[quote=“logicg8” post=83985]
Although things are improving, I’m wondering if we should keep it. Could we expect to find a mattress that can reduce our (especially my wife’s) back pain as this one has done plus offer the comfort that I really liked on the old mattress? I worry if we return this one if that it may also take too much time to find another one… although I have some time to research my wife has less time to do so.
Based on our profiles (BMIs noted above, side sleepers with some back sleeping, my softness preference in comfort layer, back pain, early 50s, in Memphis, prefer mattress that stays cool), is there a certain mattress type / materials that generally works best and a good place we could go to find a great mattress? We’re also open to traveling, using an independent consultant, or ordering online to find a mattress that is best for us.
Many thanks in advance for reading this long post and help in providing guidance.[/quote]
I will start out with the fact that I’m not an expert but I can absolutely sympathize with your situation as I just went through it myself. I too was having trouble with hammocking in my old bed and of course every hotel I stayed at and slept well I checked the mattress to note the make/model. I eventually settled on a Simmons Beautyrest but that very expensive bed didn’t even last me a full year. Not to be defeated I was researching hotel bed construction (with a goal to build my own) I realized that while there may be some slightly better materials in the hotel mattresses the reality was that since beds are no longer flippable (that went away in the early 2000’s with the introduction of the pocket coil) using a bed at home really was much more severe service than a hotel. The reason for this is that hotels see many different shapes/sizes of people sleeping in different positions and the hotel rooms are not always even occupied versus at home we sleep in the same place/position on the bed night after night for years.
So getting back to your own situation you and your wife have very different BMIs (we had the same problem) and this is why trying to find just the right bed from a store to fit both people perfectly is like a bad game of whack-a-mole. While a 2" soft latex topper could help slightly, personally, I would just extend the trial on your current mattress with the goal of using it while you look for another solution. The answer to your question “Could we expect to find a mattress that can reduce our (especially my wife’s) back pain as this one has done plus offer the comfort that I really liked on the old mattress?” is a resounding yes, BUT you will likely have to build it yourself (it starts with a zippered mattress cover). Now not everyone may want to attempt this so there may be some compromise involved if you decide not to go that route. The issue nowadays is that the quality of mattresses you buy at the chain stores these days are absolutely terrible compared to what was available even just a decade ago. Even the specialty mattresses available online (bed-in-a-box) are also a hit and miss since everyone is different (height, weight, BMI, sleeping positions, medical issues, etc) and they are typically not adjustable at home. The only way to really check all the boxes and get something that will last IMHO is to DIY. There’s alot of very helpful vendors on here that can help with selection of materials to try but I’ve put a link below in case you want to see what finally worked for me and how I did it.
https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/simmons-beautyrest-mattress-rebuild