I've been researching and reading posts on this forum for the past 2 months and finally decided to try the king size Sleepez 13,000 latex bed.  I kept comparing this bed to the beds offered by Flobeds but decided to go with Sleepez due to the price difference, no sales tax and no shipping fees.  I also took PLamarine's advice and ordered the organic cover for an extra $50.00.  I'm 5'8", 210lbs and ordered the XF,XF,F, Med for my side.  I told Shawn that I am a side/stomach sleeper and prefer a firm bed.  Hopefully this is not too firm but just right.  For my girlfriend's side, I ordered XF, F, Med, Soft as she is 5'5", 150lbs and is a side/back sleeper.  I also ordered the foundation for this bed.  I finally pulled the trigger and ordered this bed today because I was checking out the metal support frame under my current Serta bed when I noticed that one of the wooden support slats underneath the box spring on my side is cracked.  Hopefully the new bed comes soon and solves all my sleep discomforts.  I'm so excited and can't wait to get this bed.

I agree with Diane.  It is probably the pillow thickness.  So, I would focus on that if everything else is fine. 

I like down pillows, and I have found a few ways to try to make to adjust the height.  I start with a pillow that is slightly too thin.  One method is too put a folded towel under the mattress pad.  I can adjust the number of folds or type of towel to help get the right  height.  

The second strategy, which I am now using, is I put the pillow in a pillow cover, and I use safety pins to make the pilllow cover 1-2" smaller (do this without the pillow in the cover).  So, when I put the pillow inside the slighlty smaller pillow cover, that plumps up the pillow a little bit.  So, by moving the safety pins in more (say 3" instead of 1"), the pillow becomes a little taller.   Then the pillow and pillow cover go in the pillow case.  I have played around with this until I have found the right height to sleep well without any neck pain.

I have a slight fear of one of the pins becoming undone, but it has never happened so far.  Plus the pins are on the end, not where my head goes.

 

I have to also mention the importance of your pillow in avoiding shoulder pain. If your neck is supported properly, your shoulder won't be pushing down as hard on the mattress. And, remember, it's your neck that needs to be supported by the pillow when you are sleeping on your side, as much as or more so than your head.

Thanks for all your input. I agree about the  down--I have a collection of pillows, including Tempurpedic and latex, but I always go back to my down pillow. I should clarify, the neck pain is chronic; it didn't just start with the new bed. It gets better and then it gets worse. Oddly enough, it only hurts at night--as soon as I wake up and get vertical, it goes away. I think I'll try sleeping on the medium head and shoulder v zones and see if that helps.

Good idea, Sandman, about the safety pins. I've actually done something similar, only I just sewed the pillow shut a couple of inches from the side seam. Much better than paying $$$ for a super firm down pillow.

Thanks Sandman and Diane.  That's a good idea.  I will be calling Shawn to see if he can provide me with just a piece of S layer so I can try zoning ot out.  I'll let you now how I make out.

Yes, please keep us posted.  It is always beneficial to everyone to know what has/hasn't worked for others.

February 19, 2011

UPDATE:

 

I've had this bed for a while now and have been fairly pleased with it with a XF/F/M/S configuration.  The problem is, she is not having good luck with her side even after all of the different configurations that we've tried.  Her side is curently set to F/M/M/S and she wakes up in pain every day.  It's now getting to the point where she sleeps on the couch at times because it's so uncomfortable.  She's not sure what the problem is but from what I can tell, she's looking for a softer feeling on top and the S latex layer(s) aren't doing the job.  She keeps saying that she liked the feel of the old pillow top Serta that we had and that she also likes the feel of memory foam.  So.....I'm considering buying her a memory foam topper to try since it will provide less "push back" resistance.  Does anyone have any advice concerning this? The products I am currently looking at are:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Comfort-Dreams-Sensus-1-inch-Memory-Foam-Mattress-Topper/3657733/product.html

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Slumber-Solutions-Highloft-Eco-2-inch-Memory-Foam-Mattress-Topper/4796652/product.html

http://www.healthyfoundations.com/toppers.html

http://www.foamorder.com/mattress_pads.html

 

I'm considering trying the 1" piece in a King size that way if it's not enough, I could cut it in half and make 2" out of it if need be.  She's 5'5" and about 140-150 lbs.  Please list any other products or options that may help.  Thank you!

