Hi energizedchris,
Thanks for modifying your comments … it’s a good first step in taking a more realistic approach to solving the issues you are having.
The problem here is that you are asking a question that is impossible for anyone to answer no matter how much they may know or be willing to help until the underlying reasons for any issues you are having are clear. Even then there is no guarantee of success because it can take some trial and error and “real life” experience before you can confirm that a change that seems to be a good idea “in theory” works just as well in practice. While it’s easier to make suggestions that would work for most people “on average” … people are so different from each other that what works for someone else or even a group of people that may seem similar to you may not work as well for you. Finding solutions can take some detective work or involve a process of elimination or some trial and error.
If the issue is not with the foundation or if adding a topper isn’t likely to be effective because your mattress is already too soft then you would only be making choices based on random chance and this can become costly if you end up trying many different things that have a lower chance of success and none of them solve the underlying issues you are having. The most common outcome with this more “random” approach is frustration. In these cases the best approach is always to have a more detailed conversation on the phone so that they can help “talk you through” the options you have and use their experience and knowledge to help you decide what to do that would have the “highest possible” chance of success based on their experiences with other people that seem similar to you. This doesn’t mean that any suggestion that anyone makes will work for you … only that you would be making a choice that would have the “best possible” chance of success based on “averages”.
Now that you are in a time frame that is 8 months after your purchase … I would make sure that you “set your expectations” realistically so that you fully understand that the best options (such as a layer exchange) may no longer be possible … at least under the terms of their exchange policy … and that anything that may be possible outside of buying a new mattress or a new top layer at full retail price will be an exception and isn’t an “expectation” on your part. It’s also important to realize that any suggestions that anyone else can make (whether it’s me or BB) would be based on “best efforts” to help you but that there are no guarantees of success that any suggestion will work (especially if there are other issues or reasons involved in your experience that someone else may not know about or be able to identify). Sometimes trying to “diagnose” sleeping issues can be very complex because there can be many reasons for the same set of symptoms and it would be similar to a doctor trying to diagnose the symptoms of a patient based on general descriptions on a phone call or a forum without being able to examine them in person. Any suggestions would be based on “probabilities” that come from experience and in working with others and not based on a special ability to be able tell you with certainty why you are having the symptoms that you are having when you sleep on your mattress.
Outside of talking with them in more detail and asking them what options they can suggest or any exceptions that they can make (again keeping in mind that the best that anyone can do is “best efforts” based on averages and their experience in working with others with similar issues) … the first step would be for you to decide whether you believe your mattress is too soft or too firm because both can lead to back pain issues due to lack of support. Keep in mind that nobody can feel what you feel on your mattress or see you sleeping on the mattress over the course of the night which means that suggestions would be based more on the specifics and accuracy of your feedback than anything else. Too soft can mean that the heavier parts of your body are “sinking in” too far which can cause alignment issues. Too firm can lead to lack of support under the more recessed parts of the body such as the small of the back or the waist or to “twisting away” from excess pressure with part of your body while you sleep (such as a half back half side sleeping position) which can lead to rotational alignment issues which can also cause back pain.
There is also more information in post #2 here and the posts it links to about some of the more common symptoms that people may have on a mattress that can also help with the detective work that may be necessary to decide on what type of changes may have the best chance of success.
If your mattress is too firm then either replacing your latex layer with a softer version or choosing a topper using the information in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to would be helpful.
If your mattress is too soft then replacing your top layer with a firmer layer would probably be the most effective approach but some of the information in post #4 here may also be helpful.
This should give you enough (maybe more than enough) information for you to know the options you have and decide which of them would have the best chance of success.
Phoenix