Help me to choose?
| Hi Y'all, i've been reading this forum for ages, when i started looking at water beds and found out they weren't good for scoliosis... then i moved to air bed and tried to make a sleep comfort bed of my own haha... please note that i have a baaaad back and wake up after about 4 hours in too much pain to go on sleeping, i wake up, move around, sit around, and the pain goes away and i go back to bed to sleep a little more... i'm on the look out for a new bed because we had an old simmons beauty rest which was flippable so it lasted a good 20 years, and it was great for my back until it was just too old... so we bought a memory foam mattress, sooo comfy getting in, but would respond to my core heat and the middle of me would sink, and i'm a side sleeper so it would bend my spine sideways.... so that mattress is now in storage, then we tried to get a regular piece of high density foam that wouldn't respond to heat, and it's been OOOOOOK, but not anymore, guess the foam is breaking down and leaving me in a side sleeping dip again.... i've read that simmons beauty rests aren't made like they used to be, and when i phoned the sales man and asked about all the bad reviews the new beds are getting he said he was busy and would call me back, and never did.... now the little furniture shop i'm dealing with has a 90 day comfort exchange, and i have 3 beds picked out... one is an all natrual latex bed called novopure made by a local company called restwell.... i'm worried i will end up with a body dent, as i'm pretty big.... the other is is a novolux, made by the same local company, and it's two layers of pocket coils with latex on top, it's cheaper and i thought it might even be less likely to dent as i've had such good luck with pocket coils before.... the last option, i can't believe i'm considering going back to memory foam, but the sales guy swears up and down it's changed, is the tempurpedic 'celebrity', i find this bed comfy, of course, but not only the tempurature dip bothers me, but you are supposed to stay in your body impression all night and not toss and turn, now as i have arthritis and fibromyalgia, i actually figured the water bed would be good for me because of motion, to keep my joints fluid, instead of waking up in a spasm like i always do, i would still buy a waterbed if i hadn't been told once that i had scoliosis..... alot of people say waterbeds are bad for your back, but the 95% waveless sure felt comfy at the store.... anyway, given what you know, that an old simmons beauty rest lasted me 20 years, and dips in foam make me wake up with a painfully spasmed back after about 4 hours... even tho foam feels comfy to me, whether it's tempurpedic or latex rubber.... well actually the latex covered pocket coils felt comfy too.... i had gone back to the store to try out spring mattresses (continuous coil) with little padding, and toppers on top, but the flatness of the springs hurt a certain part of my back.... so no mattress surgery in my future.... i know you guys aren't mind readers, but what do you give a girl who's tried everything? suggestions? advice? your knowledge? thanks!! elaine |
Re: Help me to choose?
| Hi Elaine, I have a lot of muscle, nerve and joint pain as well as back problems, so need a very supportive mattress but with soft on top in order to relieve pressure points (side sleeper). I ended up going with Flobeds who were great to deal with. I got 100% natural talalay latex (they don't carry dunlop or I probably would have gotten that for the lower layer at least as it's denser and perhaps more supportive). If you look through my past threads as well as those of others (Eagle and Kimberly have both posted their experiences with talalay latex in terms of their back issues, and others such as Catlover have posted positive experiences with dunlop from Savvyrest). And there are of course many other informative posts. Seems like a few people, such as Jim (known for his mattress surgery posts) don't find all latex not supportive enough for back issues. It so hard to recommend anything as we're all so different. Except to say I would go with a company that allows returns or at the very least comfort exchanges. And personally if tempurpedic didn't work for you before, I certainly wouldn't trust a salesperson claims that it's changed. Follow your own experience and inner knowing! I know it's easy to get overwhelmed and confused wiht all the options, but I do thnk it's important to trust oneself. Get all the info you can, but only you know what your body feels like from the inside! I came across this site recently which might have some helpful info: http://blog.pennlive.com/mattress/2008/10/joann_mattresses_are_such_a_bl.html Keep in mind that the person on this site answering questions is in the market to sell beds, but he does seem helpful in his responses to people (although the choices he recommends may be limited, and obvioulsy do not include web based businesses such as Flobeds, Savvy, Habitat, SleepEZ and others which many folks on this forum have used and had positive experiences with). Flobeds has a 90 day return policy (and unlimited core exchanges), and the others mentioned have various policies re: exchanges and returns. If you go with Talalay latex, you may want to consider slightly firmer than might initially be recommended or feel the most comfortable, especially for the lower layers. I have firm on the bottom 2 layers and soft on top and that works for me (even though I'm fairly thin). I'm having computer formatting problems, so sorry this may be difficult to read. Good luck! Linda |
Re: Help me to choose?
