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Hi all - I've been browsing this forum for the past two months in search of a new mattress. Ours was sagging and causing my husband back pain. After reading so many great reviews on latex, and being so frustrated with the innerspring mattresses, my husband and I decided to try out the latex. We initially ordered a 3 inch soft topper from Sleep EZ and we LOVED it! Oh my gosh it was wonderful! Based on that experience, we went ahead and ordered the full mattress. We have three layers of talalay blended, s/m/f, the medium and firm layers are split layers (the soft is all one piece). We got the full kit Friday and have slept on it two nights. My first thought was that the whole mattress together was too firm - it didn't give the same way the latex topper did. When we slept on it the first night, it felt like it was pressing into my shoulder and hips - just altogether a bit too firm. Also, rather frustratingly, my husband woke up with back pain again this morning. When he was sleeping on the spring mattress/topper combo, that didn't seem to be much of an issue. Here's my real question - what do we do now? We're rearranging the layers to try out s/f/f and s/m/m. I know I can call and swap layers, but I'm not sure what we need. We are very SHORT and small. My husband is 5'2" and weighs roughly 125lbs. I'm 5'0" and weigh 135lbs. We're both side sleepers. Do you think we need to go softer or firmer? Is anyone else out there as small as we are? I am looking for any advice I can get. I really want this to work for us as I so enjoyed the latex topper - it was amazing! I really want the whole mattress to be just as good. Thanks to everyone who has used this forum. I've spent quite a few hours perusing the messages and most everything you've posted has been helpful! :-) |
| I always need a soft thin topper over very firm layers of latex to not have any shoulder or back pain. I could not sleep without the topper over my layers and I love that my topper fits inside the zippered cover from FloBeds. If I did not have the topper, my 37 ILD layer on top would be too firm for my shoulders. Anything softer than this layer for me feels good for my shoulders but hurts my back. Hence. latex is good for me despite 5 herniated disks from a car accident if I keep the layers very firm with a thin soft layer on top. I am not quite 5 feet so anything more than 1" on top that is soft, I do not sink in enough to feel the firmness. I would make the layers of latex firmer with a soft topper over them. We are here for you to help you. I must get back to work but I was taking a break while on hold.... |
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You're on the right track shifting cores around to see if the mattress works best with two medium layers under the soft or two firm layers under the soft. You can also try putting the soft layer under the medium if the other two don't quite hit it. I have to say that since your husband is waking up with back pain it might indicate that an all latex bed might not be a good fit for you. Latex supports your body very differently than an innerspring mattress with a latex topper on it. I had a SleepEZ mattress briefly and could never find a combination of cores I could sleep on, but I have no problem with a latex topper on an innerspring mattress. |
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I found I only woke up with back pain if I made the bed too soft. If I made the back too hard, then I woke up with shoulder pain. I feel having a topper over layers of latex and being able to get the right combination takes time but is so worth it. I know if I had ordered the SleepEZ latex bed, and did not know about toppers, I would have not been able to make the bed comfortable. I would have felt the thick latex cores were either too soft under me or too firm. By FloBeds giving me a 2" latex topper that fit under my zipped up cover, I realized that was what I needed a thinner Talalay Latex topper (1" I now have that I bought from Brylane Lane) over very firm layers of Talalay Latex with a 46 ILD on the bottom and two 37 ILD's on top otherwise the bed hurt my back. Before my Latex Bed, I was sleeping on the floor with a Talalay Latex Topper under me since my very old way too firm mattress with no padding had finally fallen apart. I can not sleep on a sofa since it would give me back pain. Of course if someone buys a SleepEZ bed and does not sleep on their side, it may work for them without a topper or may work, if they have only layers of extra firm latex and then adding a latex topper after the fact. I tried sleeping on Dunlap Toppers but they hurt my back and shoulders and I needed that little bit of cushion over X-Firm and Super Firm Latex Layers. I had to correct my spelling errors for when I was using my old keyboard that needed to be replaced so that is why it says today that I edited my post. This message was modified Mar 15, 2009 by Lynn2006
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My husband is still waking up with back pain. We changed the configuration to medium/soft/firm and have been sleeping on that for about 2 weeks. It's a little too much on my hip and shoulder so we're adding a 1" layer of soft latex on top of that. I'm also considering trying med/med/firm, just in case that's the cause of my husband's back pain. I also think we really need to change the foundation of our bed. We're currently using our old box spring and I think it's causing the latex to sag/not give enough support. We're going to try a new foundation and see if that helps. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. |
