Thank you Phoenix for your detailed reply. It’s taken me a while to find the time to read through it and all the associated link posts. I particularly liked your discussion of different types of pain issues and their likely underlying causes in your post #2 here.
Regarding reviews, I didn’t mean that in the sense of individual experiences, but rather general research on the topic of latex beds. Our choice of the PLB Nature came about through: 1. We tested latex beds in a local store, checking for comfort and alignment as you described, and thought we came up with the right one. 2. We’ve read about all the positive qualities of latex such as durability, dust-mite resistance, etc. and watched videos like Matt’s about the PLB Nature (https://youtu.be/oPscBX3DM1M). 3. Pete at mattressexpert.com, who seems very sincere and knowledgeable, wrote that with the Nature and Pamper “I never hear a complaint.” 4. Pete recommended the Nature also since it’s on the firm side and we could soften it up later if needed. 5. We have been comfortable in just about any other bed we previously slept in (except for sleeper sofas and some futons), so we didn’t really even think there could be a bed that would be so uncomfortable to us.
I’m going to go ahead and keep testing, but it’s strange and concerning to find that so many people on this site and at whatsthebest-mattress.com describe testing of many combinations of layer ILDs, toppers, covers, zone inserts, etc., over months and even years, and it’s often not clear whether they actually found a good solution in the end.
Do you know if the Nature can be taken apart easily and customized with various ILD configurations? It seems the Nature is basically S/M/XF. I’ve tried it alone and with one or two soft toppers and other experiments. I’m pretty sure my problem is lumbar sag. At this point my back (mid thoracic) is pretty sore and I’m very tired. I’ve done a different experiment each night for weeks. I’m going to take a break and sleep at my mom’s guest room to recover a bit. Next I’ll probably try a thicker pillow and no topper since I have been sleeping with my arm under my usual one and one of your posts indicated that was a sign of too thin a pillow. If that doesn’t work, then maybe a different topper as you suggest. I’ve been testing with 2" and 3" PLB latex toppers. Perhaps time to try a memory foam one? Any particular one you’d recommend?