My wife and I have been in the market for a new bed for quite some time. I have been using your website as a resource and was hoping you could answer a question for me. I have all kinds of pain in my shoulders as well as a number of lower back issues [spondylolisthesis (fractured spinal cord with slipped disk), bulging disk, spinal stenosis, and arthritis in shoulder and spine] that combine to make finding a comfortable bed nearly impossible. We have tried memory foam, talalay latex, innerspring with toppers…and I just can’t seem to find anything that reduces pressure point pain and is still comfortable. Memory foam reduced the pain the most, but my wife and I are just not fans of the way they feel (left over crater when repositioning and sleeps hot are the two biggies). Anyway, I am extremely interested in the column buckling gel but have exhausted everything at my disposal to find anyplace within an hour or two from me that sales this. This brings me to my actual question for you. Do you know of any mattress companies that sell a mattress that contains somnigel that would be an hour or two from Topeka, KS? Kansas City is about 1 hour away for your reference. Also, if you don’t know of any companies, do you have any suggestions for my continued search? Comfort King’s Dream looks wonderful but Sioux Falls SD is 5 1/2 hours away and they really don’t have a favorable return policy (coupled with the fact that it is out of our price range). Should I call Leggett and Platt and see if they can tell me who is using their somnigel?
I would keep in mind that all foam materials and innersprings come in a range of firmness levels and also that every layer and component of a mattress will affect the feel and firmness of all the other layers and a mattress “as a whole” so it’s very possible that the mattresses that you tested or slept on just weren’t a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) and that other mattresses that use the same materials may work better for you.
There are also many different versions of memory foam that are more or less temperature sensitive, have a faster or slower response, or are more or less temperature regulating than others. The type and thickness of memory foam and the other layers and components in the mattress (above and below the memory foam) can also have a significant effect on the overall firmness of the mattress.
It’s certainly possible that you may just need thicker and/or softer and/or more point elastic comfort and transition layers than the mattresses you have tried so far.
I would also keep in mind that with more complex medical issues there may be no perfect mattress that solves all your sleeping issues and it may also be worthwhile experimenting with some creative solutions such as using pillows in various ways to help with the issues you are experiencing (see post #5 here and post #2 here for some examples).
There is also more detailed information about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here that may also be helpful.
Various zoning systems can also be very useful and worth considering for people who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here.
Somnigel is just one of several versions of buckling column gel that are available in the market with similar properties. The others are Intelligel and Orthogel/Nexgel. They are all very durable materials. There is more information about them in this article and in post #2 here and the posts it links to. A forum search on “buckling column gel” (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about them as well. ADMIN NOTE:Retired Website | Archived Footprint: nexgel.com/
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in or around the Kansas City and Topeka areas are listed in post #2 here.
I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.
As you mentioned it may also be worthwhile calling Leggett & Platt to see if they can provide you with a list of manufacturers that use their Somnigel and then you could contact those manufacturers to see if they have any retailers in your area that sell their Somnigel mattresses. It may also be worth calling Nexgel to see if they have any retailers in your area. ADMIN NOTE:Retired Website | Archived Footprint: nexgel.com/
Intellibed also has a buckling buckling column gel topper here which may be worth considering (but make sure you are comfortable with their return policy just in case it doesn’t work out as well as you hoped for). ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: The World's First Comfort Tech Company Backed by Science | Purple
Thanks for the detailed response and the included links. I know I have checked at least a few of those KC companies but there may be a couple I have not. I will also go ahead and call Leggett and Platt and check out Nexgel too.