Soda causes leg cramps

July 23, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am not a scientist but I have conducted a scientific experiment. I hypothesized that sodas cause leg cramps after I found I was not having them for years when I gave up soda. Yesterday, I drank four large sodas and one diet soda. I awoke at 4 am with a leg cramp in my right quadriceps.

I have found only two things that will stop the leg cramps. One, pumping my foot and two, standing up and putting a bar of soap on my leg per your column. I don’t even put the soap on stop of the sheet, I just rub it on the spot and the cramp stops and doesn’t come back. Thanks for the soap tip, doctor!

I have a second theory I want to test, also. I don’t get cramps when I drink club soda, so I think there is something in the soda – Color? Sugar? Sweeteners? – that cause the cramping.
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Soap-under-the-sheets trick

September 11, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My wife and I used to use the smaller bars of soaps from motels for leg cramps in bed; however, when we turned over, the bars were no longer under our legs and we would sometimes get cramps. We solved this by grating the soap directly onto the lower portion of the mattress under the sheet. It seems to work no matter where we lie on the mattress.

DEAR READER: Thank you for sharing this helpful tip. I am passing it on to my readers in the hopes that it will help some of them as well.

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Soap under the sheets for cramps

September 14, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My wife follows your column in our local newspaper. She read about placing a bar of soap under the bedsheets, but needs more explanation. She suffers a lot of pains and seeks whatever help is available.

DEAR READER: The soap-under-the-sheets remedy is very simple. Place an unwrapped bar of soap under the bottom bedsheet nearest to the affected area. Some readers have had success using wrapped soap, as well. It was originally recommended for nighttime leg cramps but has also been found to be beneficial for other nighttime aches and pains in other areas, such as the shoulders, feet, back and neck. The soap may need to be replaced once in a while, say every three to six months, but it still retains its cleaning ability so it does not need to be thrown away. I suggest your wife try it since she has nothing to lose other than her pain.

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Home remedies for RLS

May 12, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My 27-year-old granddaughter has restless-legs syndrome, and I can’t remember your home remedy. Can you help?

DEAR READER: There are several remedies that might help your granddaughter. One herbal recommendation is hawthorn berry available in most health-food stores. Nutritional supplements include supplemental vitamin E in the diet, calcium, magnesium and folic acid. Home remedies include an unwrapped bar of soap under the bottom sheet of her bed placed in the area of the lower legs. Smaller hotel bars of soap are ideal because of their size, but the large ones work equally well. Still another possible solution is an over-the-counter topical liniment containing cooling menthol rubbed onto the lower legs and feet before going to sleep.

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