Mattress Forum

Slept on some cheap mattress from Sleepy's for years, usually with thin yellow "egg crate" from bed and bath or wherever on top.  Then, some fancy expensive thing with my ex, then a squeaky yet comfortable mattress in a sublet. Never had any problems.  I believe all were from the days before "pillow tops" became the norm.

fast forward to a few years ago: time to buy my own mattress! I worked for Starwood Hotels, so went to the fancy hotels and tried out the beds, and decided on the W Plush Queen set. I've since learned that's a Simmons Beautyrest (800 I think, slightly modified?) with a plush top. Like many I've read on here, I loved it in the beginning, but after a year was in agony-- aches and pains every morning, especially in my legs.  I went searching for wtf was wrong with me: fibromyalgia? Thyroid? Arthritis? I spent a good 5 years just being told "you're getting old" (I just turned 40, problems startd about 35. Is that old????) till I realized, I don't have nearly as much pain when i sleep on a therm-a-rest camping pad on the floor or an inflatable mattress In a tent!

Seems my amazing, fancy hotel bed (I got a 50% employee discount but it was still hecka pricey!) was just getting droopy and saggy. I've read on here that this is common in the S brands, especially those with built in tops. I'm guessing the lack of back support is causing thise aches. I realized I can make a firm mattress soft but not a soft mattress firm, so decided to bite the bullet and get a new mattress. I'm a back and side sleeper, and figured someing firm and with no plush/pillow top would be best.

Heres the thing: I may be moving out of country soon, so don't want to plunk down thousands of dollars, and I have a bit of a shopping phobia. I'd been trying for a while (last couple of years, at the same time as running around asking, "Wha's wrong wit mah legs, Docor?") to get a mattress without being able to decide.

So now I find myself in a Sleep Train with the resolve to buy a new mattress, and I somehow walk out of the store having purchased ANOTHER SIMMONS. (Am I a moron? Apparently so.... :-/)  My reasoning was, it was "only" $572 delivered, with a suppoosed 100 day return policy. It is another 800, with NO pillow-top, extra firm. I (foolishly?) believed the shtick from the saleswoman that the W bed was made with softer, inferior coils.

tonight is my first night, and as perhaps you can see by my posting at 4:08am, I cannot sleep. The bed is definitely NOT comfortable-- it's so hard and my bony little body (I'm 5'0, 100 lbs) probably can't take the pressure points. AND, it's like a billion degrees! (On the plus side, my kegs ache, but not as much as usual) So finally, my questions:

1) why is this mattress so hot? Isn't memory foam the only "hot" mattress?

2) Is this mattress going to remain firm since it doesn't have the pillow top, or, being an S brand, are the coils going to fail in a matter of months anyway and start to be soft and saggy?

3) Are the old-fashioned yellow "egg crates" still made or is it all memory foam now? (I do not like memory foam.) I bought a zoned topper from B&B a while back and did not like it, and have not been able to find quality egg crate like in the past-- what should I look for in a topper to make my nice firm bed more comfy without it being memory foam or saggy?

4) If this Simmons is going to fail, I'll return it. Is there a similary priced firm mattress I can buy that has good firm springs that I don't have to perform surgery on that someone could recommend?

THANK YOU so much for you help!

DeeDee