Soap bar

[Sul03]

Hi everyone

I've recently been told that placing a soap bar in bed near the legs helps prevent RLS

Has anyone tried it? Does this work?

[Madlegs1]

It works for some people.

Apparently , it should be placed under the bottom sheet , should be Ivory soap ( brand new , out of the packaging) and at your feet so that it is pushing against the offending feet.

It is well documented that Placebo effect works remarkably well for RLS. - Does that mean it's all in our minds- No- just that our minds are a very strong tool in our health management arsenal .

The bar of soap worked very well for me- for one night! But ,then, I have a very weak mind.😩.

Good luck with it - and let us know how you get on!

Cheers .

[Sul03 in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks, maybe it is just psychological rather then scientific

I will try it tonight and will update

But I also have a weak mind, let's see

Thanks for responding

[Hidden in reply to Sul03]

The soap "thing" has been around for years and years, there is no scientific reason for it to work. Some can get relief from trying it. But it will be a placebo effects. But no harm trying it and cheap as chips to buy.

[march1044]

They are a placebo, and placebos can be powerful if you believe in them. I don't and the soap did not work. Actually, I only tried it because I was so annoyed when my doctor suggested it. I just stared at her: am I an idiot? So it probably never had much of a chance with me.

[Hidden]

Personally speaking I use Radox shower gel. I put the gel on my body as I shower take whatever opioid and Dopamine Agonist I am to take and miraculously the RLS is lessened - must be the Radox

I was raised washing in soap and as I have seen explained the 'scent' molecules would have been applied directly to my skin as opposed to floating up my bed and landing on my legs.

The site I seen this valuable information even sold special RLS soap that had Lavender and was flatter than normal bars, not at all an evil prick preying on peoples suffering.

If you find the Radox doesn't work Timote shampoo is not bad, its like dipping your legs in a mountain stream.

I wonder why cancer suffers don't use soap since it is such an all powerful curative. Damn big Pharma for keeping the soap cure under wraps.

As said if you are lucky placebo will allow you a night or two of sleep. I am highly offended when people suggest this and then seem confused when I ask them to explain how it works. I think I would complain about a Dr that suggested such a thing - not exactly evidence based practice and to me it minimises the suffering we experience. Put soap in your bed to cure a neurological problem! Why aren't Parkinson suffers trying this!

Sorry but I really hate the soap nonsense. Hope it works for you

Take care

[graciebes]

The soap didnt work for me ,neither did the cork under the pillow or the salt in orange juice.Still looking for remedies without taking meds,but up to now havent found any .So meds it is .

[LoisTonya]

Hi Sul03

Over the years I've tried every wacky idea that has been brought forward. When I did tried it the instructions were to put the soap in a sock and place it under the bottom sheet. Unsurprisingly there was no effect!

[martino]

Sounds a bit like copper bracelets the name of which I don't think I can mention

[nightdancer in reply to martino]

I know the name of the bracelets, but refuse to say it to give them any publicity.

[Jeanniebeannie]

Comments like this make me angry just total nonsense.

[Graham3196]

Its easy to write off many ideas as nonsense just because they dont work for you or because you cant understand the process of it working. You want evidence based data then lets all of us try a bar of soap and then we can claim that 100 people tried it and it failed 100%. Lots of things work for problems and no-one understands why until they do a lot of work and make a real effort to explain what it could be. Perhaps all the people who use a bar of soap dont bother reading this forum because they have no problem? Perhaps the soap fumes carry magnesium (its OK I know what is really in soap) or perhaps its nothing to do with it being a bar of soap and a tennis ball would do as well by giving your toes something to play with. I dont know but there is a chance that this seemingly silly cure might have worked for some people so the story keeps going around.

I have personally tried drugs that make me vomit and fall over, laid on my back and pretended to ride an imaginary bike in the air, rubbed magnesium cream all over my legs, walked around and around and around for hours. I used to watch movies standing up the back of the cinema and I had to stop the car every half hour and walk around for 10 minutes.

There are two things have helped. Google "Monash University FODMAP diet" and read up on this. The diet is intended for IBS sufferers but I found it worked for my RLS. On the advice of a long term contributor to RLS forums I have tried ferrous di-glycinide (sold under the name Pregnancy Iron among many other names) Its not perfect but my RLS is 99% better than it is without these treatments. The FODMAP diet has worked for others as well as me. Some completely disappeared their symptoms in a short time. There are probably others for whom it did nothing.

I am going to try a bar of soap for a week and see what happens. Worst case is I have to use it in the shower!

I will report back even if it works 100%.

Cheers

Graham

[nightdancer in reply to Graham3196]

Well, I can safely say that I know way more than 100 people who have tried it, in my groups and here for the last 20 years. IF it does work, it can only be the placebo effect, and there is nothing wrong with that, if you believe in it. Raffs has huge point there as far as the fact we have all been using soap for years, all our lives. In my first group I had, back in '96, emails only in those days, I have a friend who has RLS, is a retired chemist, and his first job was in soap factory. Chemically, there is nothing that can happen with soap. For decades, the kind of soap to be used was changed constantly, Ivory, Dial, Irish Spring and so on and so on. None of them are made the same way. Like I say , nothing wrong with the placebo effect, it is cheap, and also makes your sheets smell nice. LOL Cheap to try, instead of laying out hundreds if not thousands for all these new contraptions coming out on the market. But, as I mentioned i know way more than 100 people who have tried this. The only two good things it will not hurt you, and it is cheap.

[Sul03 in reply to Graham3196]

Thanks for your response

I did try it and unfortunately did not work for me

But i have been told by some people that it does work for them so it's definitely worth a try

Let us know if it works for you

[Graham3196]

Sounds like nightdancer has done my statistically valid "clinical trials" on soap to anyone's satisfaction. My apologies. However, since its cheap and harmless, I am trying it for two weeks to see if there is an improvement. The first two nights were not encouraging. I am awake for an hour or two almost every night over the Christmas period and I dont know what's changed. Not serious symptoms - just enough to keep me awake and be annoying. Because of the holidays I can now sleep late after the RLS goes away so its not a serious problem. I'm sure the soap is not making the RLS worse. Perhaps its a change of routine. I haven't been doing much physical work so perhaps its exercise related? I'm going back to basics with the FODMAP diet to see if I can reset myself. I am always encouraged by the memory of how bad it can be and how lucky I am now, even at two hours a night.

As I say I will continue with the soap trial for two weeks and see if I can detect any change and let you know. I smell better!

Graham

[Moseres]

Soap did not work for me magnuism tablets and callauism worked for me and it's heaven after 3 years of sleepless nights