Hi hwood,
[quote]After 3wks every part of me hurts and there is a 2inch, permanent dent in my mattress.
WHERE DID I GO WRONG?[/quote]
I don’t think you went wrong at all. You purchased a very high quality/value mattress but no matter what the quality or value of your mattress may be the most important goal is that the mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and if you aren’t sleeping well on a mattress then it’s important to try and identify why so you can make the type of changes that can help you sleep better. You still have many options available to you.
The first step though is to “fix” the issue you are having with the impressions and then you can look at some of the other options that are available to you to resolve any other issues you may be having. There are really only two things that can cause impressions that deep so quickly. One of these is that the materials in your mattress are defective (in which case it would be replaced) but this is very unlikely. It’s much more likely that the issue is in the support system under your mattress. A latex mattress needs a firm flat support and non flexing surface that has no more than 3" in between the slats so that the mattress is properly supported and to prevent the mattress from sagging. This may be the reason you slept well the first night (before the mattress started sagging) and then didn’t sleep well after that. I would try your mattress on the floor (with the softer side up) so you can compare how you sleep on a very firm support surface. What kind of support system are you using under your mattress? Can you attach a picture?
Once you have solved the sagging issue then it’s time to start resolving any comfort issues you may be having.
I would keep in mind that a mattress can’t solve any pre-existing health or back issues you may have (although it can certainly make them easier to deal with or help prevent them from getting worse) and that there may be no “perfect” mattress for you (see post #1 here from a very well informed and knowledgeable member of the forum). This will help you maintain realistic expectations about what a mattress can and can’t do.
The next thing is to identify the types of changes that will help you sleep better.
If you have been sleeping on 2" of styrofoam then the mattress you have is very different from what you are used to and it’s very likely that it may take some time for you to get used to it. If you are like many other people that have fibromyalgia then it’s very likely that you will need a softer sleeping surface to relieve your pressure points while you are sleeping and once the sagging issue is resolved you will likely do better on a softer surface than a firmer one (and your experience seems to confirm this as well). There is more about breaking in a new mattress and some other suggestions in post #2 here that may be helpful as well.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” that may help you identify the types of changes that may help you sleep better.
There is also more in post #2 here about the most common “symptoms” that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes for them that may also help you identify the types of changes in your sleeping system that may be helpful.
There is a lot of information here so I would take things one small step at a time starting with identifying the reasons that your mattress is sagging and seeing if any of the suggestions in the post I linked about breaking in a new mattress are helpful.
Phoenix