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Hi. Got a Simmons BackGuard last week after returning an NXG 250 Firm which turned out to be both too soft and too hard at the same time (butt sank too much, back was pulling while shoulders were in pain and arms went numb). The BackGuard has zones (thinner coils under hips and shoulders and very firm for lumbar support) that I can distinguished with my ribs when I lay on my side after a minute or so (I weigh 250 lbs). Every morning, I wake up in pain (shoulders, ribs, back) so I'm looking for a topper but don't want to go overbaord to avoid making it too soft. Budget is limited so I'm leaning toward Foambymail latex topper. Don't know if I should go for 20 or 32 ILD. Any advice? Also, does anybody know how bad will their topper smell? How long before it dissipates? This message was modified Dec 7, 2010 by ZZZZ
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| All right. We'll try it up one night, and upside down tomorrow. |
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Great! Don't forget too to resist the temptation to "fix" your mattress with any combination of these 3 layers. If it does that would be a surprising bonus. What we are looking for is to learn the effect of certain changes so we can better predict which type of additional layer would give us the greatest odds of working and where to put that layer. Phoenix |
| I have to say that my lower back pain has greatly decreased today. Mid back still hurts, along with neck but this could be related to the pillow so I don't worry about it too much for now. |
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Once again, the first night was firmer than I expected (whenever I write this, I can go way back and remember my honeymoon... not what you're thinking: the bed in that little german hotel was almost as hard as the floor!). The initial softness went away in about 10 minutes. The good news is that I didn't sink in one spot, the bed is still very much flat, even after adding 4 inches of foam (for a total of 5), contrary to the 250 wich made me sink in the middle through its 4.5 inches. It even felt it a bit too hard on my legs, all the way down to my ankles! As you predicted, the egg crate simply vanished. It felt like I couldn't make it through the latex and into the pillowtop. Lower back is way more stiff this morning and my sacrum is quite sore but that could just be related to a difference in the spine alignment and adjust itself in a week or so as I've experienced it with the previous mattresses. Another interesting development is that with this configuration, I wasn't able to sleep with a single pillow, on my side anyway. I ended up using two and I took away 80% of the numbness in my arms. This message was modified Dec 4, 2010 by ZZZZ
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Laughing .... Now we're getting some great feedback and information. One more night with this (reversing the topper if you'd like but no big deal) and we'll take a look at where we are. Phoenix This message was modified Dec 4, 2010 by Phoenix
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| SInce it appears that I regressed and had to tack pain killers all day, I decided to wait before pushing this experiment any further. I moved the latex back on the bottom, pillowtop in the middle and egg crate on top. I'm afraid to make the pain any worst and have to suffer another 10 days like I've just been through. I'll see how this works, I may even throw in the quilt for tonight. |
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OK ... It's almost time to decide what to do next as I doubt that any combination with the layers you have will come close but we've gained some really helpful information to help with the decision. I'll post some thoughts tomorrow afer you've had a chance to (hopefully) get some rest tonight. Phoenix |
| So I did end up adding the quilt over the egg crate (which was flat side up). Weight was more concentrated from the thigh to the ribs (sore on my side) but I was almost comfortable on my back and quite good on stomach. I ended up spending 8 hours in bed (I took a sleeping pill). This morning, I woke with my butt sinking quite a bit more and I was quite uncomfortable (wouldn't have been able to spend another 10 minutes in there). I undid the bed and saw that the egg crate had sagged badly and partly folded in some areas around the middle. I decided not to use it anymore since it has absolutely no resilience. Tonight, I'll do the same setup but without the egg crate. |
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Just so you know I'm here and thinking about your situation, post is coming to replace this one in an hour or so. I'm reviewing what we've done so I can make better suggestions. Phoenix This message was modified Dec 5, 2010 by Phoenix
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Ok, I've reviewed the entire thread from the beginning and assuming that nothing changes based on how you sleep tonight, here are my thoughts. This thread has been particularly challenging because we have been working with only thin layers and not enough material or known quantities to make it likely we could even find a solution with what you have. Thin layers also act differently from thicker layers and predicting the effect of thicker layers (which I believe you need) by extrapolating what happens with thinner unknown quantities is very difficult. Even this is compounded with the polyfoam on top of the bed which is certainly thinner but still a little too much for my liking. It could still cause enough hammocking to cause a problem in your case given your sensitivity and weight. It's also difficult to tell which part of the pain and/or improvement you have been feeling has been from the mattress layering and which part from residual effects or just from rapid change itself. However I believe we have enough information now to make some good choices. OPTION 1. I would suggest a 3" latex topper. I would go to Literie Laurier and try out their 19 ILD and see how it feels on a very firm surface. Lay quietly on it and bounce a bit with your hips and shoulder to see if you can feel an obvious firmer layer underneath. I would think you would, at least with your hips, as I believe your critical zone is deeper than 3". Feeling the layer underneath is expected and wanted and we are not trying to avoid this. It is a matter of how much you feel it not if you feel it (we want a little less rather than more). If you can and if they have it I would also try something a little firmer such as 24. Same thing here about feeling the layer below. It is clear to me that you will need at least 3" over what you have and that your "critical zone" is probably in the range of 4" depending on what you have. I would normally try to include the soft poly in that 4" but it may be too soft and may cause hammocking so if anyhing I may want to use an inch or two of something a little firmer under the 3" topper besides the poly in your mattress. I would save the pieces you have now for adjustments before returning them. We may even need to firm up the poly in the mattress by placing something thin and firmer between it and the mattress (center zoning but below your critical zone) such as I suggested in an earlier part of this thread. What you felt under the 3" layer of either ILD would be very helpful and it would be my clear preference that you did this whether you actually bought from them or not. OPTION 2. Same as above but ordering the topper with known specs without trying it at all (NOT FBM) from an outlet with a return policy. We need to make absolutely sure of the ILD (my preference would be 24 unless you try the 19 at literie laurier and believe it is clearly better on a firm surface). This is important for success. With either of these options I believe that we will have the layers we will need for a solution (as long as you keep the 2" poly and 1" latex you have for now). OPTION 3. Ordering 2 pieces of 3" HR poly with KNOWN and exact specs (to be decided if you choose this option) so we can try a manual zoning scheme like I was suggesting earlier in the thead. After these 2 pieces were cut you would have a consistent 3" layer over your mattress (no humps) but the ILD of the upper part would be lower than the lower part. I believe that this too along with what you have would also give us what you need for a final solution. It would involve a little more work to cut the foam layers in the right places. Again I can't stress enough that these are my best suggestions but that they may not be right on the money because of the challenges in testing we have been facing. I do believe though that any of the 3 options would give you the materials that you would need to get to a final layering scheme that would give you a much more restful sleep. I also believe that some of your pain will re-occur regardless of a mattress at this point and that it will take time to heal but that a better mattress will go a long way to helping that to happen. So if you can give a report tomorrow after you sleep tonight, we can confirm these suggestions and you can decide which option (if any) is your preference. Almost there :) Phoenix This message was modified Dec 6, 2010 by Phoenix
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