Tried the Ivory Soap Bar under Sheet for RLS

[SleepingBeauty]

Oh that picture of the chewed up soap! Thank you for a much-needed laugh tonight! That was priceless!

[Lyza]

Just wanted to say I bought some ivory last week and put 2 bars under the sheet. Been there for 5 days now and I've noticed a difference in my RLS which is mild to severe for me almost every night. Also I have been taking half of my medication I take for it at night to sorta test out the soap theory. Also I put a bar under the computer desk for my feet to be near, rest on as thats when it starts acting up. ( come home from work, sit at computer couple hours before bedtime) That seems to help as well. Maybe its all mental, hell I don't care at this point its helping, and I'm happy. And its cheap!

[TXKajun]

Of course, all of ya'll that have experienced improvement (myself included) have to realize that all the folks who have noticed improvement (both there and on allll the other homeopathic/natural remedy sites) are providing merely "anecdotal evidence" that a bar of soap at the foot of your bed helps with cramps or RLS or PLMD, and has absolutely NO scientific credibility whatsoever. I'm certain that any "well-respected" scientist would totally rebuke any improvement as being impossible to achieve since there can obviously be no cause and effect which a scientist could quantify.

Ain't we glad we aren't scientists?? Oh, wait!! I AM one! LOLOL

Have a great day and night!

Kajun

[RosemaryB]

Hey Blarq just poking fun at you.... I appreciate your contributions and noticed how much that cat you posted looked like you so my icon is an honor to blarq...

That doesn't look like a cat to me, more like a polar bear! Now I'm trying to figure out if Blarg looks like a polar bear

In a more serious vein, is there some connection with leg cramps and sleep problems? I've had them since I was young. I have occasionally awakened screaming with them. The only time I can remember that I've awakened screaming. Just curious.

[kteague]

RosemaryB,

Is there a leg cramps and sleep problems connection? Yes. Anything that disrupts one's sleep can be a problem, depending on frequency and severity.

RLS which was mentioned above causes leg movements due to discomfort, with various descriptions that don't necessarily include cramping.

Leg cramps is a generic term. The most well known type is the "makes ya jump outta bed" charley horse. Cramps have different causes, including circulatory issues or potassium deficiency (or other minerals).

PLMD causes repetitive leg cramps of neurologic origin with nearly by-the-clock frequency.

Whether any of these become a sleep problem depends on if it disrupts one's normal sleep cycle. The more so, the more the problem. For instance, my unmedicated PLMD leg movements that were cramps were every 13 to 14 seconds. When medicated movements became flailings instead of cramps, they increased to every 3 or 4 seconds. I'm currently unmedicated again. Either way, their severity has been such that many of the movements awakened me, hence a "sleep problem".

Kathy

[Guest]

I use Ivory dishsoap to clean my interfaces (manufacturer's recommendations). I notice the days I use it I sleep better. I am thinking of checking into buying the ivory laundry soap if they still make it -- for the sheets. Think it might help? I do notice I'm not having as many leg cramps since I put the Ivory bar under the sheet.
thanks
karyl (dustbunny)

[kteague]

Karyl (dustbunny),

Who knows if using other Ivory products would have any benefit? Since TXKajun is a scientist, I was hoping he would have some insight as to why some find relief with the bar of soap in the bed.

I'm still the skeptic who is contradicting my nature even trying this, and waiting with wagging finger to say "See, doesn't do a thing for me." However, 6 out of 7 nights that weren't miserable have not provided me an opportunity to say that.

I can say that when I wake up with leg movements, it's when my legs have wandered far from the soap (like hanging over the bed), but when I put my feet back up against the soap, they calm down enough to let me fall back asleep. (Just having the soap in the bed isn't close enough.) Historically, once the legs act up enough to wake me, my night is over. I can't wish them calm, pray them calm, rub them calm or walk them calm.

I emailed Procter & Gamble (the manufacturers) but haven't had a response. They're probably laughing all the way to the bank. That's ok, I'm smiling all the way to the bed.

Kathy

[Janine]

Kathy, I thought about this last night, as I reminded myself to remove the bar in the morning to keep the dogs from eating it.

I wonder if it would work to get one of those delicates wash bags or something similar, and put soap shaving or slices in it, so you lay it on your bed and spread them out flat in the bag. You could pin the bag to the bed so it would stay in place. Your legs might get more contact.

I have no idea if it would work, just a thought.

[Lyza]

I too wondered if other ivory products would work, thinking hey why not just use Ivory lotion and lather up really good at night.. But after checking their website I see they don't make skin lotion.. Just soaps, body washes and detergents.

[blarg]

That doesn't look like a cat to me, more like a polar bear! Now I'm trying to figure out if Blarg looks like a polar bear

Give me 30 years or so and I'll be a polar bear...

Anyway, I wasn't offended in the slightest. I did almost exactly the same thing to poor Rested Gal a while back.

[lpady]

Sigh...

Well, the Ivory did NOT do it's trick last night. One of my WORST nights EVER!!! I kept pushing that bar of soap around trying to make sure my legs were keeping contact with it, but to no avail.

Some factors might have contributed:

Taking Klonopin for years for RLS
Recently started on Melatonin (might reduce the effect of Klonopin?)
No difference in Caffeine intake
No real stress

So the only thing I can think to blame might be the Melatonin. It is sometimes used to ameliorate the effects of benzodiazepam down-titration and guess what Klonopin is.

Lucky for Mom (and my kids) I was alone last night. My bed looked like a tornado hit it!

Still in search of a good nights sleep!!! Anyone got some instant results out there???

Linda

[Janine]

Linda, that sucks.

[lpady]

Janine,

Yes it does

I read your remark on medical IDs where you said you felt like writing w/red marker on your head/hands. There's actually a doctor that advocates that in what he calls his "hospital kit" so you can write on your body (like "wrong leg jerk"), etc. He also includes in his kid a bullhorn in case the nurse doesn't answer the call button

Linda

[Janine]

LOL! Now that is a plan. I will throw a marker in with my blood testing stuff. I think that would get their attention. They already get nervous when I test my own blood, so pulling out a marker and writing on myself might really throw them for a loop!

My legs seem to have been worse since I started cpap, but I am so intermittent so far that I would not correlate the two. I think they are worse on days I take my every other day med. Life is such a puzzle some days (weeks, years...).

[birdshell]

When I had surgery on my knee, the prep included writing something like, "This one" and an arrow toward the knee. I thought that was an exceedingly brilliant concept!

And, now I know what to do with that spare bullhorn in my guest bedroom. Ty Pennington would have NO problem in the hospital--and to think, he didn't seem to have brought it with him when he had the emergency appendectomy.

(For those not familiar with "Extreme Home Makeover", Ty yells into his bullhorn all over the building site. One is supposed to speak into it and let the volume be controlled by the bullhorn, NOT yell into it. Ty is going to sound like Kenny Rogers if he doesn't fix that; he already does sound as if he is on the way to developing nodules, IMHO.)

Thanks for the great suggestions. Who says that going off-topic isn't useful?

Karen