Need mattress for fibromyalgia AND lower back pain

[deesuze]

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[phoenix]

Hi deesuze,

I have read as much information on this site as my brain can handle at this time. Maybe I’m asking too much, but I’m really hoping someone with some experience and knowledge can help me by suggesting specific mattresses that I should try out near me (Columbus, Ohio). I have had a string of bad luck, including losing my job, and I am chronically sleep-deprived, so this horrible business of mattress shopping is making me feel extremely anxious, fatigued, hopeless, overwhelmed, and confused.

Unfortunately only you can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to suggest a specific mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), health conditions, individual circumstances, or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). I’m certainly happy to help with “how” to choose but the specifics of “what” to choose will always be based on your own individual research and testing and on all the specific criteria and parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Some of the more important links in the mattress shopping tutorial that I would make sure you have read include …

Post #2 here which includes more about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) that can help you identify and minimize the risks involved in each of them.

Post #13 here which includes more information about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.

Columbus, Ohio

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Columbus, OH area (subject to the “value” guidelines I linked) are listed in post #2 here.

After going through what I went through, there is no way I will buy solid latex again and there is no way I will spend over $800 either. I do like Original Mattress Factory as a company, but I recently tried out a few of their mattresses and they didn’t feel as good as some of those “bad S name brands” that I also tried. I’m really torn about what to do. The only other type of bed I’ve tried in the last couple years that felt good for 2 nights in a row was a Tempurpedic but can’t afford that. So, what I’m leaning toward is a hybrid. I wake up a LOT during the night due to both pain and the neurologic irregularities of fibromyalgia, so I don’t want the bed to bounce too much - that was one good thing about the latex. So, I’m thinking of pocketed coils as the support and perhaps a type of memory foam as part of the comfort layer. I also like the beds that have extra support around the middle region as I think my extra weight in that zone contributes to the lower back pain.

I would avoid choosing a mattress based on specs or the specific types of materials or components that are inside it because these are all preference choices not “better/worse” choice and the only way you will be able to know whether any specific mattress is a good match for you will be based on your own careful testing or your actual sleeping experience.

When you have more complex medical conditions such as fibromyalgia that can be cyclical I would also keep in mind that there may be no “perfect choice” when it comes to a mattress and a mattress that works well for you some of the time may not work as well at other times (this is true for everyone to some extent but would be a bigger issue for those that are more sensitive because of specific health challenges).

With most people alignment is the most important priority with choosing a mattress but with conditions such as fibromyalgia then the pressure relieving properties of the mattress would likely become a more important priority than it would for others. Choices such as memory foam or natural or synthetic fibers that provide a more “relaxed” and less resilient sleeping surface can also help with the shear forces (the “stretching” forces that can affect skin sensitivity) may also be good choices and there are many people that have fibromyalgia that sleep very well on a wool topper on top of a softer mattress.

A forum search on “fibromyalgia” (you can just click the link) will also bring up other posts and feedback that may also be helpful but I would always keep in mind that a mattress choice is very individual and what works well for one person with fibromyalgia may be completely unsuitable for someone else with fibromyalgia to sleep on.

I have been to about 4 stores and these were the two mattresses I found most comfortable so far and fit the above description. The Sealy Posturepedic Diamond Bar Plush at Mattress Firm (www.mattressfirm.com/sealy_posturepedic_...11_5_plush-p345.aspx) and the Restonic Comfort Care Aurora at Bedrooms First (bedroomsfirst.com). I have actually visited OMF three separate times and tried out four different beds in my price range and I want to love them, but I just don’t, especially by comparison to the others. I have also looked at a little place called Mack Mattress that sells both their line (I think, made by Englander) and some discounted brands. There was nothing too bad there, but nothing too great either.

If a mattress isn’t a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) then no matter how much you may want to like it … if you don’t sleep well on it then it would have little value to you no matter what the quality or durability of the materials inside it or how it may compare in terms of “value” to any other mattresses you are considering. PPP is always the most important part of the “value” of any mattress purchase.

I realize these two beds are both one-sided and wouldn’t last as long, but at this point, I’d rather have five years of good sleep instead of maybe 8-12 years of not-so-good sleep. Also, I appreciate an easy to rotate mattress as I have to do it all myself and flipping and rotating that latex Kracken is an absolute back-splitting nightmare! When I first tried the Restonic I was very tempted to buy it right away. When I was a teenager, I had that brand and it lasted forever and was very comfortable. However, I read a ton of bad reviews online about Restonic. The one thing I really love about it, the “marvelous middle” supposedly was sagging for a lot of people and very quickly. I try to take negative reviews online with a grain of salt since you don’t really know if they are legitimate, but this really concerned me. It made me wonder if they had started to make lesser quality products (like almost every other company out there). They used to receive great reviews for years by Consumer Reports and haven’t for several years now. They also resorted to “buying” an “award” from the scam artists that call themselves “Consumer Digest”. That worries me too. Will it feel great for six months and then fall apart in the “marvelous middle”?

Outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label and “brand shopping” is among the worst ways to choose a mattress because the name of the manufacturer won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of PPP or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design (see post #5 here and post #12 here).

I would also be very cautious about using mattress reviews (positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about either the suitability of a mattress in terms of PPP or the durability of a mattress and in many cases they can be much more misleading than helpful (see post #13 here).

The only way to be able to reliably assess the durability or useful life of a mattress is by knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it (see this article).

You would be fortunate to have 5 good years of comfortable sleep on a mattress that uses low quality materials or has a significant weak link in the design (especially if you are in higher weight ranges) and in many cases the useful life of a mattress like this will be less than this and in many cases much less. The suitability of a mattress and the durability of the materials are both important parts of the “value” of any mattress purchase and I wouldn’t choose one over the other or make them mutually exclusive. I personally would never choose a mattress where you can’t confirm the quality of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here) becasuethis would be a very high risk purchase.

I would also focus on the knowledge and experience of the people you are dealing with … especially when your circumstances are more complex and challenging … because it’s usually much easier to “find the experts” that already know what you would otherwise need to learn than it is to go through the same learning curve yourself. Who you deal with can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase.

Phoenix

[system]

Hi Desuuze,
Sad to hear that you lost your job and was having some bad time. From my research, I have found that Fibro pedic mattress is the best recommended mattress for fibromyalgia. Although the exact reason for fibromyalgia is still not found, experts consider it to be genetics or generated by sleep disorders. A Fibro pedic memory foam mattress works as a miracle for back pain and fibromyalgia patients. A memory foam mattress contours to the body while sleeping. this contouring effect naturally reduces the pressure on the joints and muscles.
A fibro pedic mattress features 3 layers of foam – memory foam, latex and HR base foam. Each layer has varying density. Fibro pedic mattress has all the specifications of a memory foam mattress. This includes the density, firmness and responsiveness. The Fibro pedic mattress has a soft contouring, which makes it suitable for all sleep positions. If you are heavier, buying a fibro pedic mattress would disappoint you. But otherwise, the firmness of Fibropedic mattress helps a fibromyalgia patient to get the required support, without allowing the body to sink into the mattress. Whether you buy a mattress online or from the retail store, just get to know each of the mattress and see how it works for you. Also, every mattress manufacturers provides refund and returns.