Need advice to improve basic Tempurpedic - Too Firm

[davebarr7]

I have a 10 year old Tempurpedic kingsize bed. It's so firm and I constantly toss and turn. I bought an extra thick polyester mattress topper from Macy's and it's helped but is still uncomfortable. I have to take ibuprophen each night as my body gets sore using this bed. When I lay on my back and sides, it's so firm and my body starts to ache thus causing me to toss and turn more than normal.
The best night sleep I've had was on a Serta Suite Dreams bed which Hilton uses but I don't want to buy one if I can avoid it.
Can you coach me on how to improve my tempurpedic to be much softer? Should I purchase more memory foam and/or latex foam?
Thanks for helping me move towards better sleeping!

 

[GKDesigns]

10-years old and still too firm... suggests not much hope for fixing it other than to make it the core support layer beneath a soft comfort layer.
Coming from a Latex point of view, I would add a 3" Talalay Latex layer on top, say ILD 19-28 depending on your height and weight. Plan on putting a relaxed fit wool pad over that to manage body heat and moisture. Relaxed so that it allows the Latex to contour.
Down the road, you could migrate these new items to a fully Latex mattress.
Unfortunately, Latex in king size costs the most and will probably have a glue seam. You might consider 2 twin xl Latex layers of different firmness for each side... a split layer. You could order one side toward ILD 19 first to try it, assuming it will become hers. Then order the other side with better insight into what firmness you want.
Finally, be sure your 10 year old mattress and support is not sagging as this cannot be fixed and will continue to strain your body.
GK

 

[DIYJoel]

I agree with everything GK has said.

 

[davebarr7]

Thank you for your advice and speedy reply. I weigh 190 and am 5' 11.
1. Do you recommend I order from Foam Factory or another vendor?
2. Where do you recommend I purchase the wool from?
Thanks again for your coaching!

 

[GKDesigns]

I would look for resellers of Latex International Talalay Latex. Their website lists a few online resellers.
Some resellers offer LI's Rejuvenite 3" Topper in a nice cover. That may interest you.
Wool pads can be found at the usual bedding outlets. I'm not really into recommending resellers... I certainly don't buy enough of this stuff to recommend a business.
GK

 

[Glenbury]

Hi.. Please do yourself a favor.. forget about buying toppers for this mattress.. it's 10 years old... you will never fix it.. and BTW... the memory foam you are sleeping on will still be the memory foam you are sleeping on with a new topper etc. All you will waste is your time and money.. Get a decent coil mattress with a nice covering.. I highly recommend dumping foam and latex.. they eventually will beat your body beyond repair.. Also, make sure you do not buy a pillow top ever.. and make sure you know what is on top of the coil mattress you are buying.. should be a nice combination of material that lasts and doesn't compress.. the feeling you have on the memory foam is the density is pushing back on your body causing the pain you feel thus not giving you the comfort level you need. The first thought is the bed was too firm to begin with.. be a smart shopper the next time you buy and you will have NO regrets.. Good Luck...

 

[davebarr7]

Thanks Glenbury! I've been debating this option of just buying a new bed. Will all the options out there, what do you recommend? I know I need a softer bed. Should I consider an air-bed since the softness can be adjusted? I realize air-beds usually have latex and memory foam added on top.
Just wondering how to distill down to the best choice considering there are so many options of beds to buy. What name brands are best, etc.?

 

[Glenbury]

