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I’ve decided on the Select Sleep 8500 from SleepEZ but need to make a final decision on layers. First, I’ll lay out (no pun intended) my stats and requirements: I am a 51 yr. old female, 5’2” tall, 155 lbs. I have lower back issues (degenerated disc at L5/S1), osteoporosis of the spine, osteopenia of the hips and a joint disease similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis. To top it all off, I’m an insomniac and a stomach sleeper (at least to fall asleep – when I sleep at all). This means that I need firm support but enough “cush” to avoid waking up with a frozen shoulder or an arm that’s asleep as I do now (currently extra firm innerspring with convoluted memory foam topper). Sean recommended firm/med/soft to play around with, but I’ve laid on a “ready made” latex mattress that was 5.5” of medium latex (30-32 ILD) and felt like it gave me a sway back when laying on my stomach. From reading this forum I’ve seen repeatedly that more than 1” of soft is too much and that the first 3” are what really counts. My current thinking is extra firm / firm / medium. If I find that to be too firm, I can add a 1” soft topper. Your thoughts? |
| For me (remember I am petite so a 1" soft topper was enough for me) despite the herniated disks in my lumbar support area of my back and in my neck and the arthritis as well as a little scoliosis in my lower back that is now acting up from the herniated disks, I found that if I have a 1" topper over a 39 ILD over a 36 ILD (still want to increase this to a 38 ILD) over a 46 ILD, I sleep the best I can compared with other beds. My other sides as a 44 ILD in the middle but the 35 ILD on top needs to be increased to a 39 ILD. When I had the Overstock Topper on the bed, the bed was firmer so the Bylane Topper 's cushion made me go firmer. I went to bed last night in so much back pain but woek up wiht little back back due to my bed. Hence, for me Latex works at very firm layers and I like the Talalay Latex but maybe Dunlap Latex in the latex cores under the topper would work just as well. Everyone is different and just like shoes for females, what is comfortable on one person may not work on another person. Our back shapes, body shapes, back injuries, our sizes, our weights, our comfort levels, our need for cushion for pressure points, etc. all differ and that is why I will never buy a bed unless I have many tries to get it right with no restocking fee. I lived for about 14 years on a bed that was way too firm with no cushion (I never added a topper) since there was no way I could return it. I moved around so much but I always felt it was better to move around a lot at night to get off the pressure points than to have a hurt back since I always loved a very firm bed. Hence, my latex bed solves the pressure point problem with my soft topper and solves the firmness problems with firm layers underneath. I can not sleep on any topper over 1" or my lower back hurts. |
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Lynn brings up a very good point--everyone's body and comfort level is different. And with all your back and joint issues you will very likely have to tweak the mattress more than once to get it to work for you. I like a firm bed--or rather I should say, my back requires firm rigid support. But because I have arthritis I need some cushioning over that foundation. When I ordered the SleepEZ 10000 medium (32) firm, (38) and xtra firm (44) thinking this would give me exactly what I need, the extreme resilience the the Talalay exerted so much pressure on my joints that I ached all over. I've never felt anything like it (and hope to God, I never do again!) To make a long story short, I was never able to get that mattress comfortable enough to sleep on for more than two hours before I woke up in such discomfort that I would actually take the bed apart in the middle of the night and rearrange the layers looking for some relief. Eventually I just got up and went into the guest room where my old mattress was consigned and finished off the night there. Finally I returned the mattress. But it was an expensive lesson in what not to do. Aggie, check out Novahelp's posts about his experience with the same mattress. |
| Thanks, Cloud9. Your needs seem to be similar to mine (firm support but with a cushion) and your configuration same as I was considering. Based on everyone's experiences I've decided it's too risky to order something I've never laid on and I just can't deal with all the swapping and shipping. The place I am now considering (Popular Mattress Factory, El Paso, TX - 45 miles away) also has some latex over innerspring "euro" mattresses. I've read more than a few posts where people actually gave up on the latex cores and went back to innerspring, so that might be a good compromise. Currently on memory foam topper over old extra-firm innerspring - not bad, but the memory foam is hotter than Arizona in July and the mattress has seen it's better days. Was hoping for all latex due to the lack of motion transfer (sleeping with my husband is like trying to sleep through a never-ending earthquake). Going there this weekend - will post results. |