Pain BETWEEN Pressure Points for Side Sleeper

Hi,
We recently purchased the Alexander from Nest Bedding. We are about 60 days into our 90-day trial period but don’t like the “sinking” feeling. So, recently my husband and I visited Quality Sleep Shop about 50 miles from our home. As soon as we walked in the door, the owner, Tim greeted us and quickly sized us up as side-sleepers (we’re both small - I’m 5’1’ and 100 lbs., he’s 5" 7" 140 lbs. - both athletic builds) pointed us to his “Emily” beds - latex hybrid mattresses.

We spent over an hour testing them out and finally decided on the firmer Emily. The one we received was much firmer than the one we tried in the store. They sent us (at no charge) a “topper” - basically 1" of bare blended latex. While it was more comfortable, my problem is (and I haven’t seen this addressed elsewhere): My entire side feeling like one big pressure point! I get pain BETWEEN my shoulders and hips from the foam that DOESN’T sink in pressing up hard against my ribcage and waist. Also pain BELOW my hip along my upper thigh. (it’s also sleeps very warm). I like to sleep halfway between my side and my stomach with the knee that is on top up and bent, and the lower leg straight. Now with either bed, I can’t do that due to pressure pain all along my side and thigh. This actually was a problem with the Nest Alexander and now the Emily. Any suggestions???

Our previous mattress was a 10-year-old Sealy Posturepedic innerspring that had sunken in body impressions. While I had lower back pain, I never experienced anything like the discomfort from both of these mattresses. We travel quite a bit and I’m wondering why hotel beds are so much more comfortable, with no “breaking in” period. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Signed, “Tired”.

Hi lnov,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I’m sorry your mattress isn’t working out as well for you as you would have liked, but at least you did have the foresight to purchase something with a good exchange/return policy. You didn’t mention which Alexander model (Hybrid or Signature) or which comfort designation you chose, so I can’t comment on this as compared to the other new mattress you’ve chosen.

As you’re probably aware, Quality Sleep Shop is a member here and I think highly of their knowledge and componentry.

It is quite common for a new mattress to be firmer than the showroom model. There will be a break in period as the mattress loses any of its “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here ). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress.

While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because they can be very complex and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP or any “symptoms” they experience … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here, post #6 here and post #3 here.

Using my “theory at a distance” goggles, what you’re describing would be typical of a mattress that has a surface comfort that is too firm and doesn’t allow for enough of a “cradle” when sleeping on your side. Being too firm, the hips and shoulders would bear most of the weight and there would be a lateral curve in the lumbar/lower thoracic region. While these areas would still be in contact with the mattress, again the “stretching” from the lateral curve and lack of cradling with to firm of a surface comfort could create and uncomfortable total side surface sensation. Also your comments about a bit more comfort being achieved with only 1" of latex (unknown type and ILD) would “generally” lead to the conclusion of too firm of a surface comfort as well. But this is of course a guess.

So you really don’t sleep on your side, but half rotated, with characteristics of a prone and side sleeper combined. Discomfort in the outer thigh area, (I’m guessing on the leg that is in contact with the mattress) often comes from two issues. First is when the hips sink in too deeply into the mattress, stretching the tensor fascia latae/iliotibial band complex, especially if this is tight, which is common among both active and inactive individuals. The second common cause of this pain is when a mattress is a bit too firm on the surface, and with the added weight of the upper leg upon the lower leg that is in contact with the bed and effectively “pressing” it into the mattress, this can create discomfort for not providing enough pressure distribution. I can’t speak to the Alexander mattress, as I mentioned earlier I don’t know the configuration and model you had. You can see if you think either of these two scenarios make logical sense in your particular situation.

Regarding temperature, the Emily uses a pocketed spring unit with 1" of 1.8 lb. polyfoam, 1" of 14 ILD latex (I don’t know if it is Dunlop or Talalay) and 1" of 1.5 lb. polyfoam in the quilt. All of these foams tend to be quite breathable materials. In very general terms … the materials, layers, and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow, moisture transport, and temperature regulation than materials, layers, and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses or foam toppers will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer versions of the same material.

There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range. Also, your mattress pad/protector can also dramatically affect mattress surface comfort.

