Hi HDrider,
I’m sorry to hear about these fibromyalgia and arthritis issues. I know how difficult that can make simple everyday activities, and especially restoration through sleeping.
Unfortunately, there is no specific configuration or type of mattress that is “good for fibromyalgia or arthritis” in general because each person is unique, and a mattress that works well for one person with a specific condition such as fibromyalgia may be completely unsuitable for someone else with the same conditions to sleep on. In very general terms, softer and more pressure relieving materials that provide a more “relaxed” sleeping surface will tend to work better than firmer materials because for most people with fibromyalgia or arthritis a softer more pressure relieving sleeping surface is a more important priority, but I know that this does vary with individuals, as well as varying day to day. Latex and wool have been popular combinations mentioned over time here on the forum, but again everyone is different.
A forum search on fibromyalgia (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback from others that are in similar circumstances that may be helpful (but it will also confirm that there isn’t a single “best” combination of materials that will work for everyone with arthritis or fibromyalgia).
Nothing can replace your own personal testing, especially with specific health considerations. You’d obviously want to consider something that allows for enough surface comfort while sleeping upon your side and back, and also assists with pressure point relief, while still overall being resilient enough and provide enough support while sleeping. Overall, the two basic functions of a mattress are to support and to provide comfort (you can read more about that here if you like), with alignment being the first priority and then comfort coming second.
As you’re going through your readings, be sure to take a few minutes and browse through the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for, and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
If you’re considering latex, you’ll certainly be choosing a good quality and durable material. There are many site members here who are experts in latex mattresses that you may wish to look at, and I consider them among the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. Some of them even offer component-style latex systems, where the layers can be rearranged to achieve different comforts, and you may even customized he feel on the left and the right side of the mattress.
Most of the manufacturers I mentioned are domestic in constructing the product, but you’ll find that quite a bit of latex is produced in Asia, where the hevea brasiliensis tree is grown. There are a few manufacturing facilities of latex in the USA (such as Talalay Global, Mountain Top and Latexco), but I would consider most of the latex you’ll encounter to be a very high quality material.
Regarding organic latex, most people that are looking for an “organic” mattress or materials are usually concerned more with “safety” than whether the materials have an actual organic certification and they usually aren’t aware that an organic certification isn’t the same thing as a safety certification. There is more information about the three different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications such as Oeko-tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, C2C, and CertiPUR-US in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and there are also some comments in post #42 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you for environmental, social, or personal reasons or whether a “safety” certification is enough.
All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will also have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold or C2C and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex (regardless of whether it is synthetic, natural, or blended) to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s (offgassing).
If you arrive at more specific questions as you go through your reading, I’ll do my best to be assistive.
Phoenix