Hey there Dave... Listen I have been the route of latex, and memory foam.. believe me they saw me coming.. spent a fortune on all of them.. and still terrible..the mattress industry is a very profitable one for the manufacturers and the store owners.. they love us..!!! They have all the gimmincks, all the textures, all the material you could want in a lifetime, trouble is you don't get anything for your money today. You are lucky to have had your Tempurpedic for 10 years.. they have improved upon them over the years and offer all kinds of comfort levels today.. I finally gave up and went back to a coil mattress with a firm feel and soft but not too soft a top as I didn't want all this padding to compress on me.. do I love it .. NO.. but it is the first bed in 5 years that I can stay in longer than 1 or 2 hours.. If the air mattress you are talking about is the Sleep Number.. forget it.. have a few friends that have had them and they hated it, and one got mold under it.. yes check that out there was a class action law suit against these people.. It is truly a buyer beware world today.. !!! I wish there was a magic mattress out there for all our needs, but you just have to really do your homework and lay on these more than just a half hour in the store. I would truly stay away from all these crazy things you read on these posts here about toppers ( they love selling those) big bucks for a NO fix.. or these people here that are performing surgeries to their mattresses.. what the heck is that..? Be a smart shopper and look at all the selections out there within your pocketbook and make an intelligent decison... and one more thing.. if you think you can get another 10 years out of a mattress today..better think again.. Been had by the best names in the industry of mattresses so I am hardly the one to suggest any brand to you, I just chimed in to see if I could just help another out after having been put through the ringer with the best of them.. warranties stand for nothing....just good ole luck of the draw..Pleasant dreams my friend...!

 

[joeb]

Glenbury wrote:
Hey there Dave... Listen I have been the route of latex, and memory foam.. believe me they saw me coming.. spent a fortune on all of them.. and still terrible..the mattress industry is a very profitable one for the manufacturers and the store owners.. they love us..!!! They have all the gimmincks, all the textures, all the material you could want in a lifetime, trouble is you don't get anything for your money today. You are lucky to have had your Tempurpedic for 10 years.. they have improved upon them over the years and offer all kinds of comfort levels today.. I finally gave up and went back to a coil mattress with a firm feel and soft but not too soft a top as I didn't want all this padding to compress on me.. do I love it .. NO.. but it is the first bed in 5 years that I can stay in longer than 1 or 2 hours.. If the air mattress you are talking about is the Sleep Number.. forget it.. have a few friends that have had them and they hated it, and one got mold under it.. yes check that out there was a class action law suit against these people.. It is truly a buyer beware world today.. !!! I wish there was a magic mattress out there for all our needs, but you just have to really do your homework and lay on these more than just a half hour in the store. I would truly stay away from all these crazy things you read on these posts here about toppers ( they love selling those) big bucks for a NO fix.. or these people here that are performing surgeries to their mattresses.. what the heck is that..? Be a smart shopper and look at all the selections out there within your pocketbook and make an intelligent decison... and one more thing.. if you think you can get another 10 years out of a mattress today..better think again.. Been had by the best names in the industry of mattresses so I am hardly the one to suggest any brand to you, I just chimed in to see if I could just help another out after having been put through the ringer with the best of them.. warranties stand for nothing....just good ole luck of the draw..Pleasant dreams my friend...!

what mattress did you got finally that you say is working for you and from which store did you buy it? Thanks

 

[davebarr7]

Thank you all for your advice. I haven't purchased a bed yet as I'm in the researching best options mode.
Are air beds worth it? I'm thinking a decent quality airbed would be a safer purchase as it will allow me to adjust the firmness.
How about this vendor: http://www.habitatfurnishings.com/air_bed.html
If an airbed isn't the way to go, please let me know what beds to narrow my search down to. I would like to narrow down my choices to the best makers and best options first before I go to a mattress place or buy online.
Thanks for the help!

 

[crock]

Go to a few local mattress stores and find out what kind of beds feel good to you right away. Once people know what you like we can point you to some of the better brands and models. Then you can try some of the better ones for a longer period.

 

[joeb]

Glenbury wrote:
Hey there Dave... Listen I have been the route of latex, and memory foam.. believe me they saw me coming.. spent a fortune on all of them.. and still terrible..the mattress industry is a very profitable one for the manufacturers and the store owners.. they love us..!!! They have all the gimmincks, all the textures, all the material you could want in a lifetime, trouble is you don't get anything for your money today. You are lucky to have had your Tempurpedic for 10 years.. they have improved upon them over the years and offer all kinds of comfort levels today.. I finally gave up and went back to a coil mattress with a firm feel and soft but not too soft a top as I didn't want all this padding to compress on me.. do I love it .. NO.. but it is the first bed in 5 years that I can stay in longer than 1 or 2 hours.. If the air mattress you are talking about is the Sleep Number.. forget it.. have a few friends that have had them and they hated it, and one got mold under it.. yes check that out there was a class action law suit against these people.. It is truly a buyer beware world today.. !!! I wish there was a magic mattress out there for all our needs, but you just have to really do your homework and lay on these more than just a half hour in the store. I would truly stay away from all these crazy things you read on these posts here about toppers ( they love selling those) big bucks for a NO fix.. or these people here that are performing surgeries to their mattresses.. what the heck is that..? Be a smart shopper and look at all the selections out there within your pocketbook and make an intelligent decison... and one more thing.. if you think you can get another 10 years out of a mattress today..better think again.. Been had by the best names in the industry of mattresses so I am hardly the one to suggest any brand to you, I just chimed in to see if I could just help another out after having been put through the ringer with the best of them.. warranties stand for nothing....just good ole luck of the draw..Pleasant dreams my friend...!

