Severe mid-upper back/shoulder pain from new Talalay mattress

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

How am I expected to just tough it out, deal with the severe pain for weeks while breaking in a new latex mattress?!

After the first night, I could barely move the next morning. Previously fractured upper vertebrae mean occasional spasms and that’s what I’m afraid of with this new mattress. Ibuprofen every day while breaking it in? That’s unreasonable.

I’m so sad and disappointed and afraid I made a mistake in purchasing a latex mattress.

36 ILD - 4" support layer
19 ILD - 2" top layer

I tried putting my 3" med talalay topper from Sleep on Latex that I was using since last year on my old spring mattress - that improved the pain ever so slightly.

I then tried switching the layers so the 2" 19 ILD is on top, 3" med is in the middle, and then 4" 36 ILD on bottom - not much improvement at all. And my arm is numb.

I added a fluffy down alternative topper, which did nothign but compress until I sank down to the firmer layer.

It feels likes I’m sleeping on a board, even with the 19’ on top.

Manufacturer tells me to tough it out. Maybe try taking the 19’ out of the cover and use as a topper, so it doesn’t compress as much. And to remove my bamboo waterproof cover. Will try that tonight.

Any other suggestions?

I’m ready to order a plush, wool, or something other than latex or foam topper. I like the way hotel beds feel with the plush top and firmness under. I have no problems in those beds so why can’t I get that same thing at home? Why do I have to suffer through breaking in latex?? Why why why?!!!

I’m ranting because I’m just so heartbroken and feeling defeated and in pain. I hate sleeping now.

5’2" female, side sleeper, 125 lbs, petite frame.

2

Already answered in your other thread here.

https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/topper-for-talalay-latex-mattress-19-ild-too-hard

Check your alignment on the photo (bed level, sleeping position) and let us know what you find.

3

Yes, I saw your reply. But since no one else chimed in, I’m posting again with an update hoping for some other expert advice and/or opinions from others who have similar experiences. Are you the only one who posts on this forum?

There is nothing to report on my alignment. It looks fine.

4

Typically you’d continue in the same thread so other people later can follow how you worked through your problem which is why I connected them.

Usually there’s two types of (non-medical related) pain associated with a mattress, alignment and pressure. Alignment issues often cause pain in the hip joint, back neck, etc while pressure issues often cause numbing or soreness on the upper part of the skin. The two issues can be related but knowing what each feels like can help you solve your issue. Things like having a bony or curvy body type can also aggravate the issue (ex wide shoulders need more travel into the bed to allow proper neck/spine alignment and pressure relief) as well as old injuries or medical conditions.

Normally I would suggest something like this for someone your BMI:
2" Talalay 19ILD - Comfort Layer
3" Talalay 28 ILD - Support Layer
3" Talalay 32 ILD - Support Layer
3" Talalay 36 ILD - Support Layer

Your current setup is definitely too firm and the SOL medium layer you have is dunlop, talalay latex is likely to work much better for you in this situation (more travel into the mattress). I would try at least getting the first two upper support layers as suggested above and trying it with your current comfort layer (assuming it is talalay). Then you can add the final 36ILD base layer later if you need a bit more travel into the mattress. From there you can also use other techniques like zoning to adjust the layers to fine tune it for your specific preferences but that simple change I mentioned should go a long way towards making it alot more comfortable than it is for you currently.

5

Ok, getting back to this…

I’ve tried several different combinations, including a gel foam topper I purchased to hopefully add some plush feel.

ts either too soft and causes low back pain or too hard and causes shoulder pain. It’s driving me crazy that its’ both too hard and too soft when I add a topper.

I’m trying different things with what I currently have, rather than buy additional layers of Talalay. I’ll contact the manufacturer about that though because all of my combinations are not working.

Here’s what I’ve tried with the two top layers, bottom 36 ILD Talalay stays the same.