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Today's latex mattresses are too thick to use with a box spring. They should always be placed on a solid foundation or a slat foundation with no more than 3" spaces between the slats to prevent the mattress from sagging through the gaps. Also, your old box spring was not designed to bear the weight of a latex mattress, so if the springs weren't shot before they probably are by now, making the mattress hammock even worse. You can probably find a foundation at you local discount mattress store for very little money. But first, try placing the mattress on the floor to see if that's any better on your husband's back. That way you'll know if it's really the box spring or if the mattress itself is causing the problem before you buy a new foundation. I have to agree with Lynn about the topper. My back likes a firm bed--although maybe not quite as firm as Lynn since the 32-38-44 combination of foam just made me ache all over. But 3" of soft latex was just way too soft for me. Many nights I lay awake thinking I might like it if the soft layer was only about half as thick. I have the same 1" topper from Brylane Lynn has and that's pretty much perfect. If you feel the 3" soft layer is too soft see if Shawn will exchange it for the 1.5" soft topper. I think it will still fit inside the cover you have. |
| I would try the latex bed out on the floor before making anymore changes and sleep on this for at least 2 nights and then report back to us. Cloud9 is right that a solid platform is needed for a latex bed to give the support necessary to get a good night's sleep. Then you will know if you need firmer latex cores or have other conclusions. |
| Can I just say how awesome y'all are?! I cannot thank you enough for all of your encouragement and help in this process. I really appreciate all your posts on this and the old forum - they have helped us out tremendously! |
| i think most of us here are happy to offer the benefit of our experience. Please be sure to let us know how things work out with your mattress. |
| I agree with Cloud9, that we are more than happy to help you out since other members have helped us when we were considering what bed would suit our needs and when we were adjusting our beds for our comfort. The members of this Mattress Forum have helped me so I do my best to return any help I feel I can give. |
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We bought a piece of plywood to go over our boxspring (we don't have room to put the mattress on the floor). It firmed everything up! Maybe a little too much. Now we have to rethink and retry everything. It's a little frustrating at this point. But again, I think it's good to stick with it. We want to make sure we are going to stick with the latex before we make more purchases for it (like foundations or slat foundations), but if we need to purchase a foundation, we will find an inexpensive one. Our top layer Saturday was the soft (as we're trying all of our previous combinations again with the firmer foundation). My husband and I both woke up with back pain. I just don't think the three inches of soft talalay latex is going to support us the way it needs to - especially since we're smaller. However, I slept with the medium on top, soft in the middle, and firm on the bottom last night, and woke up with shoulder and back pain - too hard!!! I feel like the Princess and the Pea or Goldilocks - can't find that "just right" combination. We called Shawn and ordered some different layers for our swap (over a week ago), but we still don't have them. Tomorrow I'll be getting a 1" soft topper to put over it all. Hopefully that will help. Would a regular foundation be more forgiving and easier to sleep on than the plywood? It's really feeling HARD right now, which makes me want to go softer with the layers. But soft layers aren't giving us any support. My husband's back was happy this morning, sleeping on the firm over soft over medium, but he feels it's still a little too firm. He'll be trying medium tonight as top layer. We've had the full bed for just over three weeks. I know that several people on here have found that latex doesn't work for them. The latex was working over the boxspring, now it's not over the firmer foundation. I'd really like to hear from people who have had success with the latex. What are we doing wrong? What are we doing right? What else do we need to do? I feel like we're doing all we know to do right now. I'm frustrated, but not ready to give up yet. And I know this is a good place to ask questions and seek answers. Thanks in advance! Amy |
| Wait until you try the topper over the latex cores before making a decision and playing with more layers. That is the only way latex works for me is to have a thin layer of softness over very firm layers of support. |
