I need a new mattress. help me pick one.
 

I want a NEW bed. I want YOUR experiences with beds.

My MD believes I have some spinal lesions so when I lay flat, I get horrible MS hug issues, and headaches. so, I have decided to get an adjustable bed.

I dont want the sleep # bed, because I sleep alone, and mostly back up to the middle. The double bladder in the bed makes it uncomfy for the sleeper who does that according to all the reviews I read.

Not sure about temperpedic since I am a hot sleeper. Anyone have a GEL infused Memory foam? I hear they sleep cooler. That or a latex mattress. I can put any mattress on the adjustable base, so im not worried about making it a set.

Bobs furniture has a plush memory foam with adjustable base for cheap. I also have seen Overstock.com and they have great prices.

With MS I spend much more than 8 hours a day in bed. I really want to get something that is comfy, and plush. something that wont kill my back after 3 hours, or make me wake up stiff and sore. I have enough of that from MS.

Any advice? Tell me about YOUR mattress. I cheaped out 5 years ago and got a local bargain. it has ruts, dents, the material has pulled away from the innersprings...the guy went out of business so good luck on the warranty. DHs mattress does the same thing, so we both need a decent mattress.

I haven't bought a new bed in YEARS and for some reason I'm creeped out by laying on a bed in a store full of strangers so I'm not the most efficient bed shopper. :(

My experience with a tempur pedic pillow is that it definitely lost its shape after several years. I wasn't a huge fan of it to begin with it was just ok but would really be upset if I had spent alot of money on a mattress and it went flat. Hopefully those with a mattress will share their experiences because I only had a pillow.

Good luck!

hi dej,
i've dealt with a lot of muscle pain in my life. i'm a side sleeper and was having a lot of pain with regular matresses. plus i'd wake up with a lot of back pain.

so, on a friend's recommendation i tried a temperpedic and i love it. i didn't even have to wait wks to get used to it. it's been several yrs now and my pain levels are down. i love my bed. to me it was worth the $$$. i have a medium firm mattress. i have a double and at the time paid $2000. i've never regretted it.

ps...the bed has maintained it's shape. and, i'm very heat sensitive. i'm not hot in the bed.

I bought the thickest memory foam bed Overstock sells 3 years ago.

I. LOVE. IT!!!:D

It doesn't feel "hot" to me (and I've gone through rapid onset menopause due to the chemo when I had my reboot). I live in Texas and even in the summer I sleep with a sheet and a light cover. No problem.

I've suggested this mattress to others, and all have been VERY happy with their purchases. It's also SUPER fun to unwrap it and watch it expand before your very eyes! If you unwrap it early in the morning, it's fine for sleeping the first night!

Good luck!

I need a new mattress, too. Mine is about 12 years old. I sleep on the same side every night so it's wearing unevenly. And I need about four people to flip it because it's so heavy. :rolleyes:

I want to try the memory foam. I wonder if insurance would pay for any of it if it was a medical need?

I have a memory foam pillow for about 5yrs now and love it. Ive been desperately trying to get my dh to agree to a memory foam mattress. Ive tried them and love them!!

Dang am I the only one with pillows that flattened out like pancakes? Although I guess I probably have had them about 10 years but still they were over $100 back then.

I did some research and they say the 5lb memory foam is what you want, and at least 8 inches of it.

I found this...

http://www.mybobs.com/Power_Bob

I am thinking about getting it. That is if I get enough responses from folks telling me they dont sleep hot. This one adjusts so I can raise my legs, or head and watch TV instead of propping with pillows.

What do you think?

I have gone through many mattresses. I will say right off the bat that my best bed ever is a medium firm futon. It was a floor demonstration model, so it had been "outgassing" its toxic fumes for 8 months, otherwise I could not have bought it. It had a cherrywood frame, an added bonus, for less than $500.
I have bought very expensive beds which were only so-so. One of them is an all cotton mattress which is supposed to by hypoallergenic, and cost $2000 plus a hefty shipping cost. It was definitely not worth it, as it sags in places and is too soft. My husband loved it though--sure miss him over there on the right side of the mattress.

I sent a tempurpedic back to the store after one night, paying the 10% restocking fee. I do not have any idea why you guys like his mattress and I found it the most painful mattress I ever slept on. I just sank into it and hurt. That is all, pure pain for 2 hours, in whatever position, moved back to the old bed.

I had an adjustable bed which was not comfortable and also sent that back, and now use pillows (goose down) to prop up my head.

I have to be careful with the "new mattress" smell, so that's an additional problem to me, and why I finally bought the expensive all-natural bed.

If I have to go into an assisted living, it will be hard to take my queen size futon, but I do not think I can replace it easily...it was "special" and just right for me. I do not hurt on it. I do have to change positions a lot, however. Sometimes I just sleep through the night, a wonder.

I am usually comfy on motel beds, and I just wonder how they manage to get comfy beds which I have found it so hard.

I have a memory foam topper, wish I could afford the whole bed! I love it. Its warmish in winter, and I'm not hot in summer.

Im still shopping. I will go to Bobs store and lay on one and look at the mechanics before I buy. I am also looking at natural beds. I can buy