Hotel mattresses in general tend to be on the “firmer” end of the spectrum, and then using top of bed products added plushness is achieved. These products of course have a breaking in period, but unless you were in a hotel with a new mattress on one side of the room and an older one on the other side, you wouldn’t be able to recognize this. When a hotel mattress feels better than your mattress at home, it’s usually a sign that your current mattress is worn out, as opposed to the high quality or appropriateness of the hotel mattress for use every night at home (most of which would be a poor choice due to their lower quality componentry that most of them use due to their frequent need to be changed out).

It could be a possibility that you still have a bit of “learned alignment” of sinking in from your old mattress, but after two months away that normally would be the case. Everything you seem to be describing with your current mattress “seems” to be pointing at something that is too firm on the surface. There is a 60 day comfort guarantee with Quality Sleep Shop, so you do have some time to analyze the product and see if it gets better. In the meantime, you may wish to contact them and let them know that the topper they sent made a bit of difference but you still think that you need a bit more plushness and see if they would send you out a thicker piece to experiment with.

I’ll look forward to your progress and feedback and you go through your process.

Phoenix

Thank you for your quick and thorough reply, Phoenix! I neglected to mention that the Nest Bedding Alexander model we purchased is their Signature-Medium. While it seemed soft, we felt that we sank too far down into it and didn’t like the “stuck-in-the-sand” feeling. Still, I got “push-back” pain in my torso, sleeping on my side.

With the Quality Sleep Shop’s “Emily” mattress and 1" topper they sent (the material in this mattress is blended latex, they told me), it feels comfortable at first and I’m able to fall asleep but it feels as if it “bottoms-out” after awhile and I’m sleeping on pavement with push-back pain in my torso and upper thigh.

One of your members dazra http://bit.ly/2iGAl1L who had an Emily mattress recommended this latex pillow from Sears http://bit.ly/2jt4NJv . I picked it up yesterday and it did help relieve some of the torso and thigh discomfort I had - but not all of it. The pillow is very comfortable and bouncy but it sleeps higher than my previous gel-memory foam pillow so my neck was a bit sore. I thought that I slept through the night but feel very unrested today.

I have a call in to Quality Sleep Shop to see if they have any recommendations. They have a Kathryn mattress that is supposed to be softer. I hope I can find a solution otherwise I might be going the “hotel bed” route since I have none of these issues sleeping in hotels on business or even on our 12-day Panama Canal cruise! Thank you again for all that you do.

Hi lnov,

You’re most welcome.

It still sounds as if you’re looking for something with a bit more plush contouring resilience in the upper layers, and layers that match and “bend into” each other more gradually. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to visit Quality Sleep Shop again and use their advice, either testing out your current mattress with a thicker latex topper or perhaps seeing what other configurations they come up with or suggestions for a different model.

Just like recommendations for a mattress, I wouldn’t use someone else’s opinion on a pillow as a reliable source of information or applicability to your own situation. It is true that many lower cervical/upper thoracic issues can be related to your pillow, and most people keep their pillows for far too long, but I wold hold off if you could on getting a new pillow until you can get your mattress situation figured out, as your pillow choice will largely be determined by your mattress, your sleeping style and how you sink into your new mattress.

I’ll look forward to your updates after your next visit to QSS.

Phoenix

Visited QSS for the second time (100 mile round trip). My salesperson wasn’t there only the mattress production manager and their were several people in the store. We spend about 1.5 hours trying the various mattresses with and without toppers again but didn’t receive much personalized attention or suggestions for the comfort issues we’re having. Just told to take another topper home which we did - a 2" one this time (they wanted us to return the 1" one).

After 3 nights on the 2" blended latex topper, there is an improvement in the “bottoming out” feel - resulting in less hip pain. but still sore just below hips when I get up in the morning. The torso push=back pain is only somewhat relieved if I sleep on a high pillow - too high for the comfort of my neck. And again, getting the sinking feel that we really don’t like in all that foam. It also contributes to sleeping warm. It’s almost as if the blended latex topper is too soft to provide support while the mattress itself is just too firm to provide comfort.

While we were there we tried the Katherine soft and medium beds and the Natural Escape Latex mattresses which, they said, were essentially the same mattresses with the Katherine’s coils being tighter from being encased in foam on the outside and the Katherine’s quilted top. Both seemed very comfortable yet supportive. It’s difficult to tell how they would feel for eight hours at a time. Our next step may be to exchange for one of these or just return and start over. We are so uncomfortable. I would take my old mattress back in a heartbeat.

