe when used as recommended for erectile dysfunction, it may not be safe for some people. Those with uncontrolled blood pressure, heart disease, and kidney disease should not take L-arginine as it may cause harm.¹

How Long Do You Have to Take L-arginine to See Results?

While L-arginine is pretty well studied, there are no specific timelines on how quickly it works. The most predominant studies show that l-arginine, when effective, is effective within 3 months.⁴ Other studies are shorter, within 6 weeks time.⁵ This means that it can work much more quickly within weeks after beginning treatment, but it is studied over the course of months.

L-arginine Vs. L-citrulline

L-arginine and L-citrulline often come up together when searching for ways to increase nitric oxide in the body. Both are used and studied as supplements to increase physical performance and sexual performance. L-citrulline is also an amino acid found naturally in foods. When consumed, L-citrulline is metabolized in the body into L-arginine, and then it acts as L-arginine would by increasing nitric oxide in the body.⁵

The thought is that taking L-citrulline can be just as effective as L-arginine for erectile dysfunction symptoms. It is less studied for erectile dysfunction, but its chemical structure and action in the body make it a potential supplement.

What Factors Impact How Effective L-arginine May Be for Sexual Disorders?

L-arginine can be helpful to improve symptoms of erectile dysfunction, but it does not work for everyone. Certain factors varying from person to person can change how well L-arginine works. The factors that can change the effectiveness of L-arginine include the amount taken daily, the severity of ED symptoms, the cause of ED, and the overall health of the patient taking L-arginine.⁴

Possible Side Effects of L-arginine

As with any medication or supplement, there are potential side effects when taking L-arginine. Knowing what side effects are possible before taking the supplement, can help you ensure safe use. It is important to talk with a medical professional to determine your risk of side effects and what to do if you experience any side effects while taking L-arginine.¹

Possible side effects of l-arginine include:

• Stomach pain
• Bloating
• Diarrhea
• Low blood pressure
• Increased risk of a heart attack in some patients
• Increased risk of kidney disease in some patients

*Dietary supplements (including vitamins, supplements, herbs, and natural medicines) are not regulated the same way as medications by the FDA. Before being sold to the public, these products do not have the same clinical trials to determine their safety and efficacy. You should consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting any new dietary supplement.

How to Take L-arginine for Sexual Disorders

L-arginine is available as an oral supplement, an IV medication, and a topical cream.¹ It is important to use L-arginine safely and correctly when treating erectile dysfunction. It has been studied and shown to be possibly effective when taken by mouth daily. Taking the medication daily instead of as needed, helps to increase the amount of available nitric oxide in the body.¹

The accepted dose is usually anywhere between 2.5 grams to 6 grams daily.^{1, 4} It can be helpful to take L-arginine with food to help prevent potential GI side effects. Some studies have shown that taking L-arginine with a prescribed erectile dysfunction medication like Viagra or Cialis may help to enhance the effects.⁶

What’s the Best Time to Take L-arginine?

Studies have shown that L-arginine is most effective when taken once daily. It should be taken with a meal at the same time each day.^{1, 4}

Where To Get L-arginine

L-arginine is a supplement and is available online or in most pharmacies and vitamin or supplement stores. It is important to remember that the FDA takes a less active approach to monitoring supplements for safety. It is important to purchase supplements from a reputable merchant and purchase a reputable brand.

Be sure to read the list of inactive ingredients to identify any allergens you may have. Finally, when taking any supplement or over-the-counter product, be sure to update your healthcare team. This can prevent any dangerous drug interactions in the future.

Can You Get L-arginine Naturally From Food?

Yes, L-arginine is found naturally in red meat, poultry, fish, and dairy. Adding these foods to your daily diet can help increase your L-arginine intake.¹ It may be difficult, however, to measure exactly how much L-arginine you are consuming compared to a commercially available supplement.

Other Uses for L-arginine

Taking L-arginine as a supplement is not only used for erectile dysfunction. Since L-arginine works to improve blood flow in the body, it can help treat other conditions as well. L-arginine is only considered possibly effective for the following conditions and should only be taken after consulting your healthcare team. L-arginine may help pregnant women with preeclampsia if given by IV infusion. IV medications should always be given by a trained medical professional.¹

High Blood Pressure

L-arginine may help reduce blood pressure in those who have mild to moderate high blood pressure, including those with diabetes.¹ 

Chest Pain

L-arginine may improve symptoms of chest pain, or angina. This can improve quality of life and increase exercise tolerance. However, L-arginine has not been shown to help widen blood vessels that have already been narrowed due to angina.¹

Preeclampsia

An IV infusion of L-arginine may help pregnant women with preeclampsia, which is a serious blood pressure condition that develops during pregnancy. IV medications should always be given by a trained medical professional.¹

Potential Risks of Taking L-arginine for Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

L-arginine is touted as being more natural and relatively safe for treating symptoms of erectile dysfunction. It is important to be aware of the risks associated with taking L-arginine. In general, you should be aware of L-arginine sold by unreputable companies that may misrepresent the active ingredients.

