Mattress problems in NYC

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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Hi. I’ve been having a very tough time with mattresses. I hurt/strained my back about 2 months ago and have ongoing stiffness and minor to moderate pain which contributes to not sleeping well. Up to that point when back was strained, I had sometime been sleeping on a somewhat firm couch and also sometimes on my old king koil plush mattress which is/was my main bed (twin). My roommate sleeps on a firm mattress. It seemed that my old plush mattress overtime had oversoftened and was contributing to my back pain so I set out to get a new mattress here in NYC. I tried local furnitures stores trying to save money but most of these mattresses were too firm or obviously bad quality and/or refurbished.

I’m mostly a side sleeper. It seems my back generally likes plush mattresses. A little softer (more give) than medium firm, but not too soft. My back and body seems to hate memory foam or any foam that has a “softness” where you sink in and then are stuck - no bounce or easy ability to move - this feels terrible to me. Softish/give with support feels best. Firm mattresses are very uncomfortable to me - I’ve tried to adjust to one but it doesn’t work. For some reason, I can sleep or used to be able to sleep ok on a somewhat firm couch I have for brief periods. Maybe because it is not totally straight and because of positioning I don’t know.

I’ve been using Raymour and Flaniggan for my most very recent mattress purchases - the old plush king koil i had been using (which was evenly soft but not sinky stuck soft) for past few years was from there. I bought three different ones over the past month, (sealy essential hillside plush, bellanest imperial plush and serta deluna plush ) all twin plush and all were uncomfortable (sinky soft mostly) and unreturnable the way I bought them. I used R and F because they will deliver next day and bring it up three flights. Anyway, I’ve wasted a lot of money. Over 2.5k.

Currently, I have a somewhat medium firm “Eclipse” twin mattress from a local furniture store that I’m friendly with that actually for a cheap mattress seems ok quality but is a little too firm. I’m currently trying to soften it a little and ordered egg crate foam (not memory) which I recall using in the past to good effect. At this point I’m just trying to get some sleep.

Longer term though, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on mattresses in NYC. I’ve head of craigs beds but seems he mostly sells one brand. I’m a little limited in what I can do since the back pain issue so can’t carry heavy things up the stairs and it’s also tough even trying out mattresses when your back hurts which is my biggest problem…

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I think one big mistake I made was not trying the mattresses first (duh). Part of the reason I didn’t is sometimes they didn’t have the particular model in showroom and the other is that with my back issue it’s a big drag traveling and lying on mattresses. Really, nothing feels great when your back hurts. I tried to suss it out with reviews and descriptions of internals however limited they were. I’ve decided though after losing enough money to buy a top quality mattress to never buy another mattress without giving it a try first no matter what. If I had tried these, I would never had gotten them since it’'s quickly apparent that it is not comfortable to me. Just hard to find places that will deliver right to your apartment door on the third floor quickly. And when your in pain, not sleeping well insomnia etc, sometimes you get desperate.

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Hi tomsters.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

I’m sorry to hear of your pain. If you’ve suffered an injury, it is important to see a medical professional for a diagnosis. While the right support from a mattress can be helpful, it can’t cure an injury. Can I ask why you decided to replace your King Koil mattress after sustaining this injury?

I’m also sorry to hear that you’ve gone through mattress after mattress to no avail.

There is a grace period for mattresses - often times, our bodies need to relearn sleeping with adequate alignment and support which can cause some soreness, occasionally. You mentioned disliking the Sealy Essential Hillside Plush, Bellanest Imperial Plush and Serta Deluna Plush, primarily for the memory foam component. Was there anything else you found less than optimal about them?

You also shared that you are a side sleeper. Side sleeping is the most common sleeping position and because it has a more “curvy” profile than the other two positions, pressure relief becomes an important part of the choice here so you don’t end up sleeping on your more pointy or bony parts or to use a technical term … your bony prominences. These are of course your hips and your shoulders. There are deeper gaps to “fill in” to spread your weight out on the mattress when you are sleeping on your side so side sleepers need a deeper cradle to relieve pressure so the gaps are filled in and help spread the weight over the mattress. In other words they need to “sink IN” to the comfort layers more. This means that the comfort layers generally need to be a little softer and/or thicker than the other 2 positions. In general a good starting point for a good comfort layer for a side sleeper is 3" and then depending on weight, body shape, preferences, and the firmness of the support layers, to go up or down from there. Most side sleepers will fall in the range of from 2" -4". Without an appropriate comfort layer, a side sleeper will end up with pressure points during the course of the night and could have symptoms of numbness, soreness, localized redness, or end up tossing and turning all night as your body tries to relieve the pressure.