Hi lnov,

Thanks for your update.

Sometimes smaller sleep shops/manufacturers can get overwhelmed with just a few people and it’s normal for many to have only one person on hand. If I was making a special trip I would call ahead and either schedule an appointment or make sure any person with whom you wished to visit was working during your expected arrival to maximize your time. And I would expect they’d eventually want the toppers back, which you could probably arrange if you end up selecting a different mattress.

Your analysis is probably correct – you personally desire a little more surface support and a little less deep down firmness. The plushness of the toppers provided might be too soft for your liking, and even if they were a bit firmer they may not work to your satisfaction with the firmer comfort of the mattress beneath them. The extra comfort from using the thicker latex topper points toward this.

The Katherine comes in different ILDS of latex, so you would be able to choose something with a bit more “surface firmness” than what you have right now using your toppers, and you’d be a bit less “in” the mattress than “on” it. There isn’t a listing for the Natural Escape on their web site, so I can’t comment upon that. At least you have the option to make a change, so that’s a good thing.

Phoenix

“Your analysis is probably correct – you personally desire a little more surface support and a little less deep down firmness. The plushness of the toppers provided might be too soft for your liking, and even if they were a bit firmer they may not work to your satisfaction with the firmer comfort of the mattress beneath them.”
Thank you for putting it concisely - that’s exactly what I was trying to convey. Do you think that a 3" latex hybrid (the Katherine bed) might provide that or would a gel-or memory-foam type bed or latex-combo be a better choice. The Natural Escape mattress is from their sister site’s “My Green Mattress” organic line that is available online and on Amazon Natural Escape

Hi lnov,

You’re welcome.

[quote]
Do you think that a 3" latex hybrid (the Katherine bed) might provide that or would a gel-or memory-foam type bed or latex-combo be a better choice. The Natural Escape mattress is from their sister site’s “My Green Mattress” organic line that is available online and on Amazon Natural Escape
The number one rule is that only you can feel what you feel and I can’t recommend a product for someone online – I can only assist in “how” to choose.

Going back to your original post, you don’t like to “sink in” to a product, so a typical memory foam style of mattress would typically be in that category, so you may wish to put those styles of mattresses lower on your list.

Also going back to your original post, you chose a “firm” mattress in the Emily, and the one you received was even firmer than the showroom model, so even with a topper you’re on something that you describe as a bit too hard right now.

Between the Katherine and the Natural Escape, the Natural Escape uses 3" of plush (18-22 ILD) Dunlop latex, which would tend to feel a bit firmer than the same ILD of Talalay. The innerspring unit is a pocketed coil unit and zoned in the middle third. The Katherine also uses 3" of latex, but it is Talalay, and you can choose from 24, 32 or 40 ILD. I would find out the ILD of the toppers you’ve been provided and consider going with something just a bit higher in ILD. I’m thinking that your topper might be in the upper teens. The pocketed coil innerspring unit is also zoned in the middle third, but it is a slightly lower spring count (assuming they are quoting for the same size).

Based upon your comments it is reasonable to assume that both of the mattresses will do a better job at providing a bit of a more “surface support” and will not feel quite as “firm” deep down. Which one may or may not be best for you would be again up to you and your own personal testing. At least you have a good idea of what doesn’t work for you, which sometimes is just as valuable as knowing what does work.

Phoenix

A very frustrating update. Visited QSS earlier last week to try the Katherine latex mattress AGAIN. It felt very comfort for the 15-20 minutes I tried it - much better than the Emily one we had (which we had added their topper to). AND I could use a lower pillow instead of the super-high one I’d been using to relief the pressure on my torso - yay!
Deciding between the Katherine soft or medium, Tim said if I was still having hip/thigh discomfort on their Emily mattress with the topper, the Katherine Medium would likely not be any better and strongly advised me to go with the soft. The Katherine is advertised as Talalay latex online and in the store but when I asked about specifics , he said it’s actually a “very nice” Dunlop latex. Now I’m confused but needs some relief so paid the extra $750. Tim gave us free delivery since they were going to be in the area in lieu of the Mattress Underground discount on the higher-priced bed.