Who Should Not Take L-arginine?

There are certain people with specific conditions who should take extra care when taking L-arginine to treat symptoms of erectile dysfunction. Speak with your doctor or a healthcare professional if any of the following scenarios apply to you. It may be that L-arginine is not right for you, or that extra monitoring needs to happen for you to safely take the supplement.

People who should not take L-arginine include those who:

• Have recently had a heart attack: It is possible that taking L-arginine may be harmful and can increase the risk of death for people who have recently had a heart attack.¹
• Are allergic to L-arginine: If there is any risk of you having an allergy to L-arginine or any ingredients in the specific formulation, you should not take the supplement.
• Have uncontrolled blood pressure: L-arginine can lower blood pressure and cause issues if you already take medication to lower blood pressure. Be sure to speak with your healthcare team before taking L-arginine.¹
• Have chronic kidney disease: Taking L-arginine can cause levels of certain electrolytes to increase to dangerous levels if you have chronic kidney disease. This can lead to dangerous irregular heartbeats.¹
• People with an upcoming surgery: L-arginine can cause blood pressure to fluctuate and may interfere with safety during surgery or after surgery.¹

Drug Interactions With L-arginine

It is important to remember that even though L-arginine is naturally occurring, it can still interact with medications, causing serious side effects. Since L-arginine reduces blood pressure, it is important to use caution if you are taking any other medications that lower blood pressure. When taken together, your blood pressure can become dangerously low.

Additional interactions to look out for include medications that slow blood clotting. Since L-arginine also may slow blood clotting, this can increase your risk of bruising and bleeding. Finally, L-arginine may lower blood sugar in the body. Special caution must be used when taking L-arginine with diabetic medications that lower blood sugar levels.¹

This is not a comprehensive list of the possible interactions with l-arginine. You should talk with your healthcare provider and your pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter medications, herbs, and supplements you take before using l-arginine.

Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Provider About Taking L-arginine

Before taking L-arginine or any supplement, make sure to spend time with your healthcare team to ask any questions you may have. Your doctor, psychiatrist and pharmacist should be able to answer your questions and help you determine if L-arginine may be safe and beneficial for you.

Questions to ask your care team about l-arginine include:

• How often should I take L-arginine?
• Should I take L-arginine with a prescription erectile dysfunction medication?
• Can L-arginine help me with anything else?
• What is the best dosage to ensure fewer side effects?
• Is there anything I should tell my therapist about this new medication?
• Will my other medications interact with L-arginine?
• Can I change my diet to help with getting enough L-arginine?
• What changes should I look out for when taking L-arginine?
• Are there alternatives to taking L-arginine?

Other Treatment Options for Sexual Disorders

Sexual disorders like erectile dysfunction can be caused by many different things, including mental health diseases, other prescription medications, or your overall health status. There are also many different treatment options for erectile dysfunction as well. Talking to a therapist in person or virtually can help if the sexual disorder is related to a mental health disease.

There are prescription medications specifically used to treat erectile dysfunction that can be prescribed by your provider. Sometimes erectile dysfunction can be treated by changing or stopping the medication that caused the erectile dysfunction in the first place. Talk with your prescriber before you stop any medication.

Treatment options for erectile dysfunction include:

• Medication for erectile dysfunction: Medications for erectile dysfunction are prescription products that work to improve blood flow in the penis. Common names include Viagra and Cialis.²
• Sex therapy: Sex therapy can be helpful for some people. It is important to find a qualified professional therapist to provide sex therapy.
• Alternative supplements or herbal medicines: Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), Pycnogenol (a french pine tree extract), and tribulus terrestris (an asian medicinal herb), all show promising results from studies to improve symptoms of erectile dysfunction.²

L-arginine in Combination With Other Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Treatments

Studies have shown that combining L-arginine with another erectile dysfunction treatment, specifically tadalafil, may lead to the best improvement of symptoms of erectile dysfunction.⁶ An important detail to remember is that tadalafil is a prescription product that requires seeing a doctor before use.

You can talk with your current healthcare team if you are interested or utilize a telehealth platform to obtain a prescription. Either way you should be prepared to fully review your health history and alert your prescriber that you intend to combine the medication with L-arginine. This will ensure you are receiving the safest, optimal dose.