The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

Every time we vacationed by plane, I had severe nocturnal leg or foot cramps for the duration and they continued for a few days after we got home. I discovered that this was due to dehydration... not enough to drink on the plane, and not taking in enough liquids while touring. Once I pushed my water intake while in the plane and during the day on vacation, no more cramps.

My husband has suffered from terribly painful leg cramps for years. They usually occur at night after a day of physical exertion. After reading about the soap method, I tucked a bar of Ivory soap under the sheets. I didn't tell him and he didn't notice. He had several bouts of leg cramps over the next two weeks, about the same as expected. Perhaps I should try it again, but let him know about the soap in the bed and what wonders it is supposed to do. Then I could assess for the placebo effect.

I have suffered with leg cramps since childhood. The bar of soap did the trick. I started putting a bar under my sheet two years ago and have not experienced cramps unless the bar of soap falls out during the night and then I wake with leg cramps.

Since I am not aware when the bar of soap falls out I do not believe as the person stated that it is all in my head. However, I don't care if it is all in my head or not. Not having leg cramps is enough for me.

Thank you,
Marlana

I suffered from calf muscle cramps (charley horses) at night for years. Read in your column last spring about the soap trick. Since I come from Denver, home of Soapy Smith, a great con man who had a very profitable soap trick, I thought what the heck!

I put several motel soap bars under the sheets. A couple of weeeks later I suddenly realized I had not had any charley horses for quite a while. So I just made sure the soap stayed there. When I changed the bed, I would take the soap pieces (I broke those little bars up into six or more pieces and scattered them around) and put them in a cup while I washed and dried the sheets (I have only one set).

Well, about two weeks ago I started having those damned cramps again. I figured, Well, that soap stuff is all just suds. Had cramps for several nights. Then, when moving something, I uncovered the cup with the soap pieces. I had forgotten to put them back in the bed. So back they went, pronto--and voila! I have not had a cramp since.

If it's pyschosomatic, so be it, as long as I don't have those charley horses any more (mine were extremely painful; if I tried to fight them by forcing my leg out straight, or flexing my foot, the pain was almost unbearable. I found I could only handle this by getting up in the middle of the night and walking around the house, making sure to extend my limbs fully and flex my foot to full range. This was nearly always my left leg).

I put the soap under the sheets without my husband knowing it. It worked. No more night leg cramps.

When he saw the soap he couldn't believe it, and wouldn't have if it hadn't helped him.

So much for your readers' comments.

Thanks.

I used to get foot cramps and cramps in my calves which went away after I started drinking vitamin supplements in water. Maybe it was the water, maybe it was the vitamins. I never tried the soaps.

a friend told me about this last week. I suffer from fibromyalgia pain, and it has been severe lately. We both sort of giggled at the bar of soap remedy idea, but I will try anything once, and twice if I like :)...

So after the last 3 weeks solid of hardly being able to get out of bed due to overwhelming stiffness, I decided what the heck, a bar of soap is much cheaper than prescription meds..and Low & behold, my husband has seen for himself, the WOW afffect.

I still have muscualr aches and back pain (but Ive had 3 back surgeries, I have MS, & fibro) so, after only 2 nights in a row with a fresh bar of soap, I woke up, got straight out of bed the last 2 days, unstiffened...and remarkably with notable reduction in pain levels.

There must be some agent of sorts in soap that maybe releases and works on inflammation??? This is what I think may be the case...but I do know, Ill be sleeping with soap from now on.

WOW WOW WOW what a huge difference. I have even slept more soundly the last 2 nights? Dont know if the soap had anything to do with that. This is CRAZY huh? Guess I must be on the excentric side as well, I was crzy enough to try it, but I am so pleased that I did, and very happy to share, that it absolutley is helping me.

Maybe it wont help everybody, just as everybody doesnt react the same to any prescription drug...but I imagine this is a very safe alternative to try before taking harsh meds with so many side affects. Good luck to RLS & Fibro patients...now if we can just get my hormones back to normal, and thyroid levels back up, Ill be good as new :)

I also have fibro, but the foot cramps were driving me crazy; then they got up into my legs and I could't sleep at all. Read about the soap and put several bars of travel-size soaps in my bed. Worked like a charm and if I get a foot cramp now, I can rub the soap on it and it goes away, so I think it's not mind over matter. I did read not to use antibacterial, that it would not work.

I don't know why this works, all I know is that it does. I just want to know why someone tried it in the first place. It doesn't seem logical, but it does work. I swear by it. It will also helps muscle spasms if you rub it on there and then sleep with a travel size against your neck or back. It does work!

2 wks ago I happened to mention to a friend that I was plagued with leg cramps almost every night and that they were so painful I would sometimes howl until they subsided. The only relief I could get was by getting out of bed, limping to the shower and spraying water over my legs as hot as I could stand it for as long as 10 minutes. I had tried to hold my breath and stay totally still but that never worked as the cramps had a mind of their own.

Well my friend told my of this crazy, crazy thing about the bar of soap in the bed. I thought this was the most absurd thing I ever heard...but I was desperate and it didn't cost anything ..so why not? Well, that very night I put a bar of Dove (I don't know why others have said not to use Dove??) and I HAVEN"T HAD 1 cramp since that night!! I know it's crazy, I know I'm not into the psychosomatic thing...even though I must admit that for the first couple of cramp-free nights, I thought that must be what it was. But after the first full week without 1 cramp, I still don't know WHY it works, I only know IT DOES! S. Kittoe