Serta iSeries Vantage and lower back pain?

Hi,

My wife and I upgraded our bed from a queen to a king size in November, and based on varies reviews and testing in the store we settled on the ‘Serta iSeries Vantage’ mattress. I am a 43 year old male, side sleeper, with a history of lower back pain (diagnosed with degenerative disc disease), but I really haven’t had any problems with the old mattress (pillow top Sleepy’s mattress - not sure about the brand since it’s 15 years old or so).

For the first month I woke up every morning with back pain, the second month it seemed to be a bit better but now the back pain is back with a vengeance.

I have about 2 more weeks to return/exchange the mattress, which we are planning to do (my wife by the way loves the mattress). It is extremely difficult to find a mattress in the store that “feel” right, but my gut feeling says I’ll need a firmer mattress with maybe a pillow top. Around the comfort scale of 5-6). Right now I’m leaning towards the Simmons Beautyrest Recharge World Class 2 Firm Pillow Top (e.g. Tillingham II).

My question is: what do you recommend, and what’s your opinion about the mattress I listed above?

Hi exm,

I’m sorry to hear that the mattress you chose didn’t work out as well as you hoped for but it may end up being a blessing in disguise.

My first suggestion would be to completely reset how you are looking for a mattress and to read post #2 here (and the posts it links to including the tutorial).

You can also see some specific comments about the Vantage in post #2 here and as you can see I would avoid it completely because of the low quality materials inside it which would be a weak link in the mattress and if you can return your mattress for a refund and start all over again you would probably be much better off in the long term anyway.

Unfortunately it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved including body type, sleeping positions, health conditions, and individual sensitivities and preferences that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or any “symptoms” they experience so a mattress that would be “perfect” for one person may be unsuitable for someone else to sleep on.

Having said that … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely reasons for them in post #2 here.

The most common (but not the only) reason for lower back pain would be a mattress that is too soft and since you are still in your trial period the simplest solution would be to replace it with a mattress that is a better “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences).

I would avoid this mattress as well (or any Simmons or other major brand mattress) because it also contains some very low quality materials that are even lower quality/density than the Serta Vantage.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

Phoenix

Wow, thanks for the extensive reply. Lot’s of good stuff.

So here’s the problem with “my situation”. I bought my mattress at us-mattress.com so I’m bound to purchasing a replacement there (my zip is 11530 FYI). Not sure if they only sell the “major” brands.

One of the other mattresses I was looking at are the Serta Hotel Collections (which are used at major hotels, and are flippable). Thoughts?

Hi exm,

Unfortunately US Mattress doesn’t allow for mattress returns and refunds and like many of the forum members that have come here with a similar situation you are in a somewhat difficult position where you need to exchange a mattress and are “locked in” to a store or a manufacturer that sells mattresses that I would normally suggest avoiding in the first place and where there may not be any particularly good quality/value options available to you.

Having said that … there are some suggestions and ideas in post #2 here about the two main strategies that you can use that can help you make the best of a difficult situation.

US Mattress sells more than just major brands (you can see a list of the manufacturers they carry here) but if you aren’t able to find out all the information you need about the quality and durability of the materials and components inside a mattress (see here) then the name of the manufacturer on the label won’t make much difference anyway because I would treat “low quality/density” materials and “unknown quality/density” materials in the same way (it’s generally safer to assume that any unknown layers are lower quality/density).

I would focus more on the manufacturers they carry that are transparent and that they confirm they are able to provide the information that you need about the type and quality of the materials inside them or alternatively focus on firmer mattresses that have the “least possible” amount of lower quality or unknown materials that would be suitable for adding a topper to provide any additional comfort and pressure relief that you may need.

You can read a little more about hotel mattresses in general in post #3 here and I certainly wouldn’t assume that a “hotel” mattress means that it uses higher quality materials than any other mattress. There is also more about the pros and cons of two sided mattresses vs one sided mattresses in post #3 here. While a two sided mattress would be a more durable choice than a one sided mattress that used the same type and quality of materials and components on one side of the mattress only (assuming that you flip and rotate it on a regular basis) … the only way it’s possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of any mattress (either one or two sided) would be based on knowing the type and quality of all the materials inside it (see this article) and it’s unlikely that they will be able to provide you with the information you need about their Serta hotel mattresses to make an informed choice.

I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for you (which is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase) because there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are very subjective but all of the Serta hotel mattresses use innersprings that are linked together (vs pocket coils that can react more independently) so they will generally transfer more motion than a pocket coil mattress. There is more information about the different types of innersprings in this article and in post #10 here.

Unfortunately this probably won’t help you much because you won’t be able to return your mattress for a refund and start over again but just for reference … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Long Island area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #4 here and the NYC list that it also links to.

Phoenix