This is an update from this post.
About two months ago, I purchased a level 7 (24 ILD) ultimate dreams mattress from Dreamfoam, After having about two weeks of back pain every morning, I decided that the mattress was likely too soft, and my pelvis was sinking in a bit too deeply. After posting about it here, I called Chuck and spoke to him about exchanging the level 7 for a level 5, which I ultimately did decide to go ahead with. I received the level 5 (32 ILD) a little less than three weeks ago, and while the back pain is a little better, I’m still waking up miserable. This mattress is significantly firmer than the previous. When you initially lay on it, it almost feels too firm, but when you take into account how deeply you are sinking into it, it feels much more like the softer level 7. My girlfriend thinks I’m a lunatic, and that I’m supposed to accept waking up miserable as part of getting older, but I have a hard time believing that a 30 year old should be experiencing any significant pain like this every morning without cause.
What is so frustrating here, is that now that I’ve tried two different firmnesses, I find them both to be bad for the exact same reason. You’d expect one to be too soft, and the other too firm, but in reality, the problem is they are both too “saggy.” In both, my pelvis will sink significantly farther than my shoulders. On my back, this is less of a problem, but on my side it causes my spine to be quite misaligned. I had thought that a firmer ILD would solve this issue, but it hasn’t done enough to keep me pain-free beyond about 4 hours of sleep.
What’s more, is that I know if I were to order an even firmer mattress, I’d be getting into territory where it would become uncomfortably firm. As it is, this level 5 causes me a bit of pressure point pain in my shoulders and the top of my hips. A firmer level might raise my pelvis up, but it will come at the cost of other pains.
My main problem is that I don’t know how to proceed. I’ve considered sending them both back and shopping locally, but sending both these mattresses back will cost me nearly $200. I’m considering going back to a spring mattress, but despite all the problems I’ve had with these latex models, I really do love the certain qualities of them. It seems a shame to walk away from that.
By the way, this issue of sinking too deeply in the pelvis was present with spring mattress as well, but it was far less pronounced. I’ve considered a zoned mattress, but they’re prohibitively expensive from what I’ve seen.
I’ve also thought about adding slats or something under the middle of the mattress to prop up my pelvis, but, in my mind there is something kind of wrong about having to jerry=rig a new mattress into being comfortable. Also, I’d be worried about damaging the foam in some way. I’ll do it if necessary, but I’d rather have a mattress that works without modification. Not to mention the additional cost. This exchange is already pushing me way over the original budget.
Thanks for any advice. I’m at a loss right now. It hurts my brain to even think about it any more.