The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

I read about this home remedy in the newspaper. I have indeed suffered from RLS basically all of my life, and I am over 50! My mother always told me I had "growing pains" -- HA!
When I read this, I thought it was the silliest thing I had ever heard of. I truly believe in home remedies, but just sleeping with a bar of soap?!?! Well, let me assure any and everyone! It WORKS. I have now had 5 nights of sleep - in my own bed - no walking around, no moving from one place to another just to find comfort -just pure wonderful sleep. TRY IT!!!

I tried it, I cut the end out of a sock, put the bar of soap under my knee and secrued it in place by pulling the sock over it. I also found out that taking SAM E a supplement was a part of the cramping problem. I sopped the SAM E. 4/28/07

I have been using Vanilla/Lavender By Bath and Body works, only because it has been advertised for sleep relaxation. I will try the soap.
Thanks

I have taken "quinine", for leg cramps for years........Dont know what I will do with out it.....Am going to try the Ivory
to-day....Will post again in a couple of days and tell you the results.....

Joe Smith

Landis N.C.

After the pharmacist explained he could no longer fill my quinine sulfate prescription, another shopper in the pharmacy came up to me and said not to question her why, but that I should try putting a bar of soap under the sheet. That was nearly three months ago. What happened to the RLS? Washed away? How can that bar of soap work on the old formerly-cramped legs? It seems to have worked for me!

I saw an article in our local newspaper about 6 months ago about putting soap under the sheets for RLS and tried it immediately. Since that time I have not had a single leg cramp. I use Caress.

I went on a trip recently and had my bar of soap with me. I was staying at a B&B and when I got back that evening my soap was gone! I called the proprietor of the B&B and asked him where the devil my soap was. He told me he thought it was in the bed by mistake and had thrown it away. When I told him why I needed it he said that he would go through the garbage and find it--which he did. He also told me that he, too, has leg cramps and was going to try this remedy.

My doctor just gave me this mystified look and said "whatever." He was the one raising such Sam Hill about me taking potassium!

What a wonderful, really inexpensive treatment that stops RLS.

I tried the Ivory......didnt work.....took "Quinine" the next nite and slept......I have ordered another "leg cramp" medicine from Homeopathic Labs......
If the results are good I will let you know....

Joe in Landis

I keep reading about how they cure RLS with a bar of soap. Well, it did not work for me. And another comment: Does RLS cause leg cramps? That's not the way I understnd RLS. It does cause some almost indescribable symptoms, but not muscle cramps in the legs.

I have tried the soap and it did not work for me. I have tried several prescriptions used to treat Parkinson's disease to no avail. I currently use tramadol - one 50 mg. tab about an hour before going to bed. It works well for me. Tramadol is a prescription med so you'll have to talk your doctor into writing a Rx.

I have suffered from severe leg cramps for years. I read about the Ivory soap, tried it and I have not had a leg cramp since. What makes it work, does anybody know?

I have severe Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). Have used Sinemet and Mirapex over the last 8 years, but stopped each due to side effects. Currently unmedicated and miserable with the leg movements at night, waiting on test results and the docs to decide next line of defense. Someone mentioned the Ivory soap. Well, I tried it in a wrap around my ankles and under my feet in a double socks, but what seems the best is I have four bars across my lower bed so that no matter where I move my feet, one is near. If a movement wakes me, I move my foot to touch the soap, and fall right back asleep. Hasn't been a cure, but certainly has made it more tolerable and less sleep robbing. Can't begin to understand it. The most logical theory I've read is one wondering if the leg movements are like electrical currents, maybe the composition/density of the soap absorbs the brunt of the charge. (Like rubber and lightning.) Would love to understand why, but just having a degree of relief is good enough for me.

I used to suffer with leg cramps at night, particularly after walking, which is my main form of exercise. Ever since placing a bar of soap (Caress) beneath my top sheet at the foot of the bed, cramping has been nonexistent!! Thanks so much.

My experience with nighttime leg cramps is lifelong. When quinine pills were no longer available, a Nursing professor at the University where I worked recommended I drink tonic water with quinine in it. I found that Schweppes Tonic Water works best for me. I will, however, try putting soap under my sheet.

I know this is just anecdotal information, but I was having a lot of problems with leg cramps, because of a tumor in my knee. I thought why not try this and it worked! I never had any more leg cramps after the night I put that dumb bar of soap between the sheets next to my feet. It has been over a year now and still no leg cramps!

I have tried several kinds of bar soap for leg cramps. First being Ivory..I learned that I need to change the soap about every 3-4 months. I buy them at the 99 cent store. 3 bars for for 99 cents is the best investment for a good nights sleep.It took 3 nights before it worked ,but that was 2 years ago and no leg cramps for me now. I use the cheap nylon anklets or cut the foot off old panty hose to slip the soap into, that seems to help keep it in place. I use two bars under the bottom sheet,one on each side near my feet. THANK YOU DR. GOTT for listening to your readers and passing along their health tips. Also I did ask my DR. about Vicks for toenail fungus ,he said it couldn't hurt ( after over the counter meds, and two very expensive prescriptions that DIDN'T work ) After twice daily use, for about 4 months the fungus started to go away. Now it is gone and from time to time I apply Vicks to all my toenails just to make them look & feel better and hopefully keep the fungus from coming back. No one knows why it works and I don't care.I just know it works for me.

