Hi alasearwax,
I’m sorry you’re sleeping uncomfortably on your mattress. The last I recall, you had purchased a Nature’s Embrace all-latex mattress after considering some other firm 6" core products (I think in the 40-44 ILD range). And now it seems that you have placed a soft Dunlop topper on top of this product. Is that correct?
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to diagnose what might be your issue or the cause of your discomfort, as there are entirely too many personal variables involved, including items such as your BMI, somatotype, sleeping style, levels of flexibility, core strength, sensitivities, and preexisting conditions. All I can speak of would be the general reasons for certain “symptoms” when sleeping upon a mattress (see post #2 here).
If you feel that your mattress is too firm and that you need more comfort layers, or softer comfort layers, or both, this could be accomplished by adding a “transition” layers between your topper and base support core. I’m not sure of the ILD/density of your latex pieces, but something that is “in between” the ILD of your topper and base support core would be a common progressive construction. Depending upon the level of plushness you desire to increase, 2" or 3" would be common.
If you’re considering adding another “plush” layer on top of your current setup, my concern would be to avoid having “too deep” of a comfort cradle on top for your sleeping position, so leaning toward a 2" layers versus a 3" layer of the plush may be advisable, for a total of 5" of “plush” latex on top of your support core.
While you don’t seem to express this as a cause of your issues, another common cause of back pain on a mattress can be something that is not supportive enough, and if this happened to be the case it might mean that you’d need to replace your support core with something firmer, but again this doesn’t seem to be the issue with your comments. Shoulder pain can also be pillow related, and I think you were having some difficulty previously in finding an appropriate pillow.
As far as instructions for selecting a topper, there is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to, which along with a conversation with a reliable and knowledgeable supplier (that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market), can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success.
Because of the uncertainty involved with purchasing a topper where you can’t test the combination in person … a good exchange/return policy can also reduce the risk of an online topper purchase so I would also make sure you are comfortable with the options you have available after a purchase to exchange or return the topper and any costs involved just in case a topper you choose also doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for. There are links to topper suppliers and some with return policies in the link I provided in the previous paragraph.
Phoenix