This is my first post to the forum, though I've been reading through the articles for 2 weeks now. I am a 54 yr old 5' 10" tall, 185 lb pound man with a 2 year long Central Pain Syndrome chronic pain disability.I have pain levels in the 9 out of 10 range, 24/7, mostly in lower abdomen and groin areas... (Sorry for all the details but I thought it would help understand my question better)... I now have to spend the majority of my time in the bed (20 out of 24 hours), but during the day I am most "comfortable" in a slightly reclined position of about a 30 degree angle. I was previously a side and back sleeper but I cannot endure side sleeping for more than 5-10 minutes due to sharp pains so I now rotate between back and stomach. By the way, my wife is an almost 100% stomach sleeper.
We currently have a 15 yr old Restonic "100 % Real Latex Foam" reversible mattress that has been quite nice over the years. But it has sagged at least 1" in the middle, and we are ready for something better suited to my condition.
Can anyone offer any suggestions? We would prefer to stick with latex and have quickly tried out a Savvy Rest dunlop latex firm/medium/medium for my wife’s side and a firm/medium/soft for my side. My concern is how that will hold up to 20 hours a day use, plus my condition is gradually getting worse so will I need a change in a year?
I would definitely consult with your doctor given the circumstances. I do think that something with an adjustable base would work well given you prefer to sleep at a 30 degree incline. I also think an adjustable base would be convenient if you need to switch positions to eat sleep read watch tv ext. As far as bed type goes talk to your doctor. The are some mattress that require a prescription and maybe your insurance would help cover the costs due to your circumstances. I do know that latex is the most durable foam and would probably last the longest for you but you probably have very unique need s as far as pressure posture and alignment go. There are a good amount of manufactures listed on the site that manufacturer latex beds you could start to research, but again I think your doctor should be consulted before any purchase due to your circumstances.
I would echo everready073’s suggestions about an adjustable bed and the ability to make adjustments to your sleeping position can change your pressure profile over the surface of your body and could be very beneficial. Of course it’s also a good idea to consult with your doctor as well. Even though they would generally know very little about mattresses or the materials they use … they may be able to give you some guidance about the type of sleeping surface that would be generally be best for your medical condition.
A mattress that includes a side to side split may also be a very good idea to accommodate your different needs and preferences.
If I was in your shoes the ability to make adjustments to your mattress in terms of PPP both before and after a purchase would be one of the most important parts of my personal value equation. This means that component mattresses such as the Savvy Rest or others that are similar or dealing directly with a manufacturer or retailer that could make fine tuning adjustments to your mattress design after a purchase based on your actual sleeping experience (initially or down the road if your needs and preferences change) would be a good idea.
I would also make sure you have read post #1 here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines that will be most helpful in your choices.
As Everready073 also mentioned … latex is generally the most durable of all the foam types.
In your case … the knowledge and experience of the manufacturer or retailer you deal with and their willingness to work very closely with you before and after a purchase may be one of the most important parts of your choice.
If you are able to go out and test mattresses then if you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know some of the better options or possibilities in your area I’m aware of. If you can’t then the tutorial post I linked earlier also includes a link to some of the members here that sell component latex mattresses online with a range of different designs, budget ranges, and options.
Hi Phoenix, thanks for the reply as it confirms some of my conclusions I have been drawing from reading the articles… I really do know more than some of the sales people we have met!!
I can make shorter trips and am located in Harrisonburg, VA. 22802. Your assistance is much appreciated.
I bought a great Dunlop mattress in Roanoke last month, but I’m afraid Roanoke might not fall in the realm of “shorter trips” for you. It was a lot less expensive than Savvy Rest, and a very simple mattress - a 6" support and 3" comfort layer, both zipped up in a soft bamboo cover. Sold without fire retardants, making it tax free and tax deductible.
I like the product, and it was an easy purchase for me; however, to be honest, I’m not sure how far the shop owner would be willing to go as far as working with your needs - there’s no option for return, and if you even want to swap out the comfort layer because it isn’t quite comfortable, he charges 1/2 the price of the layer to do an exchange (which would have been about $350 for a queen).
I have chronic pain problems too, although not as severe as yours, and bought the Perfection 16, which is the softest Dunlop offered and was recommended for people with chronic pain from fibromyalgia or lupus, etc.
Thanks a bunch Clawdia.
Roanoke is definitely on the outer limits, but I’m going to check out that link. I’ll let you know what I find out
So sorry to hear about the chronic pain… it’s a game changer for sure for everyone involved!!
Sorry about your problems, too - a game changer all around, for sure. It was a queen soft-sided waterbed (with a featherbed topper) that actually proved to be too firm for me and prompted me to get the latex mattress. My dad had one of the old Sears Dunlop mattresses from the 1960s, so I knew I liked the feel of Dunlop latex - that bed was still in good shape when he died in 1999 and I was fool enough to give it away because at the time I didn’t need a double bed. No question on durability of a good latex mattress.
I hope you can find something that will make your life more comfortable, knowing that any reduction in pain can be a very good thing.
Sleep Essentials does ship - fortunately we live down in Martinsville and the owner agreed to provide free delivery and set up even though it was slightly out of his delivery area (about 65 miles). The prices he lists on the website include a foundation - since I just opted to use the one I had had for the waterbed, I didn’t need the foundation so got out the door for $1800 for a queen size - thought at first it was high until I did a bit more reading and saw that most all natural latex was even higher.
Some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of (including Sleep Essentials) in the wider region around Charlottesville/Lynchburg/Waynesboro are listed in post #3 here.
I would call the ones you are most interested in to confirm they can provide you with the specifics of the layers and components in their mattresses (foam densities for memory foam and polyfoam and the type and blend of any latex).
I would also call and discuss the return or exchange policies of any of them you are considering visiting to make sure you have good options available after a purchase in case your long term sleeping experience doesn’t match your local testing for PPP because with the greater importance of choosing the most suitable mattress in your circumstances this may be one of the most important parts of a successful purchase for you.
Thanks again for your input on my recent forum question. I just wanted to let you know what I ended up doing…I went back to Savvy Rest and followed the support layer testing suggestions from this site. It was time consuming, but it really did take the confusion out of the decision. The sales team was very accomodating with us as well, always a good sign. In the end, we decided on a split queen size all Dunlop latex mattress. I personally was most comfortable on a combo of firm, medium and soft layers, all 3" thick. My wife’s preference was firm, medium, medium. The mattress is due any day now so I’ll test it out and make another post regarding how we like it. I particularly appreciate having the flexibility of the split sides and the (3) 3" layers. They were easy to switch around into different configurations in the store, so that assures me we can do so at home as my needs change with the pain syndrome issues.
Be back in touch in a few weeks…
I find my few weeks of testing our new split dunlop latex mattress before giving feedback turned into 8 months. I am sorry for that, so let me get right down to what we have experienced.
This has been a wonderful mattress for me, and I am the one in bed 22 hrs a day due to pain. I am so very thankful for that. I would like to be able to say that the mattress has lessened my pain, but that isn’t the case yet. Nevertheless, I am sleeping better and longer most nights which is a big plus for me. I did not need to switch from by firm/medium/soft configuration of layers, but surpassingly, my wife did need to make a switch. She had initially went with firm/medium/medium, but after 4 weeks decided to switch the top layer to soft. She is a stomach sleeper by the way. Savvy Rest was easy to deal with and it literally took 30 seconds to exchange the layers…That’s what the salesperson had said, but seeing was believing for me!!
Overall, a great mattress and a great bunch of advice from this forum so a huge thanks to you all. I am sharing the site as I have opportunity and am seeing it be a help to others as well.
