I previously posted that I’m sleeping on a Beautyrest Imperial Liston. At the time it was too firm and was causing pain. Shortly after top layer became softer. So soft that it isn’t supportive and it feels like I’m sleeping on the next layer down that is firmer. It is causing a lot more pain. There are some pressure point pain in my upper back around the shoulder blade area and the alignment of my spine is affected and that causes pain in my wrist, ribs, tricep, right side of my body because that is my dominant sleep side. Sometimes I want to just lay in bed a little longer before getting up but my knees and ankles starts to hurt.
I got the mattress last September and it costed over $1,000. Not the most expensive mattress but $1,000 is still a lot of money. I’m not sure how to make it better. I’m mostly a side sleeper but sometimes sleep on my back as well.
My frustrations has me coming up with some crazy ideas and I keep searching the internet for other possibilities. For example, should I get rid of the mattress? It will be like throwing away $1,000 and what would I replace it with?
Should I cut the mattress open and remove the top layer and replace it with a topper? Then I’ll have a cut open mattress.
How about getting a latex topper and putting it on a sheet of plywood? Does the topper need to be on something softer than plywood for side sleepers?
I slept on a futon when I was younger for many years. Could I sleep on a futon now? Could I put a topper on the futon?
We went through three high-end name-brand mattresses before going with DIY organic latex (on an adjustable base). I have a lot of health issues and I am sleeping better - and closer to pain free - than I have in decades. The latex experts (we used Latex Mattress Factory) can help you configure it based on your personal needs. It’s a bit more work than having someone come to your house and place a mattress on your frame, but it is SOOOOO worth it. I strongly believe that configured correctly, it will give you the pain relief that you are needing. Supportive, but with a top layer that will cradle your curves and cushion painful joints. It is also very cost-effective and will last a very, very long time.
Thank you for your reply. Could you describe the process a bit? Did you go to the store and talk to a person and tried different firmnesses and then deciding on the layers?
I am in Los Angeles. I went to the BackScience showroom (Ultrabed). BS2 felt so good on the back. It felt like Purple bed but with great back support.
I am 225 pounds and 5ft 11in and a back sleeper. I was immediately drawn to BS2. BS2felt good for the back immediately as far as support. BS3 is a bit more plush. With BS3, the back support was not quite as good as BS2, but it did feel better on the side. But my dominant sleep position (80%) is back sleeping, so I went with BS2.
The Hypergel comfort layer feels supportive, but dense and durable. Im usually not a fan of springs, but the BackScience springs felt great.
The highlight of the mattress is the back support. There is not much “dipping of the hips” or “hammocking”. It feels great to actually have good support for my back!
Latex Mattress Factory is in Arizona - I am not. I did about a year of research, on this site and others, to get an idea of what I wanted. The staff is also very knowledgeable with years of experience and can point you in the right direction based on your height, weight, sleeping position, health issues, sleeping partner, etc. I ordered a topper first, finding the soft Talalay to be a little too soft for me - a 2" layer allowed my shoulder to “bottom out” when sleeping on my side. I then ordered a soft Dunlop layer which worked much better, and using it on a conventional mattress as a topper gave me a chance to determine my long-range plan. When I was finally able to start over, I ordered Dunlop 3" firm for the base, Dunlop 3" medium for the middle and used my Dunlop 2" soft topper as the top layer, enclosed in an 8" mattress case. I slept on that for probably six months and found that I wanted just a tad more “squish” in the top layer, so ordered a 2" medium Talalay layer that I could used in the “topper” cover that I already had. Extensive research and a gradual approach avoided too much trial-and-error. It was difficult for us to assemble as the Dunlop layers are quite heavy (and we are pushing 70). It is all on an adjustable base and the combination has led to the best sleep I’ve had in decades. Good luck.
Thank you for your replies. Was hoping that the current mattress was salvageable in some way but I guess not. There are a few places not far from me that sells latex toppers and mattress. I’ll pay them visit and go from there.