Getting more and more confused

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I’ve been reading this site for the past couple of weeks and am as indecisive as ever, and yes I’ve already read post #1.

A little background about me. 5’10 180#s, 2 herniated disk, sciatica, spondylosis (facet syndrome). Side & stomach sleeper.

I’ve been replacing my mattress every couple of years for the past decade. The cheapest is the current (W store) one I’m sleeping on. I’ve paid up to 2000.00 and even consider that one junk.

From reading on here I’m thinking about getting latex. I prefer something firm. I’ve tried laying on the memory foam at a few stores but it didn’t seem comfortable to me. Maybe it just takes some getting use to. All I know is I need something A.S.A.P. I dread bedtime. I keep waking up with muscle spasms.

I’ve tried laying on mattresses in the store but learned from my previous purchases that isn’t the best indicator. I prefer something without a pillow top. My #1 priority is something that won’t end up with indentations.

I am currently looking at this mattress from Costco due to the reviews but don’t know if I should totally trust them. I’m willing to spend any amount of money to just get a good nights rest. http://www.costco.com/Birchmere-Ultra-Firm-Queen-Mattress.product.100004410.html

2

Hi Todd,

Lets see if I can help cut through the confusion a little.

You’ve already read post #1 here which is great. Hopefully that means you’ve scanned the overviews in the mattresses section and read the “mattress shopping guidelines” as well which are linked there. If you’ve read or even scanned all of these then you already know more than most of the people who sell mattresses (including the people at Costco).

Just imagine how confused they must be :slight_smile:

So lets take this step by step.

Step #1 is reading some of the basic information which you’ve done … check.

Step #2 is knowing what to eliminate and not consider and what to look for and focus on … check

This would also explain why a $2000 mattress can be “junk” … or at least not last very long.

Step #3 is researching some of the better local possibilities so that you can start to test mattresses and get a sense of how different materials and combinations feel to you. If you connect with the retailers or manufacturers that know more than you do and are willing to help and guide you and tell you what is in their mattresses then you will be ready and able to go to step 4 which is actually testing the different types of materials and combinations (and know what you are actually testing).

Have you identified the better retailers and manufacturers (or possibilities) in your area and talked to them on the phone?

If you have you are ready for …

Step 4 which is actually testing mattresses.

This is when the information you are reading will start to make more sense in real life terms and where you discover the materials and combinations that you tend to prefer.

This is also where the links about how to test a mattress will be very helpful.

It sounds like you may have begun this step but it also sounds like you are still not sure which materials you like the best and I’m not sure if you did your testing at a retailer or manufacturer that told you what was in the mattresses you were testing. Have you tested any latex or any different types of memory foam or any other materials (innersprings, polyfoam etc). If you are dealing with retailers or manufacturers that know more than you do and are telling you what is in the mattresses you are testing then part of this step is to choose your favorite at each retailer you visit.

It sounds to me like you may be on this step and just beginning to test mattresses. Have you tested any latex mattresses or any other types of mattresses besides memory foam?

Once you have finished step 4 … then step 5 is to choose between all your “best” choices based on your personal value equation (there is more about this linked in the same post) or if there is no good value available locally to start looking at online sources for mattresses that are similar to the “best” choices you made in step 4.

Which step are you on … and do you need any help in identifying any of your better local options or possibilities?

Hope this helps … and it sounds like you are more than half way through the steps :).

Phoenix

3

I’ve been on a 3-5 year cycle with the “S” brand type stuff and recently broke the loop. Years back I had an undiagnosed disc issue that hit the sciatic nerve so I understand where you are coming from. At one point I could not get comfortable anywhere until I bought my first “decent” mattress which was a Restonic. This got me back on track, but also started my “loop” or my ride on the mattress merry go round.

This winter I finally wised up after finding this site and started shopping TRUE latex replacement for my Sealy Beachside s-called latex.

So my first suggestion from one consumer to another is to look for a Pure Latex Bliss or Savvy Rest dealer nearby and start testing. The problem will be getting past the pain of back problems long enough to get a good feel for what you like.

Personally, I think we tend to go with one extreme or the other. Either too soft and you sink and misalign or too firm with insufficient comfort on top which is a very common trend here. I think a good “deep” medium or a medium over soft is a very good comfort layer for a wide variety of people. It may take some getting used to, but that is what we ended up with and while our needs technically should be different, the reality is that this config works best for us.

We tried and really liked the PLB Nutrition and ended up custom building a SleepEZ 13000. Now if I have problems down the road i just zip open and replace or swap layers. No more chucking the whole thing to the landfill…