The Katherine was delivered yesterday much to my jubilation - couldn’t wait for a good night’s sleep! The mattress felt great and I fell asleep right away. Several hours later, felt like I was sleeping in a trench, with so much pressure on my torso that I went back to the high pillow. When that didn’t relieve the mattress pressing against my side, I finished out the night on the couch (cushions are a thick, firm foam - very comfortable - no sinking, no push-back torso pain). I really am at a loss - Do we just find a cheap foam mattress? I thank you so much for this forum. Hopefully, my experience may help someone else.

Hi lnov,

I’m sorry you’re still not finding a product that is comfortable. :frowning:

It seems that you describe issues in two areas – hip and torso.

The initial softness of the products you’re trying seems to agree with you, but as the night goes on it “seems” as if you’re describing that you’re sensitive to the feel on your torso. As these foams are not temperature sensitive, they’ll feel the same in the middle of the night as they do when you first lie down. So it still may be an issue, as I mentioned previously, that you need a bit of a firmer feel on the surface but then a bit of plushness below, and maybe a bit more padding material overall (to minimize a bit what you might be describing of the “push back” of the innerspring unit). Or perhaps you don’t like the resilience of latex, and would be happier with polyfoam for a comfort material. Or maybe you would prefer a mattress that doesn’t use innersprings but instead a support core of latex or polyfoam. You may wish to go back to trying a mattress more along the lines of the traditional product you had previously and try to recreate something like that using quality materials.

Unfortunately, as I stated previously, I really can’t diagnose with “theory at a distance”. I wish I had better suggestions for you than these general “averages”.

Phoenix

Hi Inov,

If it can be any comfort, I’ve been having a very similar saga. I too have a Katherine soft, which I’ve been sleeping on for the past four months. I am 5’3, 120 lbs, and I think it is just too much bed! I tried the Katherine medium for over a year and it was too firm, causing aching shoulders so bad I couldn’t sleep much past 4 am because of discomfort… A variety of topper or pillows couldn’t fix the problem. I switched to the Katherine soft and though I can now sleep through the night, I still have super tight shoulders that I have to spend all day stretching.

I just spent a week at a hotel sleeping on a super cheap-looking, 6", spring coil sofa-bed mattress. It is the kind that is super bouncy and squeaks like crazy when you move and you can feel the coils. I thought I’d be miserable the whole week. Instead the very next day I woke up utterly relieved from the shoulder tightness and felt 10 years younger! I noticed my hips sunk better on this tiny mattress, taking the pressure off my shoulders when side-sleeping. I also noticed the springs firmly pushed back on my bones. It’s this elusive sinking and yet solid pushback combo I’m desperate for.

I wonder if the 3" of a comfort layer on the Katherine is just too much for petite people? Or could it be that the Katherine’s powerstack foundation is too stiff and doesn’t let petite hip’s sink enough when we barely reach it through the thick comfort layer? Either way I don’t see how to make the mattress work.

I feel like most mattresses options are geared for large men. I’d like to find a simple spring mattress with just a 1.5" latex comfort layer, 19 ild or less, but haven’t seen one. I’d love to hear if you have a breakthrough!

Hi Maybe54,

Thanks for your sharing your experiences and input. Unfortunately, there really is no one style that fits specific sized people, such as those who are petite, due to the individual preferences, levels of fitness, flexibility, body shapes and pre-existing health conditions, just to name a few things.

Major mattress brands tend to be geared more toward “averages”, as are many of the “simplified choice” mattresses, trying to hit more of the middle of the bell curve of comfort. But when you mentioned the 1.5" on top of a spring unit, I remembered Luma Sleep off of the top of my head the lumasleep.com ~ Base Luma Mattress. You may wish to look into that.

Phoenix

Hi Maybe54,

I so appreciate you taking the time to share with me your experience with the Katherine soft mattress! I’m sorry to hear of your difficulty finding a comfortable mattress and appreciate your empathy and helpfulness. It really is comforting.

I’m curious if Quality Sleep Shop exchanged your mattress without much difficulty. I’m so afraid of being stuck with this mattress! I thought I’d give it two weeks to “get used to it” before I called them back. I think I’m just finding the latex very uncomfortable - the resilience, perhaps, as Phoenex put it. Tim thought that I needed the extra cushioning as I was still having some side hip and thigh pain with the 3" combination of the Emily bed and topper. But the pushback from the sinking on this bed is so strong it hurts. I can’t seem to find a pillow that makes this bed work for me either.

