Hi - I think from what I read about posting new questions this thread seems like an ok place to start mine but if Iām hijacking I apologize!
Iāll TRY to be concise but I think the backstory is important for getting any guidance. Sorry if itās too much!
My husband (5ā10, 185 lbs, 26.5 BMI) and I (5ā5", 110 lbs, 18.3 BMI) have had (and loved) a king-sized tempurpedic for 15 years. I didnāt have any idea it was that old until I started having leg and hip discomfort in my sleep recently.
When that started I realized the top memory foam layer was pretty mashed. Each of us had a little furrow we were sleeping in. I didnāt think that was necessarily a bad thing - I liked my furrow! When the discomfort started to be a nightly thing I first thought it must be from pressure on my hip but after doing research here (lots of great info here!) and elsewhere I think itās more likely misalignment from my pelvis sinking too low. I had that same sensation years ago sleeping for a couple of weeks on a soft, soft sofa.
I thought weād just get another tempurpedic since we had really enjoyed it and at 15 years I think we more than got our moneyās worth. (No indentations show when weāre not on it so the warranty wouldnāt apply). Then I saw the price point theyāre selling tempurpedics at now and it made me start looking at other options and I got interested in latex.
As an experiment we turned our current mattress over. The bottom layer of our tempurpedic is a very firm foam (polyfoam?) but it has a little give and we were able to sleep on it for a few nights. Although the firmness wasnāt especially comfortable it wasnāt HORRIBLE and the pain in my legs/hip went away. I think that confirmed that discomfortās from sagging down into the old memory foam. I did feel pressure-point discomfort on my hips and had to switch from side to side all night long but the other more unpleasant feeling was gone.
I thought we might be able to get away with just ordering a latex topper for the upside-down tempurpedic. So after reading a lot of info here I went with a 3" natural talalay in soft from Sleep EZ. (I believe their soft is 19-21 ILD.)
We got it this week and have had only 2 nights on it. When laying on it itās very comfortable and my husband is fine. But I think Iām sinking in too much. It almost feels the same or softer than the memory foam felt. I havenāt had the same pain at this point but my legs definitely feel a little something. I donāt know if itās my imagination since Iām obsessing over how it feels. So I plan to keep trying it for a while longer and maybe Iāll get used to it. I do tend to be the princess and the pea-ish so Iām worried that Iām never going to be able to find something perfect. Although the tempurpedic worked great for me so maybe weāll end up ultimately getting another one ā but after learning more about them Iād rather not.
As far as options I thought Iād ask now for any thoughts you might have if I donāt get used to it. Mailing it back to Arizona (weāre in Delaware) would be very expensive. I wondered if it continues to be ānot perfectā what the best bet is. Exchange it for something firmer? That seems like weād just be just rolling the dice again and have no real idea how firm to go. And ordering and sending back is way too expensive to do more than once.
Or I wondered if putting a mattress pad on it ā somewhat thick ā might reduce the sinking-in aspect of the latex. Possibly a wool one? Although a good king size mattress pad isnāt cheap either so I donāt want to keep spending money especially on something non-returnable.
From reading about people designing beds it seems like a 3" soft talalay layer on top isnāt unheard of. And since Iām somewhat on the lighter end of the spectrum it doesnāt seem like Iād be sinking in so much thatās Iād be out of alignment more than other people who have a soft top layer of latex and no complaints. Iām really puzzled at this point. I thought for sure the 3" topper was going to be the perfect solution.
Does anyone having any thoughts? Thank you in advance! And thank you also, Phoenix, for all of the amazing work youāve done on this forum. Itās really an incredible resource.