I purchased the 1 inch Sensus memory foam from Overstock for the exact same reason and have been quite happy with the results.  My top layer was 3 inches of "Medium" (24-28 ILD) talalay latex and I found the "push back" just a bit too much.  The 1 inch of memory foam provides a nice little cushion without sacrificing the support of the latex layer below.  YES, get the king size for the same price and you can add a 2nd inch if you need to.   Good luck.

We have 1.5" of 14ILD Talatech Blended as our top layer.  It definitely gives the super soft pillow-top feel.  For two nights I even doubled it up for my wife to seep on 3" of 14ILD and I was on 2" of FBM 20ILD (Both had 3" of 28ILD Talatech under that).  My wife, 5'6 110lbs, thought it was heaven, and I couldn't take it anymore after the second night because of pressure points. 14ILD definitely makes a huge difference over 20ILD.  14 is 70% of 20, so 14 is 30% softer than 20.  Or you could look at it as 20 is 143% of 14, so 20 is 43% firmer than 14.  Either way it is significant.  And I would guess your "Soft" top layer is probably 22-24.

Also, Radium makes a 16ILD that you can get through SleepEZ if you ask for it.  And SLAB has a 15ILD Celsion that claims to be cooler if that is a concern.  I have a sheet directly over the 14 for now and I don't find it hot at all.

Conservative wrote:

Conservative,

Can you tell me where you purchased the 1.5" 14ILD talatech from.  I am having a similar problem.  We have an 8" King from SleepEZ.  I like XF/M/S, but my wife can't sleep on it.  We have tried F/M/S and that is a little better for her, but not the most comfortable for me.  So I think we are going to end up with split layers, but we will still need something softer on top for her I think. 

Mike

I actually bought a "2-inch" Pure Latex Bliss Topper from http://www.stlbeds.com/parts-accessories.html .  It comes with a really nice feeling cover, but I have removed it because I feel that it is a little too small for the latex inside it.  14 is pretty soft, so the "stronger" stretchable cover tries to turn a 59"x79" piece of LI Talatech into a 57 x 77" piece.  When I removed the Latex, I found that it measures 1-5/8" in thickness.  Mine is Queen and was $299 with no return policy.  At SLAB, you can get the exact same latex, but in 2" for $314 and have no cover, but have a return policy.  Or, you can call SleepEZ and "special order" a 1.5" piece for $178 or a 2" piece for $290 (for whatever reason, SleepEZ has a huge price jump at 2") and also have a return policy (although, I am not sure if it will apply to a "special order" foam).  SleepEZ can get both the 14ILD Talatech or the 16ILD Radium.  They just said that it would be faster to get the Radium right now because LI was in the middle of a move or something.

My wife now has a comfort layer that is a piece of 14ILD Talatech on top of a 1" piece of 16ILD Radium. So that is actually about 2-1/2" inches of "Ultra Plush" Talalay.  On my side, I have the 14ILD directly on top our 3" 28ILD Talatech.  For me,(5'11" 150lbs) that seems perfect.  I am comfortable on my side, back, and stomach.  It is tough to get me out of bed in the morning.  To balance our heights out, I have a 1" layer of FBM 20ILD under the 3" Talatech.

So, our 11" DIY mattress looks like this:

Her side:

1.5" 14ILD Talatech

1" 16ILD Radium

3" 28ILD Talatech (26" at head is 3-1" Layers of 22ILD Radium for shoulder)

5.5" Medium Dunlop Core

 

My side:

1.5" 14ILD Talatech

3" 28ILD Talatech (26" at head is 3-1" Layers of 22ILD Radium for shoulder)

1" 20ILD FBM (needed the height and feels better here for back/stomach than above the 3")

5.5" Medium Dunlop Core

If I make any changes at this point, it will be not because of comfort, but because of durability/longevity.  I am wrestling with going firmer on the core, but it feels right as it is.

Gary