I recently bought an all latex mattress from SleepEz, and have had some trouble getting a good configuration. You have been helpful and knowledgeable so I wanted to see if you have any suggestions.
I bought a 9" all talalay (F/M/S) and had issues with sleep. Just not comfortable and had lower back pain, lots of tossing and turning.Previously I had a medium firm spring mattress with a 2" memory foam topper and this was good for me. I tried the latex with some different configurations for a week or so a piece to no help. The best one I found was just firm on bottom and then medium on top, but I had pressure point problems. And still even with that one, I feel like my back is uncomfortable, almost tense , as if it does not like being in whatever position latex is making it go in.
I then tried it out for a month , and it hasnt gotten better, and now I have lower left pain in my back also, not sure from what. I’m a back sleeper but find sleeping on my side is more comfortable on this bed (although I’d prefer to sleep on my back). So I was thinking of exchanging the firm talalay to firm dunlop but was told that at the firm ILD talalay is pretty much the same as dunlop. So instead I exchanged the soft talalay for another medium talalay. So now I’ve tried sleeping on firm/med/med and I feel like it is too firm (seems to be slight space between back and mattress ) and I have been waking up with sore shoulders and legs.
I’m wondering if I should try a 2" soft topper? Or Is it possible that certain people’s bodies just dont react well to latex? Maybe its pushing back and causing tension or something along those lines?
I’m sorry to hear that your mattress isn’t working out as well as you hoped for … at least so far.
While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved 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 … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.
These posts are the “tools” that can help with the analysis, detective work, or trial and error that may be necessary to help you learn your body’s language and “translate” what your body is trying to tell you so you can identify the types of changes that have the best chance of reducing or eliminating any “symptoms” you are experiencing (at least to the degree that any symptoms are from your mattress rather than the result of any pre-existing issues you may have that aren’t connected to a mattress).
It would also be helpful if you could provide more information that compares and contrasts the specifics of how each layering combination you have tried compared to each other and the specific “symptoms” you experienced on each of them and even more importantly how (and how much) each of your specific symptoms changed with different combinations relative to the other combinations you tried previously. Information about the changes in your experience and symptoms can act as a pointer to the type or “direction” of changes that may be needed and can be more helpful than just knowing whether any specific combination either “works” or “doesn’t work” or whether it “feels good”…
The first step in identifying the types of changes that may be most helpful is to assess whether the symptoms you are experiencing come from “comfort” and pressure point issues or are coming from support and alignment issues.
If they are coming from comfort and pressure point issues then changes to the upper layers of the mattress will often be the most effective solution.
If they are coming from support and alignment issues then changes to the deeper layers will often be the most effective solution.
I’m not sure how long you tried the original S/M/F combination but there will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress over the course of the first few weeks so it’s usually best to sleep on the original configuration if possible for a few weeks before making any changes (see post #3 here).
The most common cause of lower back pain is either upper layers that are too thick/soft or deeper layers that are too soft although it’s also possible that there could be other reasons for lower back pain as well. If you are experiencing lower back pain on the S/M/F combination it may be worth trying to exchange the firm layer with the medium layer (putting the firm layer in the middle) to “firm up” the support to see if this helps. It would also be worth trying a M/S/F combination as well since this will also reduce the amount your hips/pelvis are sinking in to the upper layers of the mattress.
[quote]I tried the latex with some different configurations for a week or so a piece to no help. The best one I found was just firm on bottom and then medium on top, but I had pressure point problems. And still even with that one, I feel like my back is uncomfortable, almost tense , as if it does not like being in whatever position latex is making it go in.
Previously I had a medium firm spring mattress with a 2" memory foam topper and this was good for me.[/quote]
If the M/F combination seems to provide better support/alignment but doesn’t provide the comfort/pressure relief that you need and if a memory foam topper worked well for you previously it may also be worth trying a 2" or 3" memory foam top layer on top of the medium/firm latex layers (or even firm/medium latex layers) to see if the memory foam comfort layer provides the comfort and pressure relief that you are looking for. It’s not surprising that removing the top layer would lead to a mattress that was too firm overall and needed some additional softness and pressure relief.
I’m assuming that the combination you tried for a month was the M/F combination but if a combination isn’t suitable for you in terms of PPP then it’s unlikely that it will get better over time. You may also have made too drastic a change with removing a layer completely and “jumped over” the layering combination that may work best for you. In general terms it’s usually best to make small and more incremental changes to see how each smaller change affects your sleeping experience and the “symptoms” you are experiencing. Again … it may be worth trying your memory foam topper on this combination. If you have split layers and there are two medium layers in your mattress then it may also be worth testing the M/M/F layering you are considering on one side of your mattress.
I would agree that changing the deeper firm Talalay for firm Dunlop probably won’t have a significant effect on support/alignment although it may change the “feel” of the mattress.
It’s certainly possible that a thinner comfort layer may work better for you. The choice of materials is really a preference choice more than a “better/worse” choice and latex in a suitable thickness and firmness level (in combination with suitable support and transition layers) can certainly provide good pressure relief but it is also a more resilient material (springy) material than other types of foam which some people don’t like as much as less resilient or “springy” materials.
Pushback is really a misnomer is just another word for resilience. It has very little to do with firmness or pressure relief and resilience is one of the properties of a material that is part of how it “feels” and responds (which is a preference issue) but not part of its ability to relieve pressure. There is more about what many people call “pushback” in post #136 here.
Overall though … your best source of guidance will be more detailed conversations about your experiences on each layering combination with SleepEZ (see post #4 here about written communications vs voice communications) who will have more experience in “matching” their layering combinations with different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences based on their many years of experience and on the “averages” of other other customers that may be similar to you although not everyone fits inside the “averages” of other people’s experiences.
For the large majority of people the “standard” layering combinations that they suggest will be a good “match” in terms of PPP and for a smaller percentage where it isn’t then either rearranging layers or exchanging a layer would generally be “enough” to find a combination that will work well but there will always be a smaller percentage of people that are “outside the averages” where finding a combination that they sleep well on will be more difficult.