Dear Dr. Gott: I have read several letters over the past couple of years confirming that placing a bar of soap in your bed or between your legs is great therapy for leg cramps. And I do believe that this works. However, this is another therapy for leg cramps during the night, one that I find useful, and it works!
Take off your shoes or house slippers at the moment you are going to bed, turn your shoes upside down at the foot of your bed or next to your bed where you sleep. The soles of your shoes will be facing the ceiling; the side of your shoes are facing the floor. Sounds crazy? Believe me, it is effective. It does work!
Dear Reader: If ever there were a placebo effect, this takes the cake. Thanks for giving me a laugh.
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Dear Dr. Gott: My wife snores ó loudly! I have tried earplugs, but they are only partly effective. She says nothing can be done about snoring. Is she correct?
Dear Reader: No, she isn’t. Some forms of snoring are the result of problems with a floppy soft palate that can be cured with a simple operation.
Snoring may also be associated with sleep apnea. During deep sleep, a patient stops breathing; this is treatable using a special face mask and supplemental oxygen. Finally, snoring is common in overweight people, for whom a weight-loss diet is appropriate. I suggest that your wife start with an ear, nose and throat specialist, progress to a diet (if indicated) and consider a sleep laboratory as a next step.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Sleep/Wake Disorders.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.
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Readers who would like to contact Dr. Peter Gott may send letters directly to Dr. Gott c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th fl., New York, NY 10016. If readers want to request a newsletter, they should write to the Ohio address. Dr. Gott is a retired physician and the author of the new book “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet,” available at most chain and independent bookstores.