Mattress Forum

Do you feel your shoulders are sinking in more or less on this mattress than on your old spring air?  Are you sleeping in the same body position as you were before?  Do you have a favorite side (for example, I sleep mostly on my right side)?  Does one side of your neck and shoulders hurt more than the other?  Answers to these questions may point in the direction of what to do for pillows.

So far the best config seems to be S/F/M,  top to bottom, it seems to feel the best and does not cause back pain. I should have bought firmer layers initially I now see, but in the showroom we really didn't like the firmer latex mattresses. If I could do it over I would go firmer.

I sleep on side and nothing has changed at all in sleep habits. The hard part is that I cannot tell if shoulders are sinking in more or less, my guess is less.  Last night I tried a really thick pillow, and that was the best so far but doesn't make a lot of sense logically. The only thing I can say for sure is that I definitely need soft latex as a layer on top as even a medium is too much push back for me. Strangely, latex feels so heavenly initially, but I find as the night wears on the push back becomes annoying.

What I have learned about working with latex layers is that they don't seem to follow logic, that is, what my experience and reason would tell me would be best for me is not necessarily so. Nor is trying beds out in a showroom all that instructive, because it seems that whether a mattress will work for me does not become apparent till the 3rd night. Maybe that is why so many of us can sleep great on a hotel bed as we are not there for an extended stay.

My recommendation for anyone considering the latex is to have the ability for a lot of layer switches and trial and error. Latex doesn't work for everyone, and it seems most people end up with a firmer config than they originally thought would be right. There are for sure people on this forum who buy a mattress and are happy right off the bat, and I wish I could be one of them. At this point I will either return the whole thing, keep it and make the best of it, or give it away. I'm even reconsidering the dreaded S brand. If I lived near a small business mattress mfg. that allowed returns, I would probably buy a flippable innerspring mattress from them, with a real box spring like they used to make.

I used to be able to sleep on anything....guess those days are gone, both because I'm older and mattresses are not as well made anymore.

2.  Configuration.  If you want it a little firmer, did you try putting the firm in the middle with soft on top and using the medium as the base layer?

 Some people don't like the feel of 100% latex, so you might prefer memory foam, some of type of foam or possibly even a featherbed for the top comfort layer.  You can buy memory foam from Costco or Sam's club to try instead of your S layer, and should be able to return if not happy.

If you really want it firmer, you may want to buy 3" of latex from sleeplikeabear to replace the medium.  Not sure what ILD, because I am not sure what exactly you have.  Probably something in the 30s though.  If that works it cost you something, but probably better than starting from scratch.  If it doesn't work, you can return within 30 days for a refund (less shipping costs both ways and a small handling fee).   Or you can buy a firm piece of quality firm HD foam for less money.  Probably won't last as long or be returnable though.

Good luck and keep trying.  Unfortunately, many of us have to go through trial and error to get it right.

p.s. not sure if you have read about Mark's success .  What you may need is a firmer level (maybe just 2") instead of the medium + 1" of memory foam on top of the soft.  Do you know the ILDS of your latex?

p.s.s.  You can also try just 6" S/F or S/M to see what a firmer configuation might feel like.  Probably not a long term solution, but you never know.

S/F/M is what the mattress config is now. Seems so far to work better than S/M/F which caused pain everywhere.

Sandman,

Thank you for your excellent advice as well, Mark's post was thought provoking. I will try your suggestions.

Oops, sorry, missed that in your post!

Also, latex has this changeable quality. When one first gets in bed, it feels soft and cushy. By morning, it feels too firm.

 Went to a conventional mattress store today just to see if anything there felt better. Hard to tell with a sore back from the bed I've got.  Oh well, am going to continue to try to make the latex work though.

After trying numerous configurations, I finally concluded that the mattress was probably not firm enough, as it caused back pain, which I didn't suffer from til I purchased this mattress. The last config I tried was the best, but too late, my time was almost up, and the vendor did not wish to extend the time period to help me fine tune it. This was beyond frustrating, as I had diligently worked with the 3 layers in at least 7 combinations to try to make it work, I needed help to handle these 60 lb. pieces of rubber, and it took at least 4 days and more like 2 weeks with each config to tell if it would hurt or cause problems.  It was labor intensive to say the least. I feel like I have spent the last couple of months wrestling with my bed! So I had to return it even though I would have liked to make it work.

I am now back to sleeping on the floor until I can find something else.   The back pain is better, but of course, it is not comfortable.

Many on this forum seem to have been successful with latex, and I too might have gotten there with a little more time and a firmer layer. I think that latex isn't for everyone, or maybe it just takes a lot of tweaking, at this point I will never know.

What I have learned without a doubt is no matter what mattress is purchased, to go with a place that has a refund and return policy, and as long a trial period as possible. Also, if you have an old flippable innerspring, hang on to it and try mattress surgery, because they just don't make them like that anymore and likely never will. 

So I am back to square one, and starting this mattress nightmare search over again.  Today I went to Costco thinking I would just give up and try a cheap s brand again....but then I read the reviews on their site and saw the same old complaints: hurting peoples' backs, smell, too soft, too hard, sagging, etc. It just shouldn't be this hard to find an adequate bed. 

The search, unfortunately, goes on............................