hey everyone,

I recently took a chance and bought some latex from FBM.  I got the medium 6in core and two 1in soft toppers.  This combination is definitely firmer than my previous mattress which was severely sinking in the middle; however, my back is starting to hurt.  Is this a sign that my latex combination is too soft?  I am 5'8 and about 133lbs. 

Last night I decided to take one of the softer toppers off and the mattress seem to be a little firmer, but my back was still a little stiff.  Should I try to lay on the mattress for a few more days or should I order some firmer toppers?  Would placing a firmer topper on the med 6in core help? 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Tuan

Do you sleep on your side back or stomach? Is you pain in your lower back or between your shoulder blades?

What is the ILD of the 6" core? You might try sleeping on the core only, a couple of nights to see how it goes.

I would say the bed is to soft with the toppers. You probably need a firmer topper. You need to know the ILD of the various layers. Compare them to a universal standard that represents, soft, medium, firm, and extra firm. This way you can make some kind of rational decision based upon some kind of a standard benchmark.

The standard that I have is from the FlowBeds website. This is for 100% botanically grown natural latex manufactured by Latex International.  ILD for there soft range is 20-24, medium 26-30, firm 30-34, extra firm 34-38. They don't always get it done, but they try to place the ILD in the middle of the range.

thanks guys!

I believe the soft topper that FBM sells has an ILD of 20, and their 6in med firm core has an ILD range of 26-32.  I am a back sleeper and my pain is usually on the lower back and middle part of my back.  I have had back problems before, so I dont know if that has anything to do with it. 

I looked on the FBM website and medium is 26-32 ILD, and firm is 33-38 (Talalay). So, similiar or slightly firmer than flowbeds.

I can get a sore back from a mattress too firm or too soft, so hard to draw conclusions for your information. I tend to judge by feel: do you feel like you are sinking in too much or too little?

Yes, try it with just 1" topper or just on the 6" core for a couple of nights to see how that works for you.

I think a 1" firm over the 6" core would feel firmer than just the 6" core, but have not ever tried it to know for sure. Generally, I think you are better off having the core firmer and the top layers softer. The support comes from the lower layers and the softness to feel right from the top layers. At least that is how they are usually designed.

You can read my thread "Just bought a new FloBeds." there is a lot of information there about adjusting cores as to firmness and comfort.

I believe you said you were not that large of a man, but back problems may necessitate a firmer mattress for you than would normally be called for, for someone your size and weight.

I almost hesitate to quote size and weight as a requirement. Simply because we are all so very different as regards what we consider, "to firm, or too soft" in reference to a mattresses.

Having said that, my current configuration in a California King mattress,is left-sided F/F/XF right side M/XF/XF. I am finding this configuration to work quite well for me at the current time. If I continue to sleep as I have for the last couple of weeks, I imagine I will keep it that way. I have a few more weeks to go on my 90 day exchange window with FlowBeds. But I am learning, slowly, that it is better to stay with the configuration that seems to be working for a longer period of time and make sure. The latex that I have, as indicated earlier, is 100% botanically grown natural latex. It seems to me that it tends to soften up somewhat over time. I tried one side with soft, over medium, over extra firm. At first it felt great, but within a couple of nights I developed a sore spot midway between my shoulder blade and the small of my back. So I switched it out to the F/F/XF, and now it sleeps great. If I want something softer I roll over onto the other side that is M/XF/XF and that seems to be quite accommodating as well. So as you can see, it takes a while to work this out.

As sandman observed, the topmost layer has the most influence on how you perceive a mattress to feel. But this is initially. The second layer plays a very significant role in establishing the actual support. I have never changed out my bottom layer, they have always been extra firm, so I cannot render any kind of judgment about how a mattress feels if this level is changed.

Back sleepers generally have no sleep related pain. Side and stomach sleepers are the ones with problems. When you are on your back try elevating your legs with pillows under your knees to decompress the vertebrae in your back. You probably have a disk compression or degeneration issue.

Beg to differ, Batman.  I sleep on my back and then on sides, but I have experienced back pain from sleeping on my back.  Generally seems to happen when the mattress softens under my heaviest part, and that part sinks down(picture your rear sinking deep into a mattress....low back bends the wrong way following it).  Lately I've been sleeping with a folded hand-towel under my waist area(saw this on Dr. Oz), and that seems to help both for my side sleeping and back sleeping.  I needed a bed that was soft enough for my shoulders to sink in and also so my hips didn't lose circulation, but supportive enough to not let my hips sink in too much. 
Also a thin pillow between knees helps while side sleeping. 
Just a personal experience, FWIW.
Kait

Kait wrote:

Me too. Especially if the mattress is too soft. Try removing the soft topper and sleep on the 6" medium core. If you still have back pain the mattress isn't providing enough support or it's just providing the wrong kind of support for your needs. Not everyone can sleep on latex--especially Talalay latex. Lower back pain is a common complaint.

To each their own I guess. Usually combination side and back sleepers that have back pain find that it is due to them being in between positions and twisted when they sleep.