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I guess my main suggestion is that if you're a big person and thinking about a latex bed, is to be careful of latex beds that are manufactured with pre-determined firmness levels. If you are big you may need a very firm latex to both support your body weight and avoid sinking in at the hip area, as you're concerned about. If you're looking at the Novolux, be sure you check what the "ILD" (firmness rating) of the latex is. The first latex bed I bought had a 6" core of 28 ILD (I was told it was going to be 32) and two, two inch layers of 18 ILD. That was way too soft for me, and I was caving in. I returned that mattress and ended up with a much firmer one from Flobeds. I'm afraid I don't have enough experience to comment on the other things you're considering. |
Re: Help me to choose?
| pity party? wtheck??? i'm a Christian, i don't pity myself!! lol and linda, thanks for the link, going to check it out now, you and Kimberly seem to be all for flobeds, but being in Canada, i'm just not sure duty and shipping would make it worth it... last night my husband and i were talking abouit a water bed again, there's a company in california that offers an air sided one, and all we woiuld need is a hunk of plywood underneath it, cheap, and it's 95% waveless so pretty firm, and i thought if i put a wool topper over it, it would help with the scoliosis issue, plus the waterbed has lumbar support... do anybody have experience with waveless waterbeds and back pain? |
Re: Help me to choose?
| I have no experience with waterbeds but Eagle does, so perhaps he will see your post and respond. If you are considering latex and want to try out another brand, there is a company called Sleeptek in Canada. I think perhaps they're in Ottawa. They make several models of Dunlop latex mattresses. I tried their mattresses here in the states that a local specialty "natural bedding" store carried, and there was one I really liked. It felt very comfortable for me; the bottom layer was very firm but the top layer was soft. However, I did not buy from them for several reasons, two of them being that they were very expensive (way more than Flobeds) and they allowed no exchanges (not even for a different one of their beds) or returns. Not only was it too expensive, but also I was not willing to take that kind of risk (of not being able to return it if it didn't work for me), and I also had some ohe concerns specific to my needs (smell of the dunlp latex). It's very difficult to tell how a bed is going to feel over time by lying on it a few times in a store! Natura is also in Canada (and sells various latex and foam beds) though I would not particularly recommend them. I have no idea what customs is now in Canada but Flobeds ships vacuum-packed UPS, so it's probably not too expensive to Canada. But if you have a local store which allows comfort exchanges, perhaps that is the safest way to go... |
Re: Help me to choose?
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I slept on a waterbed for over 20 years. The first 10 on what was referred to as a standard waterbed and the second 10 years on what is referred to as a soft sided waterbed. I liked my waterbed a lot. You can control the temperature more than any other type of bed, due to the fact that it has a heater element that allows you control the water temperature with a reostat. I would recommend that you call FloBeds and talk to Dave Turner, who owns FloBeds. The name FloBeds comes from the fact that Dave originated some features on waterbeds for the medical community. He himself slept on a waterbed for many years. They now specialize in latex beds as well as waterbeds and airbeds. So he would make an excellent individual to discuss your problems with. Just put in there URL flobeds.com and read all about it. Their 800 number is 1-800-356-2337. They will be open Monday. You can read many positive things about FloBeds on this website. This message was modified Dec 13, 2009 by eagle2
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Re: Help me to choose?
| linda, i know about Natura, I haven't actually tried any of their latex tho i hear it compresses over time, i've been thru sooooooo many beds for my back, that my husband is getting angry lol i imagine he will be even more angry if our waterbed springs a leak and floods the house tho!! eagle2 i contacted flobeds when i was thinking of doing mattress surgery, and he knew nothing about duty, and i loathe ups as they charge their own charges for no apparent reason, carrying charges i imagine lol, and then they forget to collect them and soon they are affecting your credit rating and you knew nothing about them! i know i will be taking a risk dropping a grand on a water bed, as there is no returning THEM... and if i find out by day two that it's going to hurt my back, then there's nothing i can do but dismantle it and give it away on craig's list... i'm really torn about what to do, it's a risk any way i do it, a thousand on a waterbed, two thousand on the springs with latex bed, 3 thousand on the latex bed, 5 thousand on the tempurpedic, and none of them do i KNOW will be right for my back!! it's sooo frustrating! |
Re: Help me to choose?
| Hmmm, that's interesting re UPS and the charges. I lived in Canada for 10 years and never had a problem... nor in sending and receiving packages here. But I lived there a long time ago and things change.... Again, good luck with your decision-making process and finding back relief. |
Re: Help me to choose?
| thanks! yeah things change... i've actually almost thrown out the pure latex bed, as the latex bed on springs felt pretty much the same, so if i don't buy the waterbed i'll probably buy that one, THAT one i'll have a 90 day comfort exchange and if i don't like it, i could exchange it for the tempurpedic :) |