Full disclosure: I made multiple lifestyle changes simultaneously, so I cannot isolate citrulline's contribution. But I want to document my experience because the numbers are real.
I was diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension at age 47 -- blood pressure consistently reading 140-145/90-95 at the doctor's office and on my home monitor. My doctor wanted to start me on lisinopril. I asked for 90 days to try lifestyle modifications first.
Changes I made simultaneously: reduced sodium intake to under 2000mg/day, started walking 30 minutes daily, lost 8 pounds, and added 3g of L-Citrulline twice daily (morning and evening).
Week 2: Average home readings dropped to about 136/88. Modest but in the right direction.
Week 4: 132/85 average. Doctor was encouraged.
Week 8: 128/82 average. This put me solidly in the "elevated" category rather than hypertensive. My doctor agreed to continue monitoring rather than starting medication.
Now, how much of this was citrulline versus the weight loss versus the sodium reduction versus the exercise? Honestly, I have no idea. The meta-analysis data on citrulline and blood pressure suggests maybe 4-8 mmHg systolic reduction, which would be consistent with citrulline contributing a portion of my total improvement.
What I can say is that the regimen was easy to maintain. The powder dissolves well, has minimal taste, and caused zero side effects. I experienced none of the dizziness or lightheadedness that I have read can occur. My resting heart rate also dropped from 78 to 71 over this period, though again, that is probably multifactorial.
I am continuing all of the changes, including citrulline. Whether it is contributing 20% of the improvement or 50%, at this price point and with this safety profile, there is no reason to remove it from the equation.