higher ILD?
| I currently have a Flobeds posture deluxe composed of 3 layers of super firm blended talalay. The ILD is supposed to be 42-46. I am still waking up with low back pain and I am wondering if there a higher ILD out there so I can increase the firmness of the layers? Or is there another route I can go with this? Dunlop? firmer topper instead of convoluted one? Any suggestions would be appreciated. |
Re: higher ILD?
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fubu04 wrote: I currently have a Flobeds posture deluxe composed of 3 layers of super firm blended talalay. The ILD is supposed to be 42-46. I am still waking up with low back pain and I am wondering if there a higher ILD out there so I can increase the firmness of the layers? Or is there another route I can go with this? Dunlop? firmer topper instead of convoluted one? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Unless you weigh a lot, I would think your mattress is plenty firm. I am *guessing* it could be too firm, even though lower back pain is often caused by a "too soft" mattress. Have you tried it without any topper at all? How thick is your convoluted topper? If it's an inch or less it probably is not causing your back pain but if it's over an inch I think it could. If you stil have back pain without the topper then, just as an experiment, try putting a medium layer of 1" on top of your firms instead of the topper, and see if that helps. Does your pain exist during the day or is it only when sleeping or waking up in the morning? |
Re: higher ILD?
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jimsocal wrote: Unless you weigh a lot, I would think your mattress is plenty firm. I am *guessing* it could be too firm, even though lower back pain is often caused by a "too soft" mattress. Have you tried it without any topper at all? How thick is your convoluted topper? If it's an inch or less it probably is not causing your back pain but if it's over an inch I think it could. If you stil have back pain without the topper then, just as an experiment, try putting a medium layer of 1" on top of your firms instead of the topper, and see if that helps. Does your pain exist during the day or is it only when sleeping or waking up in the morning? I only weigh 150 and share it with my girlfriend who is 100 lbs. The topper is 2", but since it is convoluted it seems to be 1". I will try to see how it is without the topper. The pain exists only when I sleep and goes away as the day goes by. |
Re: higher ILD?
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All three layers are 42-46? Isn't that a bit firm for your weight? What does your girlfriend think of the mattress? Have you tried to talk to Flobeds to exchange layers if it is too firm? Can't understand why you would have low back pain from too firm of a bed, unless the small of your back is not being support. Call Flobeds and talk to them. How long have you had this mattress? |
Re: higher ILD?
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I agree with Leo and Jim! I have a FloBeds and the almost perfect firmness levels for me are F/F/XF. And I am 6 foot two and weigh 210 pounds. How did you come to such a firm mattress? Did FloBeds recommend this to you? I would almost guess that your mattress is too firm. Remember that a firm piece of latex from FloBeds is 32 ILD. And extra firm piece is 36 ILD. Or thereabouts. Soft is way too soft for me, and medium is two soft depending on how it is layered. I am currently trying a medium piece on the bottom with an extra firm in the middle and a firm piece on top. This is working fairly well but I'm about to go back to what I originally had on that side of the bed ( I have a cal king) and make it F/XF/XF once again. This is very firm but if I have tweaked my back, then it can feel comfortable. All the while keeping the top 2 inch layer of convoluted in place, I have never taken it off. What you might try is a softer configuration with a fairly thick cotton topper. I know I recently put a new hundred percent cotton topper on mine and stretched tight across the mattress. This extra firmness made my bed too firm for me and I took it off.I washed it, and when I put it back on did not stretch it so tightly, this feels better. But I think I'm going back to my very thin old original topper which feels so good. As Jim, and several others can testify to, sometimes making very slight changes can make all the difference in the world in the way the bed feels to you. Another thought. With an ILD this firm you have to be using blended latex. Is your whole bed blended? I preferred 100% natural latex. It just seemed to have a better feel for me. I did try one firm piece of blended, for me at least, it felt more like a medium piece of 100% natural. This was a very brief test with only one piece of latex, so I would not put a whole lot of stock in my observation. But this is another thing that you can talk to FloBeds about. So your best bet to call Dave or Dewey Turner at FloBeds and have them help you work it out. This message was modified Feb 17, 2010 by eagle2
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Re: higher ILD?
| I have had this mattress for about 2 months. It started at M/F/F and I started to increase in firmness incrementally until I reached this SF/SF/SF configuration. I didn't know that low back pain can still exist from a too firm mattress. I thought shoulder and hip pain would only result from one. This entire mattress is blended talalay. |
Re: higher ILD?
| Have you had pain with all of the configurations? If so, then maybe the firmness is not the real issue. You have gone from fairly soft to very firm. I couldn't even imagine sleeping on 3 layers of super firm. Sometimes too firm causes me back problems, because I end up slumping my top leg way over to get comfortable (to reduce pressure on hips). That puts strain on my lower back. |
Re: higher ILD?
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I'd try a layer of medium on top followed by a soft 1" topper. If that doesn't work it could be that all-foam is not for you. Talk to flobeds. I think they'll agree that you need to try a more medium mattress. This message was modified Feb 17, 2010 by jimsocal
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Re: higher ILD?
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I agree, this mattress seems unbelievably firm, especially for someone your weight. I am very heavy (over 200) and I have three layers of XF 36 ILD in my Flobed, and it's pretty darn firm. Sometimes I steal my husband's side of the bed to get a softer feel. I can't imagine anything firmer being comfortable. It may be that you need to 1) try a V-zone configuration to vary the firmness down the length of the bed or 2) go back to a softer combination or 3) maybe a latex mattress isn't the right solution for you. I don't think you mentioned what kind of pain you have, where it is, and what your sleep position normall is? |
Re: higher ILD?
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KimberlyH wrote: I agree, this mattress seems unbelievably firm, especially for someone your weight. I am very heavy (over 200) and I have three layers of XF 36 ILD in my Flobed, and it's pretty darn firm. Sometimes I steal my husband's side of the bed to get a softer feel. I can't imagine anything firmer being comfortable. It may be that you need to 1) try a V-zone configuration to vary the firmness down the length of the bed or 2) go back to a softer combination or 3) maybe a latex mattress isn't the right solution for you. I don't think you mentioned what kind of pain you have, where it is, and what your sleep position normall is? Thank you for all the feedback. Its lower back pain. I alternate between back and my side as I sleep. Lately I have been sleeping on my side to somewhat alleviate the low back pain. I started with a vzone firm and the pain was still present. |
Re: higher ILD?
| You may have to adjust the vzone firm. I believe they use a medium firm piece under the hips in the "firm" vzone. I switched it out for a firm piece under the hips, and that was better (more support) for me. Of course, you could try XF or SF under the hips, but for me those would have been too firm to be comfortable. |