New Tempur-Flex mattress making me miserable

[phoenix]

Hi Lackofzzz,

I’ve been reading through all of your links, and going through the list of DC stores (so incredibly helpful!). Trying to come up with an attack plan. I do know that I don’t like the feel of traditional memory foam. I do like coil. I thought the tempur-pedic hybrid was the answer, but that didn’t really work out for me. So, I am back to looking at coil or latex. I only tried out one brand of latex the first time around, and found it much too soft, but by everything I have been reading here, it looks like I need to reconsider.

Like all foam materials latex comes in a very wide range of firmness levels so it’s certainly possible that some latex mattresses will be too soft and others may be too firm. There may also be some latex/innerspring hybrids available in the area that could make a good choice that use an innerspring (often a pocket coil but in many cases other types of innersprings as well) as the support core and then use latex in the comfort layers. There is more about innerspring/latex hybrids in post #13 here and the posts it links to. I would be cautious about “judging” an entire category of mattresses based on your experience on only one or two of them because all mattress categories will include a very side range of different mattresses with different firmness levels some of which may be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP and others which may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on.

In the end the type of materials or the types of mattresses that you tend to prefer is more of a preference choice than a “better/worse” choice as long as the materials are good quality and durable versions of the materials that you tend to prefer and there are no “weak links” in the mattress.

It seems a lot of the suggested stores are foam-centric. There seems to be a lot written about the “American Foam Center” in VA, but their website isn’t that helpful. Do you think that would be worth including?

There are a very wide range of stores that carry different types of mattresses available from the list including different types of foam (latex, memory foam, polyfoam), different types of innersprings with different types of comfort layers, and many others so you certainly have more options than just foam mattresses (although most mattresses include some type of foam in their comfort layers). I would suggest talking to any retailer or manufacturer you are considering on the phone first (see step 3 of the tutorial) to tell them the criteria that are important to you, your budget range, confirm that they are transparent about the type and quality of the materials in their mattresses, and to get a general sense of their knowledge and experience and to make sure that they carry some mattresses on their floor that you are interested in testing. I would then decide which ones to visit based on the results of your conversations.

It also seems that several places in my area sell the Savvy. I hadn’t really heard of it until I read about it in your mattress forum. Do you think that might be a good fit for my health issues?

Savvy Rest makes component latex mattresses that certainly use high quality materials (100% natural Talalay latex or organic Dunlop latex and cotton covers quilted with wool) that are very “safe” and also very durable so there are no lower quality materials or weak links in their mattresses in terms of durability. They are also in a more premium budget range than many other similar mattresses so I would make some careful value comparisons.

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 predict whether any mattress will be a good match for you 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). The only reliable way to know for certain whether any mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP ( Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) is based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience but they would certainly be worth testing to see if one of their layering combinations is a good “match” for you either as a purchase or as an indication of whether another similar mattress would work well for you.

I did purchase an adjustable bed (which I like) that I will not be returning. So whatever I buy needs to work with that.

Most foam mattresses (such as memory foam, latex foam, or polyfoam) will work well on an adjustable bed and most pocket coils and some other types of innersprings that are specially made to bend will work well on an adjustable as well. I would check with the retailer or manufacturer though to make sure that any mattress you are considering is flexible enough to be used on an adjustable.

Phoenix