Hi Smytrous,
I’m sorry to hear that you are sensitive to the materials in your Tempurpedic mattress and that they seem to be causing some significant issues and discomfort for you. While this may not be the “norm” and may only affect a relative minority of people compared to the very large number of people who have purchased one … this isn’t any comfort for those that are in this minority. I am also familiar with the types of symptoms you are experiencing based on my own experience with a different memory foam topper (see post #2 here) although this has only happened on that specific topper and not on other memory foam mattresses or toppers I have slept on. You can also read about some others that have been affected by some types of memory foam in some of the feedback here.
When you have had this type of experience … the first thing I would do is decide whether you are willing to risk trying another type of memory foam mattress (which may be fine for you … especially it’s Certi-PUR certified) or whether you are more comfortable looking at other types of materials and avoiding memory foam completely. There is more information in post #2 here that can help you decide on the types of materials you are comfortable with having in your mattress that can help you answer the question “how safe is safe enough for me?”. Since your own sensitivity to different materials and your own “risk tolerance” may be different from other people … each person may have a different answer to this depending on their history, their sensitivity, any health conditions that may affect their choice, and their willingness to sleep on different types of materials.
Once you have decided on the types of materials you are comfortable with considering … then the mattress shopping tutorial has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
Outside of the suitability of a mattress in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) … the most important part of a mattress purchase is to make sure you know the type and quality of all the materials inside your mattress so you can identify any weak links in terms of durability and make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. Since a mattress is only as good as its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it … and since all manufacturers have access to similar materials and make mattresses that are either lower or higher quality … “brand shopping” can be among the worst ways to choose a mattress (see post #12 here and post #5 here).
Once you reach step 3 in the tutorial … if you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
Phoenix