Problem with new Latex mattress

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi, after spending 9 years on a tempurpedic I was done with memory foam (slept hot, could not move), and my back was starting to hurt. Both my wife and I are heavy (I am about 260), After much research here I felt that Latex was the way to go so we bought a Luma all latex slumber system with the 3" Medium (28 ILD) Talalay topper.

It seemed to help, my back pain was getting better quickly but I am not comfortable for some reason. I would wake up during the night and roll around a lot, I did not feel relaxed when I went to bed but I was waking up rested, maybe I just need to get used to the mattress. My wife on the other hand immediately had problems, she started complaining of back problems and felt like her back was arching too much, she started having to use pillows under her legs (on her back) or between her legs (on her side) to relieve the pressure and still hated sleeping in it.

We swapped to a Plush (19 ILD) Talalay topper hoping the softness would help her and would still be firm enough for me. The first night my back started hurting and progressively got worse during the week. It did help her some but she says her back still hurts worse than the old bed and she feels both toppers are making her hot, but not me. We swapped back to the Medium because I could not stand it anymore and my back seems to be getting better again but she has the same problems.

I am not sure where to go from here, we are considering hybrids but I worry both memory foam and latex will have the problems we have already experienced, we don’t have many local options, everyone around here just has big box mattresses (serta, stearns and foster, Tempurpedic) which I want to stay away from so I am limited to online guessing.

Should I expect to have similar experiences with any mattress that says it has a plush 3" latex comfort layer, like with a hybrid, or will the springs and other layers possibly make enough difference to give it another try?

What type of mattress would you suggest I start looking at, should I just stick to a traditional mattress?

2

cursory look at luma’s website says it’s 6" firm base, 2" transition, 3" top layer. I don’t know the exact ild but your are probably experiencing one of two things

  1. the 2" transition and the 3" top layer together are too soft for your weight or too thick, meaning too material between your and the firm support layer. Could be both This results in poor spinal alignment.

  2. I don’t know the exact ild of your firm support layer. Standard is something around 36-40-ild (ask the manufacturer). At your weight it is possible you need something even firmer.

sorry I don’t have a quick fix for you. I would start by finding out the ild of each layer. From their you can think about adjustments.

3

Thanks for your response, the Luma is 6" blended Donlop core 32 ILD with a 2" layer of 28 ILD blended Talalay and then the 3" topper I talked about in my post.

4

@ 260lbs that mattress is too soft for you. You didn’t mention your wife’s height/weight other than you are both big, but the same.mogbt apply. You mentioned and arched back but did not say anything about pressure points which seem to also suggest too soft.

I can’t give an exact prescription but support layers probably need to be 6" of 36-40 ild or the next level up (fyi vendors will differ in how they label firm, xfirm so be sure to ask about ild). There are numerous configurations for the comfort layers. Ballpark 3-4" thick, maybe 5" with a transition layer, and some combination of 28/32ild? Call some vendors and get recommendations.

5

If you are thinking about hybrids be sure to ask about weight limits. while beefy innersprings are out there, I’m not sure if the usual pocket coils would work for you.