My problem is shoulder pressure with neck tension/pain and hand tingling if my arm and neck are bunched up or over my head. Previously I had lumbar pain/stiffness with hand numbness but both improved with new mattress. I’ve seen doctors for both neck and hand tingling and lumbar pain – no structural issues, it’s muscle tension and nerves compressed. With new Eos, both improved but especially my low back. My neck is still really bothering me and worsening my migraines and head allodynia.
Me: 5 ft, 120 lbs. Naturally prefer side sleeper. Change to back or stomach when my neck/shoulders hurt too much side sleeping.
Mattress: Naturepedic Eos with firm support coils, medium microcoils. (past the swap out period)
Toppers:
2 in talalay, soft from SleepEZ (19-22 ILD). Used alone and with the stretchy cover – not much difference
3 inch Dunlop, soft D65, from diynaturalbedding. No cover. On the website the ILD /D number don’t match up. My receipt says “soft D65.” My guess is ILD somewhere 11-23? Below is from their website:“Firmness Specifications: Soft: 11-17 ILD / D55 Medium: 18-23 ILD / D65”
Naturepedic wool topper
Pillows. Many: lanoodles, shredded latex, polyfill, horsehair, kapok, cotton, wool, cervical pillows of various sizes, buckwheat hulls, millet, L shaped pillows for side sleepers, body pillow. I’ve unstuffed and restuffed. None are really ideal.
Sheets: cotton (not jersey/stretchy as I do not like how they feel)
Variations tried:
Mattress only. Still had shoulder pressure points, neck pain/muscle tension/hand tingling that’s positional. But low back pain significantly better.
mattress+ 2 in talalay: Slightly better with pressure points in shoulders but not much
mattress + 2 in talalay + 3 in Dunlop: started to feel like I was in a hammock and my lumbar started to hurt more and I still had shoulder/neck pain.
Mattress + 3 in Dunlop + wool topper: no more hammock or low back pain. I like the stability that the wool gives and less bouncy than just latex and shoulders were about the same, still uncomfortable. This is the current set up.
Body pillow to place behind me to lean back and relieve shoulder pressure. No change.
Overall, I do like my mattress and my low back pain is much better with it and the various toppers with the exception of the talalay+Dunlop 5 in combo. Now I feel like I’m just guessing on what to change next. Suggestions on the next direction? Order a soft microcoil? Different topper combo? Please help me.
Hi Nugs
Welcome to the Mattress Underground and congratulations on becoming a new MUGster!
I’ve included some @TM’s to invite their guidance, especially since you’ve mentioned some products they offer. Their insights could be invaluable in helping you solve your problem.
After reading your post and noting your collection of pillows, I see that many of your choices align with mine. However, considering your discomfort, I understand why a horsehair pillow might be too firm for you, leading to its rejection.
One option I don’t see mentioned, but I believe would be an excellent fit for you, is the Tempurpedic ProCloud Mid or Lo. I previously used a TP ProCloud Hi (as i am 6’) before switching to a horsehair pillow, and it was simply fantastic. It provides exceptional support, feels like sleeping on a cloud, and avoids the latex pushback that can sometimes cause headaches. With this pillow, your head feels like it’s resting in a supportive, weightless state. You might want to check Amazon, as they allow returns on TP products, unlike ordering directly from TP, which doesn’t allow returns.
I believe this specific TP pillow could help you find the perfect resting place for your head.
Best of luck, and hopefully, you’ll receive additional feedback from some of our trusted members.
Hi Nugs and welcome to the forum! Based on the information you’ve provided, I recommend trying the wool topper and the 2" Talalay topper without the 3" Dunlop layer to see how that goes, and you can try the Talalay topper both on top of the wool topper and under the wool topper to see if either of those work out for you. It seems like the mattress plus 2" Talalay topper has worked the best for you soo far, unless I’m reading it wrong. If neither of the combinations of 2" Talalay and topper work out, maybe changing the 2" Talalay to a 3" Talalay and using that with JUST the mattress might be the best choice. Just some things to consider!
Thanks for replying @Expert-SleepEz . I supposed I wasn’t clear enough. I’m currently using the 3 in dunlop with the wool as that has been best of all the combinations but I’m still having the shoulder pressure/neck stiffness and pain. The 2 in talalay didn’t seem to be enough softness/give for my shoulders as compared to mattress alone or mattress + wool. I haven’t tried the wool underneath the latex as I don’t really like the spongey /enveloping feeling of the latex but I think it also provides the soft give I need especially as a side sleeper. I’m willing to try any combo. I’ll try the mattress-wool-2talalay and the mattress-wool-3 dunlop. I guess if neither of those work, I’ll try a 3 in talalay and wool combo.
Is there any reason to think that changing the microcoil layer to be softer would help or is it better to focus on the latex toppers ?
I’ll be honest, I don’t have much experience with micro coils. However, my thought is that they’re probably not as durable as latex to begin with, and going with softer coils will reduce the longevity, and I don’t know how much softer any other micro coils would be anyway. As such, my only insight on this is to work with the toppers because that’s really the only advice I have to give, sorry about that!