I'm so in need of help.
Feb 20, 2013 9:45 AM
Joined: Feb 20, 2013
Points: 1
Hello. I am in need of some guidance here. I'm a big guy at 6'5 and 265lbs. I just returned a tempurpedic Cloud Supreme (after 3+1/2 weeks hoping it would work I realized it was just not offering enough support) and exchanged it for a Stearns & Foster Kathryn 13.5" Luxury Firm inner spring bed. I suppose those are about the two opposite extremes on the feel of a bed. My first night on the S&F which was last night was spent tossing and turning in pain from it being too hard. I got out of bed feeling like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. My wife, god bless her, can sleep on anything and calls me princess and the pea in regards to a bed. I wish I had as easy of a time sleeping as her!

At this point I'm at a loss regarding what I should do. The store I bought the beds from said they don't usually do a second exchange. Although I suspect if I made a big enough stink they would. Maybe a topper is the answer?

I hoping someone else has gone through this and can offer some advice.

Thanks!

Re: I'm so in need of help.
Reply #1 Feb 20, 2013 12:08 PM
Joined: Mar 15, 2012
Points: 182
Mirage_Man wrote:

Hello. I am in need of some guidance here. I'm a big guy at 6'5 and 265lbs. I just returned a tempurpedic Cloud Supreme (after 3+1/2 weeks hoping it would work I realized it was just not offering enough support) and exchanged it for a Stearns & Foster Kathryn 13.5" Luxury Firm inner spring bed. I suppose those are about the two opposite extremes on the feel of a bed. My first night on the S&F which was last night was spent tossing and turning in pain from it being too hard. I got out of bed feeling like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. My wife, god bless her, can sleep on anything and calls me princess and the pea in regards to a bed. I wish I had as easy of a time sleeping as her!

At this point I'm at a loss regarding what I should do. The store I bought the beds from said they don't usually do a second exchange. Although I suspect if I made a big enough stink they would. Maybe a topper is the answer?

I hoping someone else has gone through this and can offer some advice.

Thanks!

Consider the mattress construct to be a comfort layer over a support layer.  The comfort layer cradles your body profile just enough (depth and firmness) to distribute your weight as much as possible for pressure relief. The support layer provides some cradle progression from the comfort layer, but must then hold your weight without sagging.

Sagging in either layer will cause spinal pain.  Too little cradle such that you reach the support layer at pressure points can cause spinal pain and pressure point pain.  Pressure point pain all over like being beaten with a bat suggests too little cradle on a firm (too firm?) support layer.

Your options are to get a different mattress, or improve the comfort layer cradle with a topper.  A wool mattress pad over a Talalay blended Latex topper would be my choice of topper, if I thought the support layer... the springs... offered enough cradle progression and no sag (not too firm?).  For example, the floor offers no cradle progression and no sag... too firm and not fixable with a topper.

The good news is that it can be practical to start with a good firm mattress with a minimal comfort layer, and then add your own topper to complete the comfort layer, provided the support layer is working... some cradle progression and no sag.

But you may not want to take on choosing a topper depth and firmness to suit both of you.  You may just want to re-shop the mattress; avoid pillow tops that are too deep (sag pain) and made of cheap poly foams that fail/body set (sag pain).

Try to re-evaluate your mattress... what are the comfort and support layers doing.

GK

Re: I'm so in need of help.
Reply #2 Feb 28, 2013 2:16 PM
Location: NYC
Joined: Sep 23, 2010
Points: 15
Well, the good news is that your mattress is too firm.  This can be easy to rectify.  The one thing I will warn of is that your mattress will change within just a few weeks.  My luxury frim from Stearns and Fosters was perfect for the first few nights then got softer.  It got to a softer level and then stayed there.  The problem is that I want a firmer mattress like you have.  Now, I have to cut this mattress open to make it right for me.  Try to lie in your mattress for a few more nights and see if it will change.  Still, if you find that you're getting into serious pain, then swap out to something more comfortable immediately.  After the week or two process, you'll have an idea of where your mattress lies.  Then, you can decide on getting some mattress toppers to round out your feel and you'll be sleeping on clouds, most likely. 

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