DIY Latex mattress

[phoenix]

Hi smmimp14,

Hello Again, The first two combinations listed at the top of previous box were both very firm and would have been comparable to sleeping on the floor, though the second with2" of 30 ILD Dunlop was slightly softer it was not comfortable so I did not sleep on either

There are many people in your weight range that would sleep well on the 4 layer combination you tried and I can assure you it would be nothing like sleeping on the floor

Even the 3 layer combination would be much softer than the floor and some people would be OK on it as well although in your weight range the extra thickness would likely work better (see post #14 here for more about the effect of thickness). It would have been very useful to try sleeping on the 4 layer combination for a period of time before making any further changes.

This evening I tried your suggestion near bottom of above box of moving the 40ILD 3" up one level. I lay on that about 20 minutes and could feel my spine just below my shoulder blades hurting and it felt as though the curve of my back was beginning to flatten out…

I would actually sleep on each layering combination for a few nights at the very least (a week or two would be better yet) rather than just 20 minutes so you can identify a more clearly identifiable pattern in your actual experience based on sleeping on it over the course of the night.

Then I tried the 3" and 2" medium Dunlop under the 3" firm talalay with the 3" 30 ILD on top.

I would prefer it if you listed the layers as I suggested in my previous reply for each combination you try and then describe your experience underneath each listed combination. I also would test each combination for much longer before making any additional changes so you can identify clear longer term patterns in your experience. If you make changes too quickly your body will never have a chance to adjust to any of them and you will probably be in constant “change mode”.

If I understand you correctly this combination was …

3" 30 ILD Talalay
3" 40 ILD Talalay
2" 30 ILD Dunlop
3" 30 ILD Dunlop

Similar results to previous…curve of spine and notch just below shoulder blades… If I feel that after 15-2o minutes it will be almost crippling when I wake up.

Again you would need to sleep on this for long enough to identify any changes in your symptoms relative to the previous combination. It’s the actual changes in your symptoms with each combination that are the most helpful in identifying whether you are making changes in the right “direction” … not just whether it “works” or “doesn’t work”.

Now I have 2" med on the bottom, with 3" firm talalay on top of that, then 3" med Dunlop and then 3" med talalay. Haven’t tried that out yet because I am hot and moving these latex toppers by myself.

If I’m understanding you correctly this combination is …

3" 30 ILD Talalay
3" 30 ILD Dunlop
3" 40 ILD Talalay
2" 30 ILD Dunlop

Again if you just make “random” changes this quickly and if you haven’t slept on each combination for long enough to identify a clear pattern in your experience based on actually sleeping on the mattress for “long enough” then it’s really not possible to make any meaningful suggestions and your chances of success will be very low.

Wondering if the plywood “foundation” could have anything to do with this.

Probably not.

Phoenix