Good morning.
I need to admit right out of the gate, that I am having problems reading and holding on to the information presented here on The Mattress Underground.
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which includes “brain fog”, which is making my mattress research very, very difficult to accomplish. I also have Fibromyalgia, mild Sleep Apnea, GERD, and recently mild emphysema. Each of these have made finding restful sleep seem pretty much impossible.
I am a 54 yr old female with a BMI of 24.6 (I currently weigh 139 with a height of 5’3). I currently sleep solo on a full size mattress, but am considering a queen mattress. My sleep posture tends to be side/back/maybe stomach. I try to stay on my side though. I do toss and turn through out the night.
I need a new mattress and possibly an adjustable base to deal with GERD and sleep apnea. I have elevated the head of the bed to help GERD, and am using a doctor prescribed “apnea mouthpiece” for the sleep apnea; Both of these are helping but they aren’t close to a cure to my sleep problems. I have recently bought a wedge pillow - waiting on delivery of that.
Right now, I am focusing on:
stores/brands that have membership on The Mattress Underground.
pressure point relief (very important for fibromyalgia/CFS), but I know there are other issues to consider, including alignment.
“medium” firmness but honestly not sure…I tried a soft Tempurpedic bed at a mattress store that left my body aching even after a short try at the store. So, not sure if ‘soft’ is a good choice for me.
I am open to memory foam or latex
having solid material, OR layered levels where you can adjust/swap out levels OR a hybrid bed.
Or even a flippable mattress?? ie, ‘medium’ firmness on one side, ‘firm’ on the other.
Not sure on 100% innerspring due to the fibromyalgia/CFS.
an adjustable base??
I am hoping to find a place where I can try out the mattress, but am also open to ordering online as long as there is a good return/exchange policy.
I know I have listed a lot of ‘needs’ without a lot of research, but I am so very tired, and dealing with brain fog, that I can’t hold on to what I read. Is there any way to help me at least narrow down what might work given my health issues?
Thank you so very much for any help you can offer.
Let me start with saying that you have found a great resource in the Mattress Underground. Not only is there a wealth of knowledge on this site, TMU has many trusted members with quality products that could be a good fit for you and can hopefully help you achieve more restful sleep.
To start, you can read over the Mattress Undergrounds Shop Tutorial here as your first step for an overview. Next, this article here is a good reference to explore the quality and durability of a mattress, if it has any weak links in terms of its design, and also discusses BMI.
Based on your needs described, having you feel comfortable is key for your pain, but also you need a mattress that will provide proper support. Your wedge pillow sounds like it could help to keep you elevated, and an adjustable base is also a great investment if the wedge does not sustain comfort. Adjustable bases can range from very basic, providing up and down motion, to having all the bells and whistles including massage, USB ports, pillow tilt, etc. It would be good to determine which features are important to you, compared to the price point.
When it comes to pressure point relief, memory foam or latex are great choices. It just depends on which type of material you prefer the feel of, and the quality you value more. Post #2here is helpful since it explains the different ways to choose a suitable mattress that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort.”
Mattresses with options to flip or rearrange layers are very beneficial. They allow the customer to easily change up the feel after purchase if needed without spending more money. This is what our company personally provides and it works great. Customizable and allows for rearranging.
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
I cannot imagine trying to evaluate this overload of mattress information, and having to deal with medical issues and, of course, not sleeping well. It’s really difficult. As one of our Mattress Experts, Foam Sweet Foam noted there are some great resources on this site.
After reading your post over again, I wanted to make an additional suggestion. In this article there are some great suggestions that I think would be very important for you given the Brain Fog and other ailments.
Finding the right mattress retailer that meets the qualities described in this article can be a great benefit. The good ones know what they are doing and can help. Of course, having conversations with our members and experts will be very helpful.
Let us know if you want any help finding good retail outlets in your region.
Thank you to both “Foam Sweet Foam” and Sensei for your replies. This is an incredible website! I will be looking at Foam Sweet Foam, Nest Bedding, or Flexus Comfort for my mattress - they are listed on the Mattress Underground membership list and I think all are local for me. I know Flexus has their store in Covina, CA which is really close for me. So I will go there to test out the latex mattresses. I think Nest Bedding also has stores where I can try out the mattresses, but not sure how close to where I live (Pasadena, CA). I really wish Foam Sweet Foam had a place to test out their mattresses. But I have heard good things about them so I may order online…
…last night I tried my new wedge pillow (to help with GERD, sleep apnea) and surprisingly it actually helped my snoring! I think the more I use it, I will get better used to it. So - that may help me in my decision to buy an adjustable bed - may not need it! It is nice when things fall together and decisions become sorted through.
I will keep you posted as I continue to read the articles on this website and start my mattress search. Thank you again for your help.
ok - here I am, owner of a new latex bed with adjustable base. Purchased end of February and my 90 day trial is almost up. I purchased a 13" latex bed with 4 total layers -the 3 bottom layers were medium dunlop and the top layer was soft Talalay latex.
