L-arginine Supplements - Sudden Rapid Hairloss ?!?

[AngrySam]

So first post here hopping someone with more experience in this area can help me out.

Up until a month ago had never even given my hair a second thought. My hair was insanely thick and despite being in my mid 30's only had a very mild movement back in my hairline. My hairdresser would actually comment on how ridiculously thick my hair was an say it was almost "too bulky" and would spend a few minutes of my hair cut session going through it with thinning scissors to thin it out so they could style it.

So it came as quite a shock to me when I suddenly noticed sudden and very rapid hairloss. Some lead in - I had a seriously back injury earlier this year. Caused a disc herniation which was pretty bad - had me grounded for quite a while but had come back really well and was on the mend and getting back into sports\rehab. No issues with the hair whilst recovering from the back injury. I also noticed after the back injury just some slight issues in the erection department - nothing too serious it still worked - just not as firm\consistent as I wanted or had pre injury.

It had been a few months and wanted to really get things right so when my back was healed enough I decided to get back into jogging. Start hitting the gym again - also did some googling for natural assistance with erectile issues and came across the remedy of Nitric oxide. Recommended taking argine to assist and also pine bark. I had also added a kind of general multivitamen supplement for workouts but not in nearly as high doses as the arginine .

So I started taking that daily. Between 3-5grams L-arginine and 50-100mg pine park. After a month didn't notice anything weird and it did seem to help with the erections - so continued taking. I randomly noticed my hair starting feeling really dry and just flat after about 6 weeks - though at the time I didn't link it with the supplements. Went and got a hair cut and noticed my hair seemed to be thin. My hair dresser actually commented on. Still at this point as it was so thick previously it wasn't that obvious except to me and my hairdresser. Now I was starting to take notice and reduced my intake of supplements and stopped completely shortly after.

Fast forward 2 weeks from my hair cut - about 2 months maybe slightly more from starting my Arginine regime. My hair has thinned so drastically I have a bald spot on the front right which I can still kind of cover. But my hair is literally just falling out. Have been to the Doctor to get blood test but results won't be back until next week.

I've only now been doing reading on it and whilst its generally recommended as a helper for growing hair I've found numerous sources that mention over supplementation of L-Arginine on its own can cause a imbalance of amino acids and cause deficiencies in other amino acids such as L-Lysine which results in issues including hair loss. I ordered some Lysine which I started taking yesterday while I wait for doctors results.

Has anyone seen this with l-arginine supplementation ? Literally going crazy at the moment and don't know what to do.

 

[whatevr]

Supplementing isolated aminoacids, just like isolated B Vitamins etc. in high doses is generally a bad idea.
Seems like the common sense thing to do is to stop the arginine and hope that everything goes back to normal.

 

[AngrySam]

Supplementing isolated aminoacids, just like isolated B Vitamins etc. in high doses is generally a bad idea.
Seems like the common sense thing to do is to stop the arginine and hope that everything goes back to normal.

I've been off everything for about 2 weeks. Only started adding some lysine in yesterday out of desperation.

 

[whatevr]

Then I guess you just have to be patient. I doubt it is any kind of permanent hair loss, but it might take a while for the hair to return completely, due to the way hair cycles work.

 

[AngrySam]

Then I guess you just have to be patient. I doubt it is any kind of permanent hair loss, but it might take a while for the hair to return completely, due to the way hair cycles work.

Well I'm hoping that - but the hairloss also appears to be mostly at the front crown which is normally what people talk about with male pattern baldness. No idea if I've some how screwed up my hormones. The big bald chunk has come straight out of the front right of my head. It looks bizarre because my left side while also thinning dramatically over the past few weeks hasn't done anywhere near as much as the right. It looks like someone took a bite out of my head.

 

[AngrySam]

So have seen doctors and dermatologist and believe I have the root cause of my issue though will be confirmed in the coming days. Thought I would post here again as it always annoys me when people don't update their thread - this may also help others with hair loss issues.

