Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Sleeping with a bar of soap!


Not just any soap! 
No, I have standards.
  I am sleeping with a bar of "Irish Spring."



And now for the remarkable part of that idea (as if sleeping with a bar of soap isn't odd remarkable enough) ...

I am sleeping with a bar of soap on Doctor's Orders!
"Put it between the sheet and the mattress down near your feet."

Bet you weren't expecting that!!  Even the brand name was recommended.

I guess I could just end this blog post here ... just to see if anyone is really reading my posts!

But I am not that kind of girl.  :-) I will explain, and who knows, maybe you too may start sleeping with a bar of soap.

***

Recently in my quest to get caught up on my own health issues, I visited a Podiatrist.  I have a chronic issues over 15 years with my feet.  Mostly I have Plantar Faciitis which probably plagues most of the modern world today. About 7 years ago I stated using prescription orthotics and the foot pain mostly went away.

But new pain started recently (like for 2 years or so ... I know, I know ... no lectures please.  I was busy with someone else's body during that time and tabled a lot of the "me" stuff) ...  recently with pretty bad leg cramps and terrible terrible foot cramps (the foot cramps were the worst - those suckers would hang around for 30 minutes or so.)  I have had to pull off the side of the road while driving due to foot cramps that threatened to cause a car accident!!

So I self-medicated because that was what I had energy for ...
  • bumped up my water - 32 to 64 oz of water a day - bumped up from almost no water at all.
  • increased my potassium - bananas, coconut water, vitamin water, etc.
  • took an over-the-counter product called "Leg Cramp PM" - the title says it all, don't you think? It was suggested by a pharmacist.  (I would recommend this product.)
These interventions worked some - but the foot cramps were still an issue.

And my feet were also starting to get generally sore.

So off to the podiatrist!

After an examination and a review of what I have already done (including seeing my general doctor for blood work - normal!), she admitted that these kinds of issues were hard to diagnosis.  She recommended creating new prescription orthotics and bumping up my water intake.  Agreed.

And that is when the interview sort of went off the rails!

She asked me if I had ever slept with a bar of soap.  

I considered putting my socks and shoes on and walking out.  Clearly this woman was having a break with reality!  But in that moment  I decided that this line of questioning would be good fodder for a blog post!  (Yes, guys, I am always thinking of you.)

I think my reaction was pretty normal ... eyes unblinking, jaw slightly open, quiet, assessing how far I was from the exam room door ...  and she had the good grace to laugh sort of self-deprecatingly, and then she plowed on with her story.

She read an article on this phenomenon of sleeping with a bar of soap and quickly dismissed it (so thankfully she is not a quack.)  But then she started having patients report spontaneously to her success with cramping using the bar of soap method.  And not just a few patients either, but a substantial number.  So now she suggests it - even though it is still an "old wives" tale in her mind.  She says sometimes it is discovered that old wives tales have a thread of truth.

So last night I slept with a bar of soap!  Irish Spring as prescribed.  Not a great success for me.  If I do start getting success, you can be sure that I will buy a case load of Irish Spring and start taping them to my legs, the peddles of my car, the side of my couch and maybe grind up a soap powder to put in my shoes.  But no success thus far, so I am saved at present from having my own "break with reality."  :-)

Tonight I will try 2 bars of soap.  Maybe ...

This morning I googled this topic to see what the "experts" have to say, and I found this link.  Interesting reading.

So my question to you is this ...

Do you have leg and foot cramps?
  What do you do to prevent it?
  Have you slept with a bar of soap?
(Enquiring minds want to know!!)


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't and I haven't but...good luck to you....I hope it helps.

Michelle said...

Um, no, and no. ;-)

Una said...

I'm lucky that I can go for years without cramps. But when I get one the only way to ease it is to walk or stretch. But Old Wives' Tales can work if people believe them. When my daughter was going on a school trip many years ago, her friend's mother told the teacher that the friend usually got sick on car journeys. "Oh no, we know how to stop that" said the teacher who put a newspaper on the child's seat She wasn't sick and the mother started using that method on car journeys with great success..

Lynne said...

I have been sleeping with a bar of soap for about five years.
I was having horrible leg cramps at night and a friend told me about it.
She read about it in the newspaper, Dr. Gott or some name like that.
I gotta tell you . . . it works.
I have two bars under the mattress and I often rub my legs across the soap in the night
and reassure my self it still works.
Ivory is my soap of choice.
I am not crazy . . .

A Day in the Life on the Farm said...

When I first read your title I was reminded of hearing this many, many years ago. I have never needed it, thank God, but will be waiting anxiously for your reports on it.

Retired Knitter said...

After one night ... it is an non starter!

Retired Knitter said...

Right :-)

Retired Knitter said...

To be honest, this whole thing sounded pretty odd so I didn't hold out much hope to begin with. I will continue to try, but I suspect that enough water will be the fix - it is just hard to remember to drink so much and I kind of resent all the time I spend in the toilet! :-)

Retired Knitter said...

Well I am glad to hear that this has worked for someone. I have tried it only one night but will continue for a while. And I will add another bar ... making it two bars I am sleeping with!! And I don't think your crazy and it was suggested by a doctor because it seems to have worked for a lot of people. I am game for anything. I do think in the end it will be increased water that will be my fix.

Retired Knitter said...

So far it didn't work - after one night and one bar. Tonight I will add a second bar. Who knows.