Jimsocal or others: Annyone with lower back pain try PU, polyurethane, standard foam, HR High Resiliency, HD HIgh density foam topper?
Aug 14, 2010 7:48 AM
Joined: Dec 11, 2009
Points: 113
Jimsocal... don't I recall you having tried plain old PU polyurethane foam for a top cushion layer?  How did that work out?

I am not making much progress having tried many variations of soft to medium lates and memory foam from 1-3 inches over a firm base for my 170 lb back and side slde sleeper with lower back pain.

Almost every medium to firm non-latex or Memory Foam mattress in the showrooms ... and almost every mattress I sleep on in even cheap hotels... feel better than whatever my last experiment at home feels like.

They all have conventional foam comfort layers... and the few that publish what's in side it is several progressive layers of conventional foam in thin layers... down to a half inch on top.

I am wondering if some combo of conventional foam layers might work, but very few suppliers are selling thin layers.. because a half inch of anything isn't a one size fits all solution, I suppose.

Thanks Jim and everyone else for your thoughts.

Sleepless in Atlanta.... shovel

This message was modified Aug 14, 2010 by shovel99
Re: Jimsocal or others: Annyone with lower back pain try PU, polyurethane, standard foam, HR High Resiliency, HD HIgh density foam topper?
Reply #2 Aug 15, 2010 11:04 AM
Joined: Feb 8, 2010
Points: 72
Nothing wrong with PU foam except that it doesn't last forever. I have produced a lot of "miracle cures" on bad beds over the years with  simple PU eggcrates (which are alas getting harder to find). The eggcrates seem to work especially nice when not a lot of depth is needed because they combine a lot of softness with not too much depth to compress - while not enough soft will keep you awake, too much soft and depth will give you backaches.

So PU can be very cost effective being the cheapest foam. However, I think a lot of us on this list have become connoisseurs and are looking for not just good enough, but the best, hence the interest in latex'

The "any bed but mine" syndrome is an interesting one, but I am always surprised when I stay in a hotel for more than a day or two how the bed that felt so good that first night (though often with a little help from the eggcrate I travel with) feels wretched by the 3rd or 4th. But then what else is Ambien for?

Re: Jimsocal or others: Annyone with lower back pain try PU, polyurethane, standard foam, HR High Resiliency, HD HIgh density foam topper?
Reply #3 Aug 15, 2010 12:08 PM
Joined: Dec 11, 2009
Points: 113
Thanks gentlemen.  I have a couple of stiffnesses and thicknesses of PU foam coming from www.foamdistributing.com, which is foam factory's non-latex non-memory foam product website. You folks probably knew that.  Very reasonable.   For some reason it isan independent website from www.foambymail.com where the latex and mem foam are.

IF Peee  Yeww (loved that in another post, Jim)  is only a one year solution, it  is not really a worthy objective, although sleeping for a year (a month, week, or day!) without the back pain in the absence of a better solution will be accepted!

Half of last night started out well:   1 inch of 4 lb eco friendly mem foam on top from Overstock.com ( I am on a first name basis with those folks like Mr. Gladstone... Dustin Hoffman at the Hotel in The Graduate) .... on top of 1 inch of FBM 20 ILD latex.   By 4 AM I was sweating and hurting as the Mem foam had collapsed to slightly thicker than the sheet.  Those two layers are on top of a Serta Auburn firm picked up on sale at Sears for $500... and until I am ready for surgery, is a reasonably firm base... with springs.

I tore off the mem foam and put a second layer of 20 ILD FBM latex... becoming 2 inches... and that was in the right direction.

Off to try the 14 ILD latex from SLAB, and if the PU works for a while, I will take it.

Good luck to you both.

Thanks again,

Paul/shvel99


Re: Jimsocal or others: Annyone with lower back pain try PU, polyurethane, standard foam, HR High Resiliency, HD HIgh density foam topper?
Reply #4 Aug 17, 2010 2:53 AM
Joined: Apr 21, 2010
Points: 58
I have major spine issues, and personally I cannot stand foam.. I am now sleeping on a good coil innerspring with a thin layer of memory foam topped by a virgin wool comforter and a featherbed, and I am sleeping 8 hours without waking for the first time in 6 years. I understand how individual this is, but I do find that all of us with stenosis who are forced to sleep on our sides need serious orthopedic support topped by a supersoft layer that allows the shoulders and hips to maintain circulation, and materials that do not retain heat. what the pile is made up of will vary for each of us somewhat, and weight is a big consideration. at 92 lbs I do not sink into anything except a really terrible mattress. I just hate materials that are not natural. I will be replacing the memory foam layer with latex when I get the money to do that. 
Re: Jimsocal or others: Annyone with lower back pain try PU, polyurethane, standard foam, HR High Resiliency, HD HIgh density foam topper?
Reply #5 Aug 18, 2010 4:49 AM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
shovel, I'll be interested to see how that 14ILD from SLAB works for you. I've been thinking of trying either that or the 18-20ILD latex.

It is odd how sleeping on other people's mattresses seems to work... I can't figure that one out. But I guess sometimes when I change my mattress, it seems better for 2-3 days, too, then begins to hurt me. Strange phenomenon.

I agree that if PU form works for you, it's totally worth it even if you have to replace it every 6 months or whatever...

It does also feel different than latex, though, which can be good or bad. And HD foam feels different than cheap PU foam.

This message was modified Aug 18, 2010 by jimsocal

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