Need some help

[jusme]

I have an Ikea Sultan Forsen mattress (description below) and except for maybe the first month or two, I haven't really had a good night's sleep on it. I don't have a lot of money so I put up with the upper back pain.

Recently, the pain has become unbearable and I sleep very lightly and wake up very tired. I know this may sound strange but I am not sure if the pain is from the mattress being too hard or too soft. My guess is that it's mostly too hard because I wake up feeling like I have been body slammed on my upper back area. But my hips also hurt and that could be because it's a little too soft for weight in that area. The back pain is much worse than the slight annoyance from the hip pain.

I don't want to spend a lot of money and thought maybe I could get a mattress topper or thicker mattress pad before looking into another bed. Will this fix the problem or should I skip it and get a bed?

Sultan Forsen (foam mattress; I don't know what kind of foam):

Egg-shaped surface gives support. Foam with a cotton/polyester cover. Height: 3 and 7/8 inches.

 

[Kait]

Sounds like it is too firm to me. If it is too soft, usually the lower back aches. I have both problems...because of (stupidly) getting PU foam in my bed)which will be removed shortly). If your bed has much PU foam, that will break down(as opposed to getting softer)and will sink at your heavier spots. Your shoulders will continue to hurt.
I don't know how much you paid, or how old your mattress is, but if you got a soft topper(thin, with foam that doesn't break down quickly, perhaps latex...if you are anything like me, probably Dunlop will be better)it would probably feel better.
Things I've learned: PU foam breaks down, but doesn't seem to get much softer in the process(so if your bed is hard, don't think it will somehow get soft over time...it will simply lose it's cushion). Latex lasts longer, but I've had Talalay and it was quite boingy and I did not enjoy the feeling(Dunlop has the reputation for being less boingy). By Boingy I mean feeling a bounce enough to wake me up every time I turned over...not condusive to good sleep. I recently got a fiberfill mattress topper that is really nice and soft. Took mere moments for my heaviest part to flatten the stuff out so even tho my shoulders are comfy, my low back is sore.
Kait

 

[jusme]

Thanks for the reply. I think I will try a mattress topper and see how that goes. I'm also going to look at some beds as a backup in case the topper doesn't work.

 

[Kait]

BTW, egg crate foam is P/U foam and not such a good choice in a mattress. Probably just another gimmick.
IME, feeling body slammed in your upper back area and hip pain is from too firm. When your low back hurts, the muscles seize up in the am even when you went to bed perfectly fine the evening before...that is too soft. Or, like me, you get a butt-dent which can cause low back pain in a fairly firm mattress.
I know from sleeping on hotel mattresses that an offset coil with minimal cushioning is my best plan combined with box springs with actual springs. Seems that every mattress sold already made has PU foam in it, usually way too much of it. If all else fails, try going to a mattress maker near you(seems that almost every metropolis has one) and see what they tell you. I think the Omaha mattress company someone wrote about on this site recently(makes beds for some hotels) sounds like a good example of what you can get if you find one. With beds, the simpler the better typically.
BTW, your bed probably has mostly PU foam in it. With a topper, should be comfortable for a while, but when it goes, no reviving it.
Kait

 

[jusme]

It probably is too firm like you said. But I actually slept on the floor (carpeted) last night because my hips were getting sore. Amazingly, I got some rest and my body didn't ache as bad as on the Sultan mattress. I don't think I can keep doing that though.

I went to Costco today and looked at their mattresses and toppers. They have a Right-Temp Novafoam memory foam topper and some spring mattresses. I also saw that they have a cotton Cuddle Bed topper online. I think I'll go back and get the Right-Temp topper and see what that's like. I hope it will solve my sleep problems.

 

[Lynn2006]

My latex mattress is not bouncy at all since I used Extra Firm and Super Firm latex layers with only a 1" latex topper over them. I really love the topper I bought from Brylane Lane so much since it had no smell, is the perfect firmess for a topper for me since I am petite and sleep on my side and had no seams. My FloBed latex cores feel great now but I could not sleep on softer cores that would be boingy. I tried a dunlap latex topper and it was not soft enough for me and too thick for me. I needed soft but thin so I will sink in and feel the firmness of my latex cores.