You make a good point mentioning the “posturized” coils which are tighter through the center third to support that part of your body - Phoenix mentioned that too. Maybe it’s too much for us petite people.

I’ve never had problems sleeping on hotel beds either! The main drawback for me is the motion transfer from my husband moving around a lot. So . . .I will be giving Tim a call this week and hope I can exchange this for a model that will be more comfortable. I’ll certainly let you know!! Thanks, again!

Just a few more thoughts…

I think I got my latex mattress choice SO wrong for so long by being thrown off by the terms “medium” and “soft.” When I visit mainstream mattress stores, my experience is soft is VERY soft. I’m thinking of the polyfoam pillowtops that are nice at first but wear down and have led me to wanting something more medium and durable.

When I decided to experiment with latex, a material new to me, I ended up WAY overshooting by trying beds that were described as “medium” with top layers that were between 28-32 ild. I liked how firm they felt (I still do, despite by body screaming otherwise in the morning), plus I thought I could fix my side with a topper while my husband, who is 5’9, 160 lbs, would be just fine. I never figured out why all the toppers of various heights and densities couldn’t work–pressure points were fixed but then my spine ached. My theory is that when your petite, 3" is already quite far away from the base layer, and adding an extra inch or two just adds new problems.

What was humbling to learn when I finally switched to the Katherine soft, and I should have known better, is just because a bed is called soft, it can still be SUPER firm if you are low weight. Again, when I lie down I like the quiet, solid, firmness of this bed, but the fact is my body is so stiff in the morning. 24 Ild of talalay latex (or dunlop which I too have a suspicion is in my Katherine). is still WAY WAY too firm. I’m STILL NOT in the ball park. Interestingly, the Natural Escape has a top layer of dunlop with an 18-22 ILD. Its product description makes clear it is medium firm, and so I steered away from it, but it must be similar to the “soft,” or what it know listed as the “plush,” Katherine (24 ILD talalay). Silly me for letting the product description make me hope it would be be soft for me and allow the right sinkage. Now I’m adamant about first paying attention to the actual ILD.

I think petite people–say 130 lbs or less starting at 5’0–interested in experimenting with latex should start with top layers that are in the 13 to 19 ILD range, preferably 13 and preferably talalay which seems to have more give than dunlop for lighter bodes. I think the thickness of that layer and the firmness of what’s underneath would all have to be tweaked, but something in that range is at least a good starting point for the right sinkage, and would help avoid all the time and expense of trying things WAY out in left field. Soft latex is such a different animal compared to soft polyfoam or soft cotton or wool batting for petite people. (I think hotel beds do not hurt us because they have all that fluffy polyfoam in the pillowtops–as petites it’s no problem to deal with that. Latex is exotic for us, I swear! Even the utterly thin and flimsy innerspring of my most recent hotel stay was fine and welcome my by body compared to my super high quality latex hybrid/so-wrong-for-me bed ).

Another reason I think petites new to latex get it quite wrong is that ILDs of 13 to 19 in the comfort layer don’t seem that common. When I ran across them in my search for a latex bed, those low ILDs seemed extreme.

I would ask Tim if he has mattresses with latex top layers that are between 13 and 19 ild and if there are floor models to try out. When I read their mattress specs, it seems that very low ILDs are not available, just taller and taller toppers.

I too get seriously stressed out by having to return things–it’s such a headache and takes so much time and energy for everybody. I think I used up all my good graces by returning my medium ONE YEAR later. Tim was EXTREMELY kind to put in a soft layer after all that time, but when I received it and called him distraught knowing it was still much too firm, he was clear I would have to bring in the mattress myself–even though I said I didn’t mind how much it would cost–if I wanted a customized layer of 19 ILD or less. My husband and I can barely rotate the thing, let alone get it into a rental truck and drive the 50 miles.

For now I’m sleeping on our guest bed–a Brooklyn Bedding 3" inch blended talalay latex topper (19 ild) on top of a super stiff Tuft and Needle bed from 2013. This feels fine. Just looking for something less cut-and-paste.

Meanwhile, I wold love to hear what you end up with!