My issue seems to have been caused by my supplementation of L-arginine and PineBark being very effective at increasing my NitricOxide levels. This is actually what I wanted and why I was taking the supplements - though I obviously didn't look fully into the effects of high NOS levels. One of the side effects is it can cause Iron deficiency as the iron in the blood bonds to the high levels of NOS to prevent oxidation damage and inflamation. I had gone vegetarian a year back so it seems my iron levels may have been a little more susceptible to deficiency. I'd randomly noticed some shortness of breath when exercising recently which aligns with this and seems my Iron levels have fallen drastically trying to counteract the increase in NOS and this seems to have been the trigger for my hair loss.

I stopped taking the previous supplements, added a single good quality multivit which correct portions of vitamins and minerals + some stuff my doctor gave me . I can feel within a week it has made a massive difference. I can honestly tell this was the fix just based on how my hair feels. The second round of tests I'm still waiting on but the hair texture has changed completely from the dry brittle straw that was falling out by the handful to its normal smooth soft texture as it was previously. Hair sheading has also slowed back to normal levels pretty quickly.

Now just have to wait and hope the damage done was only temporary - my dermatologist thinks it is.

Possibly something to consider for those experiencing male pattern baldness as well. Iron seems to play a very key role in protecting the hair and keeping it in growth phase. If your NOS levels are high - your hair isn't going to be getting enough Iron as its all bound in the system and the oxidative damage from both DHT and NOS is going to be higher. Interestingly I noticed DHT is tightly coupled to NOS levels which I understand is seen as the cause of male pattern baldness.

Might be a good idea to make sure your iron is high.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/03/12/reducing-nitric-oxide.aspx

 

[Hairordie]

Hi AngrySam,

Any update on if the arginine shedding reversed up cessation?
Any iron test results?
Cheers

 

[g.i joey]

Damn I've been taking arginine my whole run on propexia... lol

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

I took pine bark extract + l-arginine a while back, it had no effect on me. I think that line of research is a scam, honestly.

 

[Trichosan]

If I may offer some advice. After having been like the poster boy for nutritional supplements for the last 30 years, applying the science and technology we have today has revealed much of what I ingested, was likely ineffective or minimally effective in achieving what was expected biologically. Based on our genetics, our biochemical pathways vary so you may not be deriving the benefit of L-Arginine that you expect or perceive. Even regardless that you add in L-Citrulline which could be another critically essential AA to L-Arg uptake. Anyway, to keep it short, do a genetic analysis, micronutrient test, even basic blood work to establish some baselines for your approach. A true measure of nitric oxide levels can be determined from a saliva test strip. Just my .02, your sudden onset of hairloss is stressed induced from your back problem. Perhaps that easy, perhaps not. Best of health to you.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

If I may offer some advice. After having been like the poster boy for nutritional supplements for the last 30 years, applying the science and technology we have today has revealed much of what I ingested, was likely ineffective or minimally effective in achieving what was expected biologically. Based on our genetics, our biochemical pathways vary so you may not be deriving the benefit of L-Arginine that you expect or perceive. Even regardless that you add in L-Citrulline which could be another critically essential AA to L-Arg uptake. Anyway, to keep it short, do a genetic analysis, micronutrient test, even basic blood work to establish some baselines for your approach. A true measure of nitric oxide levels can be determined from a saliva test strip. Just my .02, your sudden onset of hairloss is stressed induced from your back problem. Perhaps that easy, perhaps not. Best of health to you.

Are the genetic tests mature enough to be informative on these issues?

 

[Trichosan]

Are the genetic tests mature enough to be informative on these issues?

