I bought a tempurpedic-flex elite 16 months ago and it hurts my lower back, makes my back cramp up and hurts my wife’s hips and shoulder. If I sleep more than 4 hours I hurt real bad. We have stayed at a lot of hotels since we bought the mattress and have both woke up not hurting. Heck we just slept on a queen air mattress for 3 nights and woke up not hurting. I even slept 9 hours 2 days in a row on it. I’m having Conns warranty department come out and look at it soon to see if there is a way to warranty it or take it back. Would u recommend using a mattress topper on it? If so what kind. Thanks for your time.
Hi Bobbydavis,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
I’m sorry you’re not sleeping well on your Tempurpedic. While it’s not possible for me to diagnose pain and comfort issues via an online forum, mattresses in hotels tend to be on the “firmer” end of the spectrum, and low back issues “tend” to be caused by comfort materials that are too thick or too soft, or poor deep support. There is some information about the many different symptoms/pains that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes behind them in post #2 here.
The Tempurpedic Tempur-Flex Elite contains:
2.4" 4 lb Tempur ES memory foam
1.6" 5.3 lb Tempur Response Material memory foam
2.5" 1.6 lb polyfoam
Pocketed spring unit (17 gauge steel) with polyfoam edge reinforcement
The spring unit used is supportive, so it “could” be that for your low back issues the amount/type of memory foam and the polyfoam in the comfort layers is too soft or allows you to sink in deeper than you might prefer. As for your wife, hip and shoulder pain can arise from products that are both “too soft”, as well as “too hard”.
I don’t know what is causing your issues, so I couldn’t make a recommendation for you. In general, toppers are used to create extra plushness on a mattress that already provides good support but has too firm of a surface comfort, and I don’t know that this is your situation. On the surface, it seems that you are describing the opposite, in which case I don’t think a topper would be a solution.
If you’d like to learn more about toppers and the process for selecting one, there’s quite a bit of information in post #2 and the posts to which it links that you may find useful.
Phoenix
Thanks for your reply. The mattress we had before this was about 15 years old and neither one of us had these problems with the old mattress. It was a spring pillow top mattress. It just baffles me that we both hurt now. Plus the mattress seems to be really hot when sleeping. I’m a bit on the heavier side (300lbs) 5’11 my wife is 170lbs 5’9. We also can feel each other on the bed. From what I’ve been reading there is a lot of people complaining that they hurt on a tempurpedic.
Hi Bobbydavis,
People respond differently to different comfort materials and innerspring combinations, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that a new combination might not meet with your specific needs. Assuming that your old mattress was a more “traditional” innerspring product using polyfoams in the comfort layers (pillowtop is nota comfort designation, just a manner of design and assembly), you made a change to a product using a pocketed spring unit (which may allow for more travel than your old mattress if it was a LFK spring unit), and then you switched to something using memory foam in the upper comfort layers, which is less supportive and has a higher hysteresis (energy absorbing) than normal polyfoam. So you changed a few variables here. Combined with your better experience on “hotel beds”, it’s reasonable to assume you may not have an affinity for a memory foam style mattress, or at least something this plush (all memory foam would be a softer lower ILD) in the comfort layers.
Memory foam isn’t generally the most breathable material, and if you’re sinking into this mattress more it will exhibit more insulating qualities, and combined with your higher BMI you will sink through these layers more deeply, exposing less of your surface area to heat exchange, so it is logical to assume that you’d sleep a bit warmer on something like this.
Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about higher BMIs that is worth reading.
Memory foam tends to be one of the better materials for “absorbing” motion transfer, but you may wish to investigate the bed frame you are using, as that can be one of the larger culprits in “amplifying” movement in the mattress. Metal bed frames tend to be the worst, with heavier-duty headboard/footboard bed sets and platform beds being more solid and tending to help minimize partner disturbance.
As far as other people’s experiences on this mattress, that really wouldn’t have any bearing on your comfort on the product. You can find just as many comments that people sleep very comfortably on the same product. Reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here). Your own personal experience is what I would trust the most.
Phoenix
Thank you for your responses they are much appreciated. We have a very heavy wood head and foot board and under the box spring I put 6 red wood 2x4’s for support. I tried to pay attention action when I was on the bed last night and I don’t seem to sink in the bed very much. Do you have any pointers on how to get it warranted? It just seems like the mattress is wore out now.
When Conns checks out your mattress (I assume that’s who you bought it from) they will determine if the problem you’re having is due to a defect that is considered to be a valid warranty issue. Generally there has to be a clear indication of a manufacturing defect or impressions over the warranty’s specified allowable size with nobody on the mattress. If a depression only occurs when you’re on the mattress that is generally not considered a warranty issue. Hopefully they’ll make a determination in your favor so that you can get a warranty replacement mattress, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way. Good luck and please let us know what they find.
Hi Bobbydavis,
You’re welcome.
Without seeing your bed set and the construction, I can’t tell if it has proper reinforcement or not. 2" x 4" boards running across would still need support either down to the floor, or as a t-slat, or meeting in the center resting upon a middle beam, to properly support your foundations.
Comfort is not a warranty issue, and much of what you seem to be mentioning is your comfort preference, so I’m not sure if what you’re describing is actually a warranty issue (it would be odd for this mattress to be “wore out” in only 16 months), but the inspector the store sends out will be able to determine that for you in person.
If you have more than .75" of a body impression, and the product is properly supported, that usually qualifies for a warranty replacement from Tempurpedic. See their warranty details here.
Good luck!
Phoenix
Will do thank you.