My boyfriend and I have health issues! He has slipped discs and I have scoliosis and was recently diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which means I have really flexible joints that can easily be pushed “off-whack.” We have a Serta pillow top innerspring mattress right now, and I hate it - I try to fall asleep on my back, but always end up waking up on my side with shoulder & hip pain.
I used to have a memory foam mattress and wasn’t a fan of the heat or the “stuck” feeling, so I’m leaning towards latex. I’ve looked at a bunch online, but haven’t been able to find any to try out in the store except an iComfort that had a 1" latex layer. That one was awesome in the store, but I read that that model tends to wear out super quickly. Instead of continuing to confuse myself with the zillion options online and vastly differing opinions of reviewers, I figure it’ll be easiest to ask you experts for suggestions!
Here’s what I’m looking for:
[ul]
[li]Support for my scoliosis[/li]
[li]Comfort for my joints[/li]
[li]Lack of that “swallowed alive” feeling[/li]
[li]Less heat than your average memory foam[/li]
[li]Durability - it’s gotta last longer than a few months/year[/li]
[li]Price - I spent $3000 on my innerspring that I hate. I’d prefer to keep it around the $2000 range, preferably less[/li]
[li]Dummy-Proof - I’ve tried looking on here, and people go on and on about customization. That’d be great, but I work 60+ hours/wk and don’t have time to look around online forever and I don’t really know what I’m doing, anyway. If an expert can look at my needs and suggest what I should get, that’d be perfect![/li]
If you’ve not already done so, the first place to start is a great post about how to find the best mattress for you. Phoenix has documented 5 steps, which are important because the comfort of a mattress is something only you can assess. The link is here:
The health issues don’t specifically require a different approach, except that ensuring a mattress matches your PPP (described in the above link) will be more important than for someone who can sleep on anything.
One note, pain in hips and shoulders often is an indicator of insufficient pressure relief (one of the P’s in PPP). It can be caused where your comfort / top layer isn’t doing a sufficient job… It could certainly mean the upper comfort layers in your Serta have worn out/ softened to the point they aren’t pressure relieving enough for you.
Hi dn, I did read that link before posting, but I haven’t been able to find many latex mattresses in my area to try out and I’m unable to travel far in search of one. I liked the iComfort Prodigy, but it was a little too soft. Can someone recommend one that’s like that, but maybe with a bigger layer of latex & a little less memory foam?
I tried getting a 3" memory foam topper for my current mattress, but it hasn’t really done any good :-/
dn has made the same comments that I would have made (thanks dn :)) and the steps and links in the tutorial post will give you the highest odds of making the best possible choice ,… and of course avoiding the worse ones in terms of quality and value.
as dn also mentioned … I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities in your area I’m aware once I know your city or zip.
Unfortunately a topper won’t usually “fix” a mattress where the comfort layers have softened or impressed (or were too soft in the first place) because the foam layers would need to be replaced instead of using more foam on top of them. There is more about this in post #4 here.
The iComfort Prodigy mattress is a memory foam mattress that has a thin layer of latex and couldn’t reasonably be called a latex mattress or even a latex hybrid. Each mattress is unique and unless a mattress is exactly the same in all the layers (which isn’t likely) or specifically designed and advertised as a reasonable approximation for another mattress (and the comparison is an accurate description and not just marketing) then only your own personal testing can know which mattress feels like another one because the comparison would be subjective and based on your own perceptions. There is more about matching one mattress to another in post #9 here.
Thanks for the response! I live in Naperville, IL, 60563. I don’t have much time to physically shop around, so any help you can give me in finding places would be hugely appreciated
I’ve also started a conversation online with Chuck from DreamFoam bedding - I’ve heard good things about them!
The better options in the Chicago region I’m aware of are listed in post #2 and #4 here including My Green Mattress / Quality Sleep who are one of the members of this site.