As I have fibromyalgia, my sleep suffers greatly. It felt like the original configuration wasn’t enough to help my pain levels. So I decided to make an exchange. I slept on the original configuration from end of February thru the 22nd of April and received an exchange of one layer on the 23rd of April. I replaced a medium dunlop layer with a soft Talalay layer. So now I have 2 top layers in soft Talalay, and the bottom 2 layers are Medium Dunlop. The hope was that this extra softness would keep my pressure points from reacting.
I have been using the updated bed configuration for a little over 3 weeks now. The first few nights I thought - yes this feels better! But as the days/weeks wear on, my sleep continues to be poor with a lot of pain at wake, leading to all day pain. A lot of my pain is in my back. from my neck all the way down to my buttocks. But also in my chest/elbows/knees/ shoulders - typical Fibromyalgia trigger points.
Honestly I can’t say if the pain is because of the original bed configuration, or now due to the updated configuration, or just because of other issues - one being the fact that our weather here has been overcast much longer than is typical and that can cause increased pain.
One thing I’ve noticed with latex - the soft layers really feel soft/squishy when I stand and put my hand pressure down into the mattress - like maybe its too soft (it doesn’t feel like it can be of any help to pressure points). But it bounces back each time. And when laying in the bed, the material bounces right back again - there is support. That “squishiness” bounces back as you lie in the bed.
My 90 day dead line is approaching - 5/27/19. I honestly don’t know what to do.
I doubt that I will return the bed, as health wise, I don’t have the physical energy to look for mattresses again, or to sleep on my couch until a new bed is delivered.
But I don’t know if maybe I need a firmer bottom base layer (firm dunlop/medium dunlop/soft Talalay/soft Talalay)?
I want to contact the manufacturer (Flexus Comfort) to see if he can help me, but would really appreciate any comments you all can offer. Fibromyalgia and sleep - I need less of the former and more of the latter.
I can really feel your frustration and pain, figuratively of course. I don’t claim to know what is best for any of the types of Fibromyalgia. I do think you are correct and better to be cautious when you state this:
itsevie quote - “Honestly I can’t say if the pain is because of the original bed configuration, or now due to the updated configuration, or just because of other issues - one being the fact that our weather here has been overcast much longer than is typical and that can cause increased pain.”
It is difficult to always ascertain the “cause” or the easy way to correct a mattress for a person with Fibromyalgia or other issues people may have with pain and sleeping.
Regarding the existing build of mattresses, my instinct says replacing the bottom Dunlop medium layer with a firm 3" layer may not make a big difference in the feel. Have you thought of changing the second from the top layer with a “medium Talalay”? This would give the top of the mattress a little less of the squishy feel, it works as a very natural progression. Therefore you would have 3" 28 Talalay and then final 3" of the 22ILD Talalay.
Will this work, I have no idea, you already know that. But as I reread your description, your instinct is telling you it may be too soft. I tend to trust peoples instincts on these things.
Please feel freel to let me know if you have any other questions, and I would be happy to address them before your “decision time”. Good luck and thanks again for the post.
Just wanted to chime in here, I’ve been poring over this site for weeks and found your post, and I wonder what you ended up doing with your new flexus? I’m in a similar situation, though I’m not going through what you are exactly, I do have musculoskeletal pain from poor movement patterns that I’m working on correcting (check out Kelly Starrett’s Deskbound, that’s been my lifesaver). So I bought a Flexus 10" with Soft talalay on top, then firm on the bottom two layers, which is what they recommended. I have the same thoughts about the squishiness, and that’s with just one soft layer. I wake up with lower back pain stiffness and pain in the hips, and from what I gather that’s because my alignment is not quite right. The soft talalay has too much give and my hips sink in. I was so happy when testing it, and the Memorial Day sale price… but now I realize I was a bit hasty.
It looks like it’s past your return date, but wondering what you ended up doing. I am going to exchange my top soft talalay for medium and hope that works, but it might be worth trying to do that yourself rather than continue to suffer. Maybe they’ll still honor the exchange if you haven’t already? I empathize with trying to find a solution while battling pain, it makes things seem impossible sometimes.
Thanks for the post, and inquiring with @Itsevie about what decision they made. We don’t always hear back from all consumer members as sometimes they move on after their decisions. I appreciate the empathy you show in your post.
Thanks also for referencing the musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) that arise from a sitting/sedentary lifestyle, especially within western culture. As the Kelly Starrett book description says “sitting literally shortens your life”. It’s amazing how this lifestyle has played a roll in the continued difficulty with people getting a better night’s sleep.
Good luck with the medium topper replacement from Flexus Comfort. They are very knowledgeable about Latex mattresses. You will see a difference in feel, but as you probably already know, improving MSD’s takes time, so it may difficult to see dramatic changes immediately.
Thank you again for your nice post, and please message us back if you have additional questions.