This is something important to keep in mind when seeking an adequate mattress.

To quote Sensei…as part of our policy, TMU moderators do not comment on or “recommend” mattresses or manufacturers outside of our Trusted Member Program, one which was designed to connect many high quality smaller manufacturers and retailers to consumers based on the strict vetting, quality, and transparency requirements of TMU. We will discuss mattress durability potential to help consumers understand whether a mattress is suitable for their needs long-term, and can do that based on the availability of product spec information.

You can, however, follow the information in [urll=Finding a great mattress outlet - The Mattress Underground]article on finding a great mattress retailer[/url] to help determine where to shop.

Because I don’t know your sleep stats, I’m going to point you to our Mattress Durability Guidelines for more information.

I hope some of this information helps you, and we look forward to any additional questions or updates.
NikkiTMU

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Thanks NikkiTMU. I’m going to read through the links you provided.

I have a condition (minor grade 1 spondylollsthesis) that lends to my back getting sprained if I push it with carrying heavy things (I’m a caregiver). I’m not sure exactly when/how I sprained it but I was doing a lot of back unfriendly things and dealing with high stress. After, I saw a couple of docs and did xray and they all said it’s nothing serious and even it it relatively was, the recommendation is always walking, pt etc for the first few months.

It seemed that the king coil mattress was making the injury a little worse since I always felt worse after lying on it (nervish pain) or sleeping on it and it was a pretty worn in plush mattress so I figured I’d get a new one with a little more support. The Sealy was very similar to the king coil, it was maybe a little more softer and plusher than the king koil within a couple of weeks. Still, I felt the same way on it as with the king koil. The other two mattresses were very similar to each other and were uncomfortable right away. The bellanest (I think it is an RF brand) was the most uncomfortable mattress I ever laid on. It made my body feel disconnected somehow like parts of it were sinking into quicksand and it just hurt. The serta which i had hopes for was similar but with more overall softness. I"m not sure it it is the memory foam component that bothers me (though I know I don’t like it based on earlier exp) since I think both had only .5 inch of it (and i think the king koil did too)… maybe the super soft foam on top combined with it. I don’t like the feeling of sinking into it so much. It feels unnatural compared to what I’m used to where the whole mattress seems to give in a little to pressure as opposed to isolated spots where you sink in. Don’t know if I’m explaining it right. It’s not that I want to lay “on top” of the mattress like would be experience with a firmer mattress. It’s just a type of “sink in” I don’t like. I guess the comfort foam is too soft for me. It’s like it doesn’t give support I’m used to… just sink with no push back pressure. I prefer sink but with resistance so my body can tense back and fine a muscle tone to maintain I guess.

The mattress I have now is rated “medium firm”, and to me it feels way, way firmer than these other plush mattresses I tried. Not as firm as my friends Serta mattress (which seems to be a nice mattress) but certainly firmer than what I’m used to. I think I’m going in the right direction now since even though it is a little too firm for me now, my body does seem to be adjusting a little towards it and I can soften it with regular foam. So I have a number of one inch and two inch foam toppers coming (much cheaper than buying mattresses) including a good one from a medical supply company and I’m hoping between my back getting better, my back adjusting to it and the foam, I’ll have an improved experience. I think it it was a little softer it would be perfect so hopefully I’ll see. Once I’m better, I think I’ll do some mattress exploration… I’ve never tried a latex mattress or one that incorporates it. Maybe just getting a firm mattress and softening it is the way to go (though sans memory foam since I don’t like the feel or odor). Thank you so much for replying and I really appreciate it.

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Just to add… could be like you say too that I’m not giving it the time to adjust. Maybe it would feel better as the mattress breaks it and my back adjust to it… but especially with the bellanest and serta, the feel of it right away was not good. They had great reviews (I don’t know how much you can really trust that) so people do seem to like the feel. Of course, just going to to the store and lying on them would have been very helpful and I would not have gotten them… I chose the king koil like that - testing it first -and it worked out for a while. Thanks again.