From a practical standpoint, if it's NO production that is the concern, I would take a more proven approach and take Neo40 with good dietary surces of nitrate, kale, etc. This thinking is based on Brady's research published in Nitrate and Nitrite in Health and Human Disease. I have no affiliation with the product or author by the way. Otherwise, yes, but you would have to delve reading and understanding human biochemical pathways to make sense of the genetic info. Better to go to an MD or Phd, Drs. in functional medicine, for workup on that. For me, I started with 23andme, Genetic Genie, Spectracell tests.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

From a practical standpoint, if it's NO production that is the concern, I would take a more proven approach and take Neo40 with good dietary surces of nitrate, kale, etc. This thinking is based on Brady's research published in Nitrate and Nitrate in Health and Human Disease. I have no affiliation with the product or author by the way. Otherwise, yes, but you would have to delve reading and understanding human biochemical pathways to make sense of the genetic info. Better to go to an MD or Phd, Drs. in functional medicine, for workup on that. For me, I started with 23andme, Genetic Genie, Spectracell tests.

Did you learn anything from those?

I agree on vegetables being the best boosters of nitric oxide.

 

[Trichosan]

Quite a bit and still researching other SNPs in my genetic profile.

 

[Wanheda]

I'm taking L-Arginine but no more than 3 x 500mg tablets a day, though for totally different reasons. I was actually thinking of increasing dosage but now maybe not! Hope Angrysam comes back with an update, just started typing this and noticed it was October last time he's on this thread :/

 

[kanishen18]

So first post here hopping someone with more experience in this area can help me out.

Up until a month ago had never even given my hair a second thought. My hair was insanely thick and despite being in my mid 30's only had a very mild movement back in my hairline. My hairdresser would actually comment on how ridiculously thick my hair was an say it was almost "too bulky" and would spend a few minutes of my hair cut session going through it with thinning scissors to thin it out so they could style it.

So it came as quite a shock to me when I suddenly noticed sudden and very rapid hairloss. Some lead in - I had a seriously back injury earlier this year. Caused a disc herniation which was pretty bad - had me grounded for quite a while but had come back really well and was on the mend and getting back into sports\rehab. No issues with the hair whilst recovering from the back injury. I also noticed after the back injury just some slight issues in the erection department - nothing too serious it still worked - just not as firm\consistent as I wanted or had pre injury.

It had been a few months and wanted to really get things right so when my back was healed enough I decided to get back into jogging. Start hitting the gym again - also did some googling for natural assistance with erectile issues and came across the remedy of Nitric oxide. Recommended taking argine to assist and also pine bark. I had also added a kind of general multivitamen supplement for workouts but not in nearly as high doses as the arginine .

So I started taking that daily. Between 3-5grams L-arginine and 50-100mg pine park. After a month didn't notice anything weird and it did seem to help with the erections - so continued taking. I randomly noticed my hair starting feeling really dry and just flat after about 6 weeks - though at the time I didn't link it with the supplements. Went and got a hair cut and noticed my hair seemed to be thin. My hair dresser actually commented on. Still at this point as it was so thick previously it wasn't that obvious except to me and my hairdresser. Now I was starting to take notice and reduced my intake of supplements and stopped completely shortly after.

Fast forward 2 weeks from my hair cut - about 2 months maybe slightly more from starting my Arginine regime. My hair has thinned so drastically I have a bald spot on the front right which I can still kind of cover. But my hair is literally just falling out. Have been to the Doctor to get blood test but results won't be back until next week.

I've only now been doing reading on it and whilst its generally recommended as a helper for growing hair I've found numerous sources that mention over supplementation of L-Arginine on its own can cause a imbalance of amino acids and cause deficiencies in other amino acids such as L-Lysine which results in issues including hair loss. I ordered some Lysine which I started taking yesterday while I wait for doctors results.

Has anyone seen this with l-arginine supplementation ? Literally going crazy at the moment and don't know what to do.

Hey Angrysam, I'm in the same boat as you... Been supplementing pine bark + black maca + l arginine and I realize the similar effect you're experiencing.. any advances and advice you could give? Did your hair return to normal?

 

[Kayfabe]

So first post here hopping someone with more experience in this area can help me out.