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I second the motion! Wait a bit. A regular foundation may be a slight bit softer than a plywood board. Foundations are just a framework of loosely placed slats covered by a sheet of heavy cardboard with a little padding over it. It may have a little bit more give--but not like a box spring. Another option are adjustable slats that allow you to increase (or decrease) the level of support, but they are much more expensive than a generic foundation. If the 1" topper over the medium over the firm still feels a bit hard in the shoulders, try the 1" topper over the medium with the 2.8" soft core in the middle and the firm on the bottom. If the medium over the soft was just a bit too hard that extra 1" of soft over it may hit the spot. |
| New 1" topper arrived tonight and is in place. Here we go! It was also really refreshing to read about JCTurboT's experience with his SleepEZ in the old forum. Seems like he was having the exact same problem - that as the "foundation" for the bed changed, so did his opinion of the bed (and frustration level). However, he figured it out, which means I am eagerly looking forward to figuring this one out! I really like the latex. The springiness and feel of it just make me smile - especially when unwrapping a new piece of latex foam. Call me a nerd, but it makes me laugh! :-) Anyway, sweet dreams to all. Hopefully it will be a great night's slumber! |
| Update - the 1" topper is quite comfy. It didn't help much over the plywood board - we ended up yanking that out around midnight day 5 - my shoulder and shoulder blades were in awful pain. I just don't think hard plywood is the way to go for our foundation. We're back on the box spring as a temporary fix. We're planning on getting a box foundation this weekend. It should be supportive and solid enough for the latex, but not overwhelming in the price category. I also think it will be softer than slats, which I am afraid may be just as solid as the plywood. OUCH! I am tempted by those euroslats, but I don't know if we really need it (or should splurge on it without knowing just how "solid" it's going to be - could be too much so). We're both smaller people - I think a box foundation will be fine. It will give us a good feel for the latex, unlike our current boxspring. The box spring seems rather soft - a bit too soft actually - and I think we'll start having problems from that if we don't pursue another type of foundation. I'm looking forward to continuing our quest, but I am also really ready to find that "just right" combination of foundation and latex and toppers. ::grins:: Customizing your bed really has its merits, but the time involved and the trials... that can be overwhelming and a source of frustration. I don't think I recommend this quest to just everyone. My husband has found some relief from his back pain in the latex - he needs to go firmer with his layers. I'm still working on mine. We'll see where this goes in a day or two after we get our box foundation. If we need to, we can always add slats later on top of it. Thanks for sticking with our story! I hope it's helpful to someone else seeking the latex route. |
| quefret, thanks for the update. Glad you also find the 1" topper comfy. I think the box foundation will work for you. Please keep us updated. |
| We bought the new foundation today. Went to a local store and picked one up. I made sure to ask if we could return it if we didn't like it - especially since I didn't want to feel like I was sleeping on a rock as I did with the plywood. We get home, set it up - only to find out that we already have been sleeping on a box foundation. Wow. I feel so incredibly dumb. Point number one right here - make sure you know what you're actually sleeping on. It just never occurred to me to check what we had underneath the mattress. I am so grateful we can return the new foundation. We're going to use it tonight since the bed is already set up. It's wrapped in plastic, and as long as it stays that way, we can return it. I have obsessed so long over this, but I never even checked to see what we already had. I thought, in all honesty, that we had a box spring. Just needed to vent there a little. Master of the obvious. Anyway, we're going to try the new foundation tonight just in case it does have some effect. However, if our old foundation is okay, we'll just see if the new layers help. I called Shawn two weeks ago to get a medium and a firm and still haven't gotten the layers. I think there might have been a problem with processing. We'll see what happens. They have been really helpful and friendly, so I'm pretty sure all will continue to go well. :-) So yeah, I guess I can say with confidence that sleeping on a box foundation with latex layers is really pretty comfy! |
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Inspiration struck Saturday night. I thought that we might be able to build our own slat foundation from our existing box foundation and that piece of plywood we bought. Hence, we ended up with a DIY project that actually turned out to be fun. I'm going to post on a new thread the pictures in case they will help someone else. Hopefully it will sleep just as comfy, but offer more support. See DIY slat foundation project. Amy |
| quefret, looking forward to your post and I hope that soon your bed is just right for you. |
| May I ask where you bought the 1" soft latex top and what was the ILD rating please? Sleepez? Not sure how standard those ratings are. thx |
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We got the 1" 20ILD topper from here. It came within a week and seems to be pretty good. http://www.mattressbymail.com/latextopper.html |