I bought a mattress online last November (wait, am I trying to keep it a secret of something? it’s a Saatva LOL), the luxury firm model. It was way too firm. I didn’t like sleeping on it and it felt like it didn’t move at all when I laid on it. So I got a latex mattress topper, hoping that would fix the problem. Sometimes I think it helps, sometimes not. That wasn’t even soft enough either and I got about 20 ILD talalay. Saatva was nice though and let me exchange to their Plush Soft mattress without incurring the normal charge, and I hoped one would solve everything, but even after laying on that for a couple months, it is STILL too firm. I would like to get another mattress, but at this point I’m too deep in what I’ve spent so I kept everything and hoped it would get better.
I’m posting this message though because I’ve been waking up in a lot of pain. Southwest of my heart I get this sore, worn out feeling on it, so much that it wakes me up and then I debate even going back to sleep at all. As soon as I get upright, it goes away. I had the exact same thing happen with my old mattress, but I blamed that on the springs after like 15+ years of use and being able to feel them. What now? Is my mattress just too firm? I am really lightweight, like on the border between underweight and healthy, and I feel like the mattress is just too resilient for my weight to do anything on it. Could it be my sleeping position? I sleep on my side and/or in the fetal position. The pillows? I dont’ have the money to go the doctors, but I don’t have any of the other usual “too firm” complaints I hear like back problems, sore hips, neck, just this ONE spot near my heart. Any ideas?
From FoamByMail.com What I mean is sometimes I still get pain the same area, or I just don’t always feel like using it. The surface isn’t… “overtly soft”.
That’s what I thought … and is the reason I asked. You can read more about Foam Factory (aka FBM, Foam by mail, and many others) in post #2 here and post #2 here and in this thread. They don’t sell Talalay latex (even though that’s what they claim to be selling) and what you thought you were buying isn’t what you received either in terms of the type of latex (it’s not Talalay) or firmess level (it’s probably much firmer than they told you). You are not alone in buying latex from them and ending up disappointed because what you received wasn’t what you thought you ordered and didn’t work as well as you hoped.
While I don’t know what could be causing your pain under your heart (I can’t feel what you feel or see you on the mattress) … there is more information about some of the reasons for some of the more common “symptoms” on a mattress in post #2 here and the posts it links to that may be helpful. If your mattress is still in good condition and there are no soft spots or impressions and all you need is some extra softness under your rib cage then post #2 here and the posts it links to has some guidelines about choosing a topper and links to more reliable sources (that will actually sell you what they say they are) that can help you make the best possible topper choice.
Wow, I wish I knew about those warnings before I bought the topper in the first place! I thought I mentioned the place when I originally posted, but maybe I didn’t. I just… WOW. That is some resellerratings/store ratings/etc style comments that deserve to mentioned when one looks them up.
They were much cheaper than the competition, and now I can see why. They’re also doing a “we’ll price match anybody + take even 10% off now” and I have to wonder. The next cheapest one was the perfect ILD but also like $240 I think. I don’t really care to buy another topper, just wondering if anybody had experience with that same medical issue or knew anything.
I don’t know why this is such a hassle though, the entire mattress process. Even the topper now! Maybe the entire industry is fundamentally flawed and the real solution is for every surface to be adjustable between soft and firm, that way support isn’t set in stone. I do know about ones that can do that, but those are stupid expensive.
In scanning through your previous posts you didn’t mention where you were considering purchasing from and it seems like you may have been in a bit of a hurry to make a purchase without doing enough due diligence first. FBM isn’t on the list of providers that I linked in my earlier replies about a topper but a quick forum search on FBM or on Foam by mail before your purchase would have brought up many mentions and cautions about them in the forum.
Sometimes it’s also easy to be misled or “lured” by prices that seem to be “too low” or by an unrealistic belief (or “hope”) that a “cheap” product is the same as another one that sounds similar but is more costly and in these cases it’s easy to disregard the internal voices or warning signs that are saying “be cautious here”. In many cases, the knowledge and integrity of who you buy from can be one of the most important parts of a successful purchase whether for a mattress or a topper.
Unfortunately there isn’t any comfort material that can effectively do this. Airbeds (and to some degree waterbeds) allow you to adjust the firmness of their support but these are support materials not comfort materials and also have their own significant issues (see here) that may be even worse. In your case you are working with comfort layers … not support layers … which have a different function and require completely different choices than support materials.
While I completely agree that the industry has some significant issues and is filled with misleading information (which is the reason for this site) … there are certainly enough reliable and knowledgeable suppliers that any consumer that does their due diligence can “bypass” the worst choices in either a mattress or a topper. While not even these (or anyone else) can tell you for certain what topper will work for you … dealing with them can at least give you much higher odds of success. The best chance for the industry to improve and change IMO is when enough consumers are educated and learn to recognize the difference between price and value and stop “supporting” some of the less reputable suppliers.
When you are buying a topper it can involve some trial and error and in some cases if you aren’t confident about your purchase then the options you have after a purchase to return or exchange the topper can be just as important a part of the “value” of the purchase as the product itself. A topper on one particular mattress can feel and perform very differently than the same topper on a different mattress and a topper that works perfectly for one person that has the same issues as you may still be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on. Each of us are very different.
When you are making an important purchase (and what you sleep on can be one of the most important factors in the quality of your sleep and how you feel and your overall wellbeing when you are awake) … it’s always a good idea to make sure that you take your time … do your homework … and go by your own unique needs, preferences, and circumstances. What works for someone else … even if they appear to be very similar to you or have the same issues … may not work nearly as well for you because each of us are different.
Dunlop tends to feel firmer than Talalay even in the same ILD and I also believe that your Dunlop topper is also firmer than you were led to believe … both of which may be contributing to your “symptoms” when you use it in spite of it being on a soft mattress. There are versions of Dunlop that are much softer and there are also very soft Talalay toppers as well but unfortunately yours isn’t one of either.
While it’s certainly unfortunate that you ended up making a purchase from FBM that didn’t work out for you and wasn’t what you believed you were buying (and you are not the first and won’t be the last to be lured by their prices only to regret the purchase afterwards) … if you do end up deciding to buy another topper then I would make sure that you only buy from a more reputable, knowledgeable, and experienced supplier and/or make sure that you have some good exchange or return options if your sleeping experience indicates that the topper you buy isn’t suitable for you in combination with your mattress.
Just as a reminder … there are some topper guidelines in post #2 here and the posts it links to (including a list of some of the better sources I’m aware of) just in case you decide that you want to try again with another topper that has better odds of success.