I have had leg cramps for years. I have taken potassium pills and eaten a banana every day, but still had cramps. My doctor told me to try tonic water because quinine pills could be dangerous. Well it worked, but the ivory soap is more convenient. Please tell me how it works and why. Also, do most people unwrap it first? How often should it be replaced? I called the Ivory soap number and they told me they have no idea what I was talking about. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

We too read about putting an unwrapped bar of soap under the fitted sheet . My husband has been having severe cramping in his legs for years. I have several herniated disc bulges and Fibromyalgia and my legs hurt all the time. First night we tried the only bar of soap in the house which was irish spring. (we use liquid soap to bathe). We are both RN's and we do not know why but it did work . We put a bar of Ivory under both sides of our bedsheets as well , my leg pain went away last night and he has not had cramps for 2 nights now. Nothing else had been helping him, not prescriptions , not anything and he has had 2 great nights of sleep so far.

Yes, this remedy does work. I haven't had leg cramps since I put the bar of soap in my bed. I have told others who thought I was crazy until they had the same results.

Thanks for you great column

I will try this for sure after walking or exercising the leg muscles (that is when I get leg/calf cramps); BUT - I wish so much that I'd known about this 5 or more yrs ago when my son would wake up in the night (often) with severe leg cramps. I only thought it was growing pains for him & doctors had no idea what to say. I will pass this along & use the soap too !
Thank you so much.

I have been suffering from leg cramps since starting statins for high cholesterol! I hesitated about putting the soap under the sheets......my husband laughed....but it works!!! Thank you so much. I also carry a small "hotel" type bar in my pocket.

It makes me crazy not to know why the soap thing works, but I use the soap anyway. It doesn't matter what kind of soap, or how big a bar. Just as long as it's under the sheet in my bed. Ever since my neighbor told me this cockamamy soap rememdy about 9 months ago, I've used it. I used to get the most excrutiating leg cramps that run along the inside of my thigh, and in these past nine months I've only had the cramp twice - one time was after our cleaning service changed our sheets and took out the soap, and the other time was last night after I fell asleep on the couch. Ouch!! I actually hobbled to my bed in agony, looking for the soap. I pressed it all along the cramp and felt relief much sooner than in the past. I have no idea if it's psychosomatic, but I don't care. My husband thinks I'm nuts - but all I care about is getting rid of that God-awful pain! I need to thank my neighbor for telling me about this remedy, and I wish you all restful nights of pain-free sleep.

"Suffered" with restless legs (RLS) since last year. Presently on Miraprex which seems to help. I tried the Ivory soap last year with no effect, so I'm willing to give it another try using the method prescribed here.
Kathy
Oak Island

I read your newspaper article about the soap and, feeling a little silly, I thought what the heck, but I won't tell my husband! I don't like to take any medication so maybe this is the answer for the severe cramps in my lower legs. Well, it does work and I have been putting Ivory soap under the bottom sheet for many, many months with complete success! I need a fresh bar every 3 months or so. Bought the larger sized bars and cut one in half. Works just as well for about $.07/month!

My husband, a very analytical type, said: "There's no way that putting a bar of soap under the sheet can work" but he did try it for his leg cramps (he's a Diabetic Type II). The next morning he said: "There's no way that can work - but it DID!" We have had TWO bars of soap under our sheet ever since and no more leg cramps for either of us. I also rest my foot where I have Morton's Neuroma on the bar of soap when it aches and the ache goes away.

I have suffered from RLS for 50 years, I am 75, and it is getting worse, even with medication. I am taking clonazepam 2 mg. I still walk most of the night. Than after foot surgery the doctor gave me Requip. I took them three nights, and did not sleep one second for all three days and night. I almost fainted in the pharmacy, trying to get back on my old prescription. If this soap remedy works I will thank the good Lord on my knees. Sure is worth a try.
Thanks for the tip.
Rose Taylor Charleston,SC.

When I first heard about the soap in the bed, I laughed and said no way. I suffer from leg cramps and thought I would try it. I did not have any Caress, but I did have Tropical Zest. It worked. I had the best sleep ever. I found the article online and e-mailed it to everyone I know.

I will use it forever!

concerning a soap bar under sheets.....Per my friend Sheila.
Thanks ao much. It worked great the first night but I have a major problem. My Dog and cat who have arthritis get to bed before I do and they have been laying on it every night!! Now I have no bed for me. Animals don't lie! so it must work!

i finally fell asleep last night then woke back up an hour and a half later... i just started getting cramps in my legs and the creapy crawly feeling in my legs... i know people who have RLS so i decided to look it up and see if there was anything i could do... im at the computer right now with a bar of soap under each leg and it seems to be working!!! i thought it was crazy but i figured what do i have to lose? i m going to go try to lay back down and see if i cant fall back asleep. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! try it!!!!

i finally fell asleep last night then woke back up an hour and a half later... i just started getting cramps in my legs and the creapy crawly feeling in my legs... i know people who have RLS so i decided to look it up and see if there was anything i could do... im at the computer right now with a bar of soap under each leg and it seems to be working!!! i thought it was crazy but i figured what do i have to lose? i m going to go try to lay back down and see if i cant fall back asleep. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! try it!!!!