Topper for Talalay Latex mattress - 19 ILD too hard

Mattress Talk 3) Needs & Personal Preferences
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I just purchased a 4" 34 ILD, 2 " 19 ILD Queen Talalay Latex mattress from Matelas Princesse in Montreal. Fantastic customer service.

I’ve only had it a few days and will call them this week to see what they recommend but also wanted to inquire here.

I bought a latex pillow along with the mattress (they gave me a great deal) to replace my lumpy old down filled one.

After the first night I could barely get out of bed or move. I was in terrible pain. Now, I have an old back injury (fracture upper vertebrae), previous neck injury, and chronic shoulder pain. I sometimes have spasms that leave me in severe pain for days. I was afraid I was on my way to a terrible spasm morning, but managed ok.

I had slept with the new pillow as well. I’m not sure if it was the pillow and/or bed. I think the pillow was ok but I’m not used to it so think I need to ease into it.

The second night I replaced the pillow with the old lumpy one. And added the 3" medium Talalay topper I had purchased last year from Sleep on Latex to put on my spring mattress that was sagging.
I still woke up with pain but not as bad as the first night.

I know latex has a breaking in period but I cannot afford to be in agony for weeks.

I’m 5’3", 125 lbs and a side sleeper.

So now what? I’m very disappointed as i had such high hopes that this new latex would help alleviate my pain from my old mattress. Yes, I have arthritis in my back but have slept on hotel beds that were more comfortable and didn’t cause me pain.

I started to research softer toppers. I don’t want to go with a cheap memory foam or something that will compress quickly or that I have to air out and fluff up frequently as I’ve read about wool toppers and feather beds. I saw the noodle latex topper that looks interesting.

I’m in Montreal, Canada so looking for a Canadian company preferably.

Severe mid-upper back/shoulder pain from new Talalay mattress
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Your BMI is on the lower side so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue but not sure if you have a bony or curvy body type which requires more consideration especially when side sleeping. Take a photo at bed level in your sleeping position so you can check your alignment. You should be able to draw a straight line from your tail bone through your neck. If the spine is curving to any extent then that’s your issue (some people are more sensitive than others to misalignment when sleeping often injuries contribute to this). I suspect you’ll find this is your issue and you need to address that in your mattress design in order to correct it. Again first step is definitely to verify the problem so you can target a solution for your issue. Let us know what you find.

3

This is a good example of why latex can be a little tricky even though it has such a strong reputation for durability. The material itself is great, but the firmness and layer configuration make a huge difference, especially for side sleepers who need enough pressure relief around the shoulders and hips.

At 5’3" and 125 lbs, I would imagine the 19 ILD layer may still feel quite firm depending on your body shape and sleeping position. Sometimes the issue isn’t that the mattress is poor quality, but that the comfort layers aren’t matching how your body interacts with the mattress. One thing I’ve noticed with some Quebec manufacturers is that they take a more personalized approach by adjusting firmness, layers, and construction instead of trying to make one model work for everyone. That type of customization can be helpful for sleepers with specific needs like chronic pain or different pressure points. Have you had a chance to speak with the manufacturer about whether the comfort layers can be adjusted, or are you mainly looking at adding a topper to change the feel?

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I also have pain issues and am fairly light. I wrote a post on here called Topper Graveyard listing the toppers I tried to go over my latex mattress.

What I have found is that latex is horrible as a top layer for lighter weights or people with pain. Latex is very active so it pushes back vertically and also jiggles from side to side when you are a lighter weight. The pushback and microjiggling make your body adjust all night and stress your nervous system. A heavier person would compress the latex enough that this doesn’t happen. A lighter person is at the mercy of the latex.

I couldn’t afford to change the latex base again so I ended up using a topper to mute the latex.

Even though I had been very anti-foam after a bad foam mattress experience. I realized that I was overcorrecting. One small layer of foam over the latex has saved my sleep.

The ones that worked best for me were:
Molecule Copperwell 3” memory foam
ComfortTech Serene 2” polyfoam

They are both quality foams.

I would still recommend the Molecule if you have two people, but for me by myself I prefer the Serene. It is not memory foam. It is a cushiony polyfoam that sleeps very cool. It stops the latex jiggle and stops the pain.