Hi Maybe54,

Thank you for taking the time to relate your experiences with the different comforts of different materials.

You bring up an excellent point that there are no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings (even within people of the same mass/BMI) and different manufacturers (and foam companies) can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer.

Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions.

There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here ) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. And as you stated, a polyfoam piece rated as “medium” can feel quite different from a latex piece rated as “medium”. And Dunlop latex will tend to feel “firmer” than Talalay latex of the same ILD.

This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science, and in the end the only reliable way to know whether a mattress will be “firm enough” or “soft enough” for you will be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience. Thank you for sharing yours!

Phoenix

Hi Maybe54 and Phoenix,

Here’s a little update that I thought you might be interested in: I received an email from Quality Sleep Shop asking me to post feedback on the Katherine mattress on their new site. I hate leaving negative reviews so I emailed them back regarding the suitability of this mattress for petite people, the latex “pushback” against my torso, etc. Tim called to tell me that they are making some new “prototypes” this week with a different, softer spring system. This may be helpful for you as well. I tend to think that it’s more the Dunlop latex than the springs that’s the culprit in my case but worth a try.

Hi lnov,

Thank you for the update. I have been aware of some of the changes at QSS. I’ll be interested in any of your comments/feedback should you visit there again.

Phoenix

Update - Went back to QSS yesterday to try new prototype beds - actually there was just one. I thought it was going to be a “new” Katherine similar to the one Maybe54 and I had selected only softer but it was their new “Katherine Gel” which we were considering anyway. The old Katherine Gel, revisited, was firm.

This one uses a lighter-weight coil system base with 1" of 14 ILD Dunlop latex and 1" of 4 lb. memory foam and then wool over it. First impression was that there is only a couple inches of comfort layers here. It was comfortable but “sinking” and after lying there awhile, still was feeling the push against my torso. With our current Katherine mattress you feel the softness and then it stops when you hit the bottom of it. With this new Katherine Gel model, you don’t hit that bottom.

When going back and forth in the showroom comparing this prototype Katherine Gel to our current Katherine mattress there was no comparison regarding the luxurious feel of our Katherine quilted top to the flat foam of the prototype. I queried Tim about the possibility of a “Katherine-style quilted top” over this prototype and he thought that would defeat the purpose of sinking into the mattress and make it feel harder - but it sounded good to me.

The lighter-weight coil system seems to be a good idea for us lighter-weight people but we weren’t really impressed with this new model overall. Maybe with some added inches of comfort layers or a quilted top. I just doesn’t seem very substantial. As an aside, bought some new wool-filled pillows while we were there - husband love his, mine - because it wasn’t high and hurting my neck (I love a “low” pillow), didn’t take the pressure off my body enough, I guess, and made our mattress much more uncomfortable. Back to the drawing board. Never thought that finding a mattress would be this much of an ordeal. I so appreciate your “listening” and any input, Phoenix.

Hi lnov,

Thanks for your update. I’m glad you were able to try out one of the new prototypes, but I’m sorry it wasn’t for you.

It seems from your descriptions that a less robust support system agrees with your particular needs. I don’t know what options you still have with QSS, but your thought of having more substantial comfort layers combined with their newer spring unit would be an interesting combination for you. They have to design their mattresses to apply to a larger set of people, so your needs may not be something that they think would be viable or appropriate for their main lineup, but I don’t know if there are options for what they could create for you.

Phoenix

This may not help but my husband and I after researching here went to Quality Sleep Shop and purchased right before Christmas the Emily pillow top which is now the plush. I could not sleep on it as it hurt my sides. My husband loved it. In fact I thought they delivered the wrong bed.

We called the owner who told us he would exchange it but it would soften in several weeks and feel like the display. I could not sleep on it so I purchased a 1 inch talalay topper from foamorder.com? It was okay but I took the topper off after 6 weeks and now love the bed. I found Quality to be totally honest and had such a wonderful
experience with Quality Sleep Shop.
The bed now feels like the one in the store, but it did take a while. The topper was never as comfortable as it is now without it as it got hot and the stitching in the wool and bamboo cover on the mattress really adds comfort. The owner for a small price offered us this cover as we wanted a more natural cover.

I can’t believe how the bed was literally too painful for me to sleep on and now I love it.

I appreciated the owners honesty and assistance afterward.