Hi…I have been looking for a mattress for a year. I am sleeping on a WALMART air mattress which feels pretty good. I have fibromyalgia so I need something soft. The problem I am finding is number one, when you get the bed it is much harder than the one in the store even if you have it two months, it does not soften…and number two…they put all kinds of fluff in the top and then it packs down, leaving a valley to sleep in. I bought the Hollingsworth pillow top from Macy’s. When I got it…it was rock hard. I would never pick a mattress like that. On top of that…in just a month it had a huge body impression. I weigh 150 lbs.I had a Jamison for 23 years and I loved it. However…I cannot find one that is soft enough in my price range. I was going to get the Aphrodite pillow top…but I really think it is too hard. If I put a topper on it…the sheets will not fit. I was hoping I could get a good mattress for $1200, but I am doubting that. I am focusing on the Sealy hybrid Majesty and the Jamison latex Lady Lark. Both are really more than I can afford but I am sick of looking. I seriously have mattress overload…lol. I honestly don’t know what to do. I would really appreciate any thoughts you had. I also looked at sleep number…but I did not like that at all. I looked at a water bed, but they wanted $ 1800!!! Thanks so much
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Reading through the information on the main website is a good first place to start. I would start here with some general guidelines when shopping for a mattress Mattress shopping guidelines - finding the best quality and value - The Mattress Underground . I have been in your shoes and would recommend staying away from the larger manufactures. This site has a great wealth of information and while everyone’s needs are different you can find the help on the forum to make an informed decision.
Do you currently have a preference for the materials you would like in your mattress? And what size are you looking for? I would say that it is reasonable to find a mattress in your $1200 price range once you narrow down what will work best for you utilizing the info on the site. If you click on “the underground” tab on the website there is a list of recommended manufacturers that represent some of the best quality and value you can find anywhere in the US.
If you could give some more info on your stats, sleeping position, and preferences I will do what I can to help you through the process and point you in the right position. I know it can be frustrating! Be aware though that the goal of the site is to help you make an informed decision not necessarily recommend a specific mattress for you. Only you will know what option is best for you after educating yourself
P.s. there are links in the link I posted that would be considered required reading as well
I have fibromyalgia, too, so I can certainly empathize.
Phoenix pointed me, as one of the good options, to a little sleep shop an hour away from where we live. They offered the softest Dunlop latex mattress I’ve seen, and said in their advertising that it was intended for people who loved very soft, or who suffered with chronic pain problems such as fibromyalgia or lupus. It has a 19-23 ILD six inch core with three inches of 16-18 ILD as the comfort layer, all natural Dunlop latex.
I went and tried it out and loved it - but not wanting to make an impulse purchase, I then went home and thought about it for a week before going back and spending another couple of hours in the shop, trying to decide between the mattress above, and the one that was just a little firmer. I kept trying to convince myself to get the one that was firmer, at least partly because of Phoenix’s repeated statements about how it’s easier to make a firm mattress feel softer than to make a soft mattress feel firmer. The shop owner told me the opposite, that when people were on the fence between two mattresses, he advised them to buy the softer of the two.
I finally decided that I should buy the mattress that felt best to me, considering my alignment was equal on both, and odds were high that if I bought the firmer mattress I’d soon be looking for a softer topper, so I bought the very soft Dunlop mattress and haven’t regretted it for a minute.
Since you mentioned a waterbed, you might find it interesting that I had slept on a hard sided waterbed for 10 years, then a soft sided waterbed for the past several years, and that in the past couple of years even the soft sided waterbed with a featherbed topper had become too firm for me - that’s why I knew that latex was pretty much the only option left for me.
I sleep better now, and in fact my bed is the only place in my whole house where I can now get comfortable without something hurting somewhere or other. Next purchase is going to be a nice plush recliner, but since I’ve heard it’s best financially to buy most furniture in January I’m trying to make myself suffer thru horrid back pain until then.
I hope you can find something suitable, without having to spend another year looking. I was lucky - the first shop I visited had just what I wanted, and apparently just what my body needed. I think it was about 3 weeks between deciding I had to buy a new mattress and having it delivered, which might be some kind of speed record for mattress shopping among the type of people who end up on this forum!
I’ve never had the opportunity to compare the feel of Dunlop to Talalay latex - but if my bed begins to feel too firm, I’m going to be looking for a 14 ILD Talalay topper. I just hope I continue to be happy with my bed the way it is now. I love the way Dunlop feels, but I don’t think it comes any softer than the 16-18 ILD I have now.
Getting old isn’t for the faint of heart - and neither is fibro.
Hi Stonefan49,
I think Clawdia and Everrerady073 either covered or linked to most of the initial information you will need but a forum search on fibromyalgia (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback from others who are also facing the same challenge.
Phoenix
One more question. I just came from a local store. They just got a new Jamison model in. It is call the Poseidon. It is in their Vita Pedic line. Their website is Jamisonbedding.com. It is a flappable mattress and it is NOT a pillow top. It comes in a pillow top though. It was vvery comfortable, but can someone please look at site for me and tell me about the insides? It doesn’t seem like there is much in there I would really appreciate that cause I love the way it felt, but for the price…$1499 I think it is too high. All it seems to have is convoluted foam. Thanks so much.
Hi Stonesfan49,
I don’t see any especially helpful material on their website with respect to the materials used inside the mattress. You would need to obtain this from the retailer, if they chose to tell you.
This was the most informative page I found:
http://jamisonbedding.com/mattress-comparison
I am entertained/amused that their mattress FAQ has a whole section on why mattresses are so thick now, and why body impressions (“signatures”) form, and how maybe you should be concerned if you have a mattress that doesn’t have a body “signature” 
Hi Stonesfan49,
To assess a mattress or make meaningful quality or value comparisons or identify any weak links in the mattress you would need to know the type and quality of all the layers in your mattress … particularly in the comfort layers. This would include the density of any polyfoam.
The Poseidon has 1" of ultra soft polyfoam in the quilting and another 2" of convoluted polyfoam in the comfort layer and I would want to make sure you know the density of these layers so you can make sure that it’s a good quality material that won’t soften or break down too quickly.
I would want to see a minimum of 1.5 lb polyfoam in a two sided mattress and higher density would be more durable yet.
Phoenix