Soliciting suggestions for soft mattress......

[ahindt]

We are stuck with a Simmons Beautyrest Plush mattress. Brand New, unable to return. Of course it felt great in the store and the first couple of nights, but then the low back pain started. The thing is, it feels great under the shoulders when side sleeping however having a lot of low back pain which i think is due to not being supportive enough. I am desperate for your creative solutions to this problem and welcome any suggestions. Would placing a firm topper, if there is such a thing, under the lumbar/hip area help with this? Or how about placing a piece of plywood under the hip area( under the mattress of course)? Thank you!!!

 

[Natalia]

Since no one has replied, I saw this the other day: Mattress Remedy
Also ehow.com and ehow.com again.
Hope you find the right solution,
Natalie

 

[jimsocal]

ahindt wrote:
We are stuck with a Simmons Beautyrest Plush mattress. Brand New, unable to return. Of course it felt great in the store and the first couple of nights, but then the low back pain started. The thing is, it feels great under the shoulders when side sleeping however having a lot of low back pain which i think is due to not being supportive enough. I am desperate for your creative solutions to this problem and welcome any suggestions. Would placing a firm topper, if there is such a thing, under the lumbar/hip area help with this? Or how about placing a piece of plywood under the hip area( under the mattress of course)? Thank you!!!

Well, if you absolutely cannot return it and it is absolutely too soft, your only real option is mattress surgery. Take out the cheap foam on top, add some latex in it's place and voila!
However, I don't think anyone here has yet done mattress surgery on an individual-coils type mattress (I assume that's what it is?), so you will be blazing new territory. Budgy might be able to tell us something about those springs that you have and whether or not it is "foam encased" around the edges. If it is, that's yet another problem. But honestly I think you have nothing to lose at this point by opening 'er up and seeing if you can repair it by replacing the foams.
You can't make a too-soft mattress firmer by adding a firm topper. Putting something underneath it won't help unless your box springs is sagging.

 

[DianeK]

I would try putting a thin piece of wood (e.g. a laminate flooring plank), or a folded towel or two between the mattress and the box spring under the area where you feel the mattress is lacking support. Worth a try.

 

[ahindt]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I'm toying with the idea of getting a contour cloud mattress pad, which supposedly has extra "foam" or whatever specifically under the lumbar area. But i'm afraid that no matter what kind of topper i add it wont change the firmness level. Not quite sure i'm ready for mattress surgery, but we might need to reconsider eventually since we cant return this mattress. Anyone have any experience with toppers that specifically targets the Lumbar area since this seems to be where the mattress lacks support?

 

[olenska]

a latex topper will change the firmness level of a too soft mattress. read the reviews at overstock where a lot of people seemed to buy their latex for precisely that purpose. most here seem to like a talalay in the mid 30's ild or a dunlop in low 20's for a top level

 

[Kait]

I like the suggestion of the blow-up pad in between the mattress and box spring. A piece of wood will firm up the bed under your mattress, good to try that. A folded up towel can also make a difference. I have recently started to use a folded up smallish polarfleece blanket under my upper thigh when I sleep on my back and it helps my low back. You might also try slitting open the mattress under the low back/hip area and slipping in a piece of foam there, experimenting on what works better for you. No real harm done that way. I hesitate recommending ripping it all apart when it is already comforable for your shoulders...that should be left alone, IMO. It is hard to get a mattress that is soft enough there and supportive enough under the hips, believe me!! Over time your mattress will soften more and you might need to do full surgery, but cross that bridge when you come to it.
I'm going to guess that a piece of quality polyurethane foam will suffice to firm up the hip area...slide that in under the top layer and above the lower layers in the hip area. You might only need an inch thickness or so...you don't want to make it too thick.
I do not believe a topper will work...it will change the shoulders and probalby won't help the hips much. More is not better in mattresses!
Kait

 

[ahindt]

I have tried to read the posts on latex mattress toppers from Overstock, after receiving the suggestion to find one there. I am getting the impression that Overstock.com is not a reputable place to buy these toppers. Is it a mistake to purchase the E.C.O. latex mattress topper(1.5 or 2 ") from this website, the price is sure reasonable!?

 

[DianeK]

Consider what Kait mentioned - that a firmer topper will likely negatively impact the comfort you now feel for the shoulders. I would certainly try placing folded towels/blankets/thin piece of planking under the mid-body area between mattress and foundation before going the topper route, IMHO.