I have asked you numerous times in pm and here what mattress did you end up buying. Please reply Thanks

 

[Glenbury]

Hi.. to the fellow who asked what mattress I finally ended up with, sorry have been on and off here several times but didn't see your post.. Exhausted to the point of NO RETURN.. and I mean I have returned more beds in my lifetime than I care to think about..!!! More money down the drain and still to no avail a bed worth the money they ask you to shell out for. I actually gave up for 1 year and suffered night after night until I just couldn't take sleeping in all the beds in my house much like an amusment park during the night..end result my sofa..I set out to find the perfect bed once again and store after store had pretty much the same thing and the salespeople all began sounding the same with why I should be in this bed instead of that bed.. Well I live in a pretty good sized city with many mattress stores to choose from and I was sure I went in all of them until one day a friend and I drove by a store that I didn't recognize the name and we went in.. Finally a salesman who was just a decent guy who didn't hard sell a thing and didn't have all the usual suspects in his store.. I actually one time laid on one of these mattresses several years ago and wanted to buy it but got stirred away from it from the salesman that it was a mediocore brand and should be looking at the latex, it would be perfect for me.. so yes bought that latex.. and one and half years later.. the top of the line latex was defective with a bow across the entire middle.. It was Hell since then in the quest for a mattress that didn't kill my neck or back or legs.. did the memory foam after that and omg.. give me strength what it did to my hips.. so I decided right then and there I was going back to the old faithfull coils.. Long story I know, but needed to give you some backround to my desperation for sleep. Well this store had a beautiful line of Restonic's in it.. beautifully made and every type of feel you could ask for. They also had some other brands but these Restonics out shinned them all.. I ended up buying a firm one with a beautiful top to it, not plush, not a pillow top either, but just enough good solid padding to give body comfort. Restonic also has this middle support that I really like as it gives wonderful support for my back issues.. I can finally sleep in this bed.. is it the bed of my dreams.. NO.. is it better than the ones I paid mucho bucks for HELL YES>> I happen to get this bed on sale king size for 1100 including tax and a beautiful set of king size sheets...a bargain to say the least. So far it's the best I can get for right now.. I will continue to look every now and again, but believe me I will NEVER EVER spend the amts. I did before on a mattress again. Highway robbery is what evey individual experiences shopping for mattresses today.. Good luck to you and hope you follow up with what you end up doing as well.. I would be interested to hear about your find..

 

[davebarr7]

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for days. Been busy. I don't want to buy a new traditional mattress.
So I ordered 3inch Talalay latex topper. Haven't received it yet to test drive it.
I bought a twin air mattress. Been sleeping on that. What a difference. I actually can sleep on my back now. Once I get the latex, I'll try it on my tempurpedic. If that doesn't work well, I may sell my tempurpedic and buy an air mattress bed. I love being able to control the firmness.
Does anyone know how to build a DIY air bed without having to spend 1000+ bucks?

 

[cheesepuff]

I dont know if this has been said before, but...

From what i understand, Termperpidic memory foam has an issue that some manufactorers have fixed.
When temperpidic foam gets cold, it gets stiff. The colder it is, the stiffer it gets. Legend has it that when subjected to cold midwest outside temps it can become rock hard. This is an issue because some people think memory foam gets too hot sometimes because it does not breath well. So first thing people do is turn down the temperature in their houses AC unit. Then the issue i previously mentioned happens.

That all being said, if you want it to be less firm, try letting it get warmed up a bit before going to bed. Maybe a room heater or something.