Anybody ever give up for awhile on getting a good mattress and buy a $50 airbed?  I say this because the mattress I have now causes me great pain, and it's only a year old so I need to save up for another one.

In the meantime, I'm thinking of buying one of those $50 airbeds and using it because the couple of times I slept on one, they were the most comfortable things.  Not aesthetically pleasing in a bedroom but this is just a temporary thing until I can afford a new mattress.  I can't afford to wake up so sore and miserable every day?

Anybody every do this?  Was it comfortable?

You could try mattress surgery...there are some good recent posts about that. Is the problem sagging foam inside your bed, or could you add more layers to make a firm bed more comfortable?

Alternatively, i slept on some foam i got from foambymail--i put it on the floor, specifically a king-size HD36-HQ piece, doubled it up, put a blanket over it, and it was insanely comfortable! I've also slept on some very comfortable airbeds, so i'm sure that would be fine for a while. Just get a quality one that won't leak.

If an airmattress works for you, go for it. You have little to lose by trying it for a week or so.
Why does everyone worry about what it "looks like"? How often do strangers see your bed?
(uh, I didn't mean that the way it might sound...)

jimsocal wrote:
Thanks for the chuckle Jim!

jimsocal wrote:
It took me a second to realize how one might take that the wrong way! Oh my! ;-) We need a blushing emoticon.

haha!

wifecat wrote:
You have it. Click on the smiley face above.

Oddly (or not) quite a few people have said that their back felf better on a cheap airbed than an expensive mattress. The only downside (besides the appearance aspect) is that they keep losing air so you have to keep reinflating them. If that's not a problem for you go for it. Just keep in mind that cheap airbeds aren't intended for long term daily use and eventually the seams will split open.

I was considering sleeping on an air mattress, but I have a cat who likes to climb onto the bed.  So I decided to buy an inexpensive mattress, then found this forum and figured that mattress sugery was the best way to go for now.  I just cut my mattress open last night, will post more detail soon.  :)

Adding a topper to the air mattress might help prevent the damp feeling of sleeping too close to the plastic layer. 

     ---Amy

One of my(many) mattresses was a very early Select Comfort air bed.  Mine didn't have the pillowtop, so I added cheap Target foam on top which made it sleep nicely.  However, the toppers seemed to go bad all at once, in the middle of the night, where I'd wake up and be in such discomfort I'd have to get up and go to the couch.  So, I went to a latex bed, and on and on and so forth.  There really was nothing wrong with the air mattress other than that.  However, I found that I liked the feeling of springs better for my back, so later when I slept on a sc mattress in a hotel, in spite of their luxurious mattress toppers, it did not sleep well for me.  This was after my back had started the chronic pain from bad foam on other mattresses.
I like the feel of the bed pushing back up from under me, which is why memory foam and air mattresses are not my cup of tea(anymore). 
Kait

I tried an air bed before trying latex and I could not handle the outgassing from the plastic. I aired it out for over 3 weeks and it still had the worse smell making  me ill even in another room.   The air bed was am Aerobed double mattress air bed from Costco that took back the air mattress. Maybe I should have went with the single bed so that I would have a bed for guests. I think the area in between the two twin size inflatible mattresses could not air out enough for me. I am very chemically sensitive.

Amy1 wrote:
So you did mattress surgery, eh?
I look forward to your experience. Please tell us what kind of mattress, what kind of springs, how old, what you found inside (any bicycles in there??!), etc.
Please start a new thread for the post.

My mattress story is now at http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/new-mattress-adventurer-foam-new-horizon/6605-0-1.html.  :)

        ---Amy

Thye just aren't worth the money if you ask me!

I have found that the big airbed-type air mattresses can be extremely comfortable if you use them with a foam eggcrate topper, a proper cotton mattress cover and a fitted sheet. The eggcrate somewhat moderates the bulgy feeling of sleeping on air, and the mattress cover lets it breathe, 

I would be tempted to try this full time, but the air mattresses I have used over the years always seem to develop leaks fairly soon, and even when they do not have leaks lose enough air that they need to be pumped back up every few days or weeks, which means the feel and comfort are change from day to day and it is hard to keep it just where you want it. Otherwise I would probably be sleeping on one now.  There may be better quality air mattresses that will hold it longer, but I have only used the Coleman-style camping ones.

I think you might be on to something. But I heard they sleep cold. My brother use to have a blue one with the velour velvet feel on top. He kept it in the back of his SUV,mmmm wonder why he kept it there?,lol

anyways have you tried just throwing a few layers of latex on the floor like those college kids do on youtube?. they seem happy.