3" convoluted gel memory foam topper by Lucid WITH cotton cover
2" Talalay 19 ILD as second layer - INSIDE the mattress cover
= TOO FIRM/shoulder pain

3’ convoluted topper WITHOUT cotton cover
2" Talalay - OUTSIDE of mattress cover
= TOO SOFT/low back pain

3’ " " " topper WITHOUT cotton cover
2" Talalay - INSIDE mattress cover
= TOO HARD/shoulder pain

3" topper WITH cover
2" Talalay - OUTSIDE of mattress cover
=TOO SOFT/shoulder pain

I’m wondering if a Zoned topper would work as Mattrebuild suggested. I don’t know how that works with different layers. Ive come across Zoned gel memory foam toppers.

If I try the suggestions offered, I’m purchasing TWO additional support layers. I’ll. call the manufacturer. All they offered as a solution when I purchased it, in case something needing adjusting, was to swap out a layer. And the 36 ILD is a 4", not a 3" as suggested in the configuration. Do you think that will make a tremendous difference?

6

I can’t see an option to EDIT my post. I forgot to include that with the configurations I listed below, I kept the 3" med layer from SOL as the 3rd layer (under the gel foam topper, and under the 19" ILD).

quote=“Lu1968 post=91145”]Ok, getting back to this…

I’ve tried several different combinations, including a gel foam topper I purchased to hopefully add some plush feel.

ts either too soft and causes low back pain or too hard and causes shoulder pain. It’s driving me crazy that its’ both too hard and too soft when I add a topper.

I’m trying different things with what I currently have, rather than buy additional layers of Talalay. I’ll contact the manufacturer about that though because all of my combinations are not working.

Here’s what I’ve tried with the two top layers, bottom 36 ILD Talalay stays the same.

3" convoluted gel memory foam topper by Lucid WITH cotton cover
2" Talalay 19 ILD as second layer - INSIDE the mattress cover
= TOO FIRM/shoulder pain

3’ convoluted topper WITHOUT cotton cover
2" Talalay - OUTSIDE of mattress cover
= TOO SOFT/low back pain

3’ " " " topper WITHOUT cotton cover
2" Talalay - INSIDE mattress cover
= TOO HARD/shoulder pain

3" topper WITH cover
2" Talalay - OUTSIDE of mattress cover
=TOO SOFT/shoulder pain

I’m wondering if a Zoned topper would work as Mattrebuild suggested. I don’t know how that works with different layers. Ive come across Zoned gel memory foam toppers.

If I try the suggestions offered, I’m purchasing TWO additional support layers. I’ll. call the manufacturer. All they offered as a solution when I purchased it, in case something needing adjusting, was to swap out a layer. And the 36 ILD is a 4", not a 3" as suggested in the configuration. Do you think that will make a tremendous difference?
[/quote]

7

There is no way to edit your posts unfortunately but you can use the preview tab to check the post before hitting submit.

The reason your shoulder hurts is because using only uniform layers you either end up with something that’s too soft or too hard but what you really need is something firm in the torso area and super soft in the shoulder area. Zoning is the best way to achieve this. You don’t buy a zoned topper, it’s zoning the support layers that makes it work.

Here’s an example of a zoned support layer (note the different firmness in each area, yours can be much simpler by just zoning in the shoulder area):

1920Ă—1080 258 KB

8

Just catching up with my mattress doings here…

Still in pain, still miserable with this all latex mattress.

Manufacturer suggested buying another soft layer of 19" ILD talalay. I did that and it didn’t help. Tried every possible configuration and if it helps for a few days at most, then I’m in pain again.

I’m past the 100 days and wish I contacted them earlier to exchange but I thought my body would eventually adapt. I’m ready to throw it to the curb and start over. I’m honestly really miserable.

The closest I got to comfort was this configuration:
3" Med Dunlop - as mattress topper (on top of mattress cover, just under the sheet, no mattress protector)
Inside cover:
2" of 19 ILD
2" of 19 ILD
4’ of 36" ILD as base layer

It was good for 2 nights, little pain. But then I started with back pain again.

I put the mattress protector over the top layer (3" med) to firm it up since it felt like I wasn’t getting enough support. Still in pain.

yes, this configuration was only a few night but I have other configurations for weeks at a time, in pain every day still.

I’m ready to give up and try a spring or hybrid. I have literally been in pain upon waking for years with crappy mattresses. But now I have to go back to 0 with research.

Based in my experience with this latex, are there recommendations for what might work for me? I do not know waht I’ll do with this latex, but I really hate it.