Up until a month ago had never even given my hair a second thought. My hair was insanely thick and despite being in my mid 30's only had a very mild movement back in my hairline. My hairdresser would actually comment on how ridiculously thick my hair was an say it was almost "too bulky" and would spend a few minutes of my hair cut session going through it with thinning scissors to thin it out so they could style it.

So it came as quite a shock to me when I suddenly noticed sudden and very rapid hairloss. Some lead in - I had a seriously back injury earlier this year. Caused a disc herniation which was pretty bad - had me grounded for quite a while but had come back really well and was on the mend and getting back into sports\rehab. No issues with the hair whilst recovering from the back injury. I also noticed after the back injury just some slight issues in the erection department - nothing too serious it still worked - just not as firm\consistent as I wanted or had pre injury.

It had been a few months and wanted to really get things right so when my back was healed enough I decided to get back into jogging. Start hitting the gym again - also did some googling for natural assistance with erectile issues and came across the remedy of Nitric oxide. Recommended taking argine to assist and also pine bark. I had also added a kind of general multivitamen supplement for workouts but not in nearly as high doses as the arginine .

So I started taking that daily. Between 3-5grams L-arginine and 50-100mg pine park. After a month didn't notice anything weird and it did seem to help with the erections - so continued taking. I randomly noticed my hair starting feeling really dry and just flat after about 6 weeks - though at the time I didn't link it with the supplements. Went and got a hair cut and noticed my hair seemed to be thin. My hair dresser actually commented on. Still at this point as it was so thick previously it wasn't that obvious except to me and my hairdresser. Now I was starting to take notice and reduced my intake of supplements and stopped completely shortly after.

Fast forward 2 weeks from my hair cut - about 2 months maybe slightly more from starting my Arginine regime. My hair has thinned so drastically I have a bald spot on the front right which I can still kind of cover. But my hair is literally just falling out. Have been to the Doctor to get blood test but results won't be back until next week.

I've only now been doing reading on it and whilst its generally recommended as a helper for growing hair I've found numerous sources that mention over supplementation of L-Arginine on its own can cause a imbalance of amino acids and cause deficiencies in other amino acids such as L-Lysine which results in issues including hair loss. I ordered some Lysine which I started taking yesterday while I wait for doctors results.

Has anyone seen this with l-arginine supplementation ? Literally going crazy at the moment and don't know what to do.

Hey man, imo ditch the multi-vit. I doubt l-arginine would do this, in fact I think it would help in some cases as it promotes blood flow to the scalp. That being said, to much of a vitamin can cause hair loss, thyroid imbalances and what have you. If you want to take some vitamins, take a b-vitamin complex, as you'll pee whatever isn't used. The thing with some minerals is that it builds up in excess and there's no way of the body consuming that much of the vitamin. In my experience I took too much vitamin a and vitamin c from a multi, and my hair started drying out, and the same texture as a straw of hay. Once I stopped the issue died down. You get vit c in pretty much everything these days, although you also vit c out, too much in my experience can cause dry issues.

 

[kanishen18]

I just got my nutrition check and just as Angrysam, my iron & methionine level is pretty much low as well. I've been experiencing great erections with l arginine and French pine bark 125mg but my hair went thru a rapid shed. I'm still waiting for my DHT test though.

My pictures show the hair shedding / loss from December 2016 - September 2017.

 

[Wanheda]

That's quite a rapid shed for less than 1 year. I think too much of one supplement can knock other nutrients or vitamins out of balance. Was trying l-arginine myself but didn't notice any effect so stopped after 3 weeks once the bottle ran out.

 

[kanishen18]

Yes Wanheda, i just hope mine is a temporary shed.. But as @AngrySam mentioned. The rapid hairloss is similiar to what i have personally experienced. Too much of one supplement could possibly knock off other nutrients too. Currently im on Iron Tablets. Hoping for the best

That's quite a rapid shed for less than 1 year. I think too much of one supplement can knock other nutrients or vitamins out of balance. Was trying l-arginine myself but didn't notice any effect so stopped after 3 weeks once the bottle ran out.