Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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Hi - I have fibromyalgia and am strongly considering purchasing a latex mattress in the hopes that I will get more comfortable rest. But before proceeding with what is, for me, an expensive purchase, I was curious to hear from others who have chronic pain. Did your new mattress help you? Did it make things worse? Stay the same? I'd love to know what mattresses chronic pain sufferers think help the most (And if you wouldn't mind sharing, height, weight, and sleep position, that would be amazing). I haven't found a thread about this on the board - but if I'm missing something, I'd appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. Much thanks! Maria |
Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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cardamoms wrote: Hi - I have fibromyalgia and am strongly considering purchasing a latex mattress in the hopes that I will get more comfortable rest. But before proceeding with what is, for me, an expensive purchase, I was curious to hear from others who have chronic pain. Did your new mattress help you? Did it make things worse? Stay the same? I'd love to know what mattresses chronic pain sufferers think help the most (And if you wouldn't mind sharing, height, weight, and sleep position, that would be amazing). I haven't found a thread about this on the board - but if I'm missing something, I'd appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. Much thanks! Maria Maria: I have had chronic pain in the past from a bad back complicated by sciatic nerve problems. But, thank God, I'm not suffering from it now. One of the things that got me into looking at mattresses was this bad back began acting up on me. And do to the fact that my old water bed was needing replacing, and was contributing to the problem, I was projected out into the vast wilderness of "mattress shopping." I started out looking like a lot of folks do at the standard big S. brands, Sealy, Stearns and Foster, Serta, exta. But I quickly migrated towards latex mattresses. To make a long story short, I finally wound up with a FloBeds. I could not be happier, and I am in the 90 day window where I can exchange layers or return the mattress for a full refund. There are many people on this forum who have posted about their physical problems and their mattress solutions. If you do a search you can find any number of threads on this subject. While it may not be listed under the specific physical difficulty you are referring to, you should find the kind of information that you are seeking. To answer your specific question,"Did the mattress help with your physical problem?" The answer is yes in the vast majority of cases. Good luck to you. This message was modified Oct 19, 2009 by eagle2
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Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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Maria, I empathize with your pain. My chronic pain is of a different type - it's from auto accidents. But this is what worked for me: http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/mattress-surgery-performing-foam-ectomy-my-englander-mattress-w-photos/6161-A-1.html I am 5'11", 180lb. Since you are going to be a "hard case" to find a comfortable mattress, if you DO buy a latex mattress make sure it is 100% refundable. Something like flobeds. I might also suggest this company: overnightmattress.com. It's not latex but it is a good quality foam. I actually liked it better than latex. But in the end I decided I needed springs under my body and once I bought the Englander mattress and did surgery on it, (see link above) I was sleeping 100% better. This message was modified Oct 21, 2009 by jimsocal
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Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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Thanks for responding, jimsocal and eagle2. I'm glad to hear that mattresses helped with your pain.<BR><BR>I was particularly curious about the experiences of fibromyalgia sufferers because poor sleeping really exacerbates the illness but no one is clear about why fibro sufferers sleep so poorly (pain makes us sleep badly, or we sleep badly which, over time, causes us pain) and whether a latex mattress would help with that. Sadly, despite having read my way through this forum a couple times, I haven't really seen comments from fibro sufferers. But, since I took the plunge and purchased a latex mattress from FBM (it helps that I live an hours drive away from them), I guess I can be the guinea pig.<BR> This message was modified Nov 4, 2009 by cardamoms
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Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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cardamoms wrote: I was particularly curious about the experiences of fibromyalgia sufferers because poor sleeping really exacerbates the illness but no one is clear about why fibro sufferers sleep so poorly (pain makes us sleep badly, or we sleep badly because we're in pain) and whether a latex mattress would help with that. Hi Maria! I apologize to anyone in advance if they get offended or bothered by my post, as it doesn't have to do with mattresses, but I just wanted to ask you if you've ever considered acupuncture for your fibromyalgia? I'm not an acupuncturist but I have it done to me, and I don't have fibromyalgia, but my Aunt does so I'm a little familiar with the illness. At any rate, it's one of the things that is treated with a fair amount of success with acupuncture due to the pain points of fibromyalgia sufferers corresponding to many of the acupuncture points interestingly enough. I'm definitely not an expert!!! But it might be worthwhile researching maybe? At any rate, good luck!! I hope your mattress offers you some relief!! :) |
Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
| mattressnewbie, thanks for asking. i've tried lots of things (biofeedback, network therapy, etc), but i haven't done acupuncture. i'm thinking of trying it though, so thanks for the extra push!!! |
Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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Hi Maria, Well, I'm sorry I didn't see this post before, as I see you've already purchased your bed from FBM. I don't know what their return policy is, but I would have suggested, along with others, that you absolutely purchase your bed from a company that offers a long trial period (e.g., 90 days) AND a 100% return policy. Latex mattresses aren't prevalent enough yet that most of us can just drive to a showroom and try one out. So we have to make a leap of faith and order one from the internet. That's where the lenthy trial period and 100% return policy works in our favor. This is precisely why I ordered my bed from Flobeds. 90 day trial period, and a 100% return guarantee. Furthermore, during the 90 day trial period, you can exchange layers on your bed to achieve a comfort level that's right for you. Now that I've read your two posts and see that you have fibro, I can see why you ordered a medium layer with a soft topper. To be honest, I think you need more than a 6" layer and a 3" topper. You may need to keep your medium and soft layers due to your pain sensitivity, but maybe you need a firm layer underneath those to give your bed more support. I would call Flobeds and ask for their advice. I know, you did not purchase your bed from them, but they have been selling latex beds and working with every type of customer, many of whom come to them with pain issues. The two owners of Flobeds have more collective experience with pain sufferers and what latex works for them than the rest of us put together. However, after reading your two posts, I think you need a firm layer under the medium and soft to give your latex a good foundation. Plus a mattress cover. In answer to your direct question, I was in terrible pain when I bought my Flobed. My old Simmons mattress was 15 years old, and though it didn't have any concave spots, it was just worn out. I was not sleeping at all through the night, and just suffering in pain all night long. With my latex bed, I have been getting good sleep. I won't go so far as to say all my pain has disappeared, it has not. But I am able to sleep through the night, get restful sleep, and some nights are completely pain free. |
Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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Cardamons, Good luck with finding the right combo for you. I deal with sever pain/health issues, so I know the challenge, and can relate to what you said re: the relationship between sleep and pain (which seems to go both ways, at least for me, and the worst is terrible pain and no sleep at all!) I've mentioned in other threads what I seem to need--soft on top but very supportive underneath (current set-up is soft, medium X-firm natural talalay). Not that it's a "magic bullet"; I still have lots of pain, however, I"m not waking up every 5 minutes from it. And I'm sleeping better. |
Re: Fibromyalgis sufferers or others with chronic pain - has a mattress reduced your pain?
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cardamoms wrote: mattressnewbie, thanks for asking. i've tried lots of things (biofeedback, network therapy, etc), but i haven't done acupuncture. i'm thinking of trying it though, so thanks for the extra push!!! Hi Maria! You're very welcome! I hope you're able to find something that works for you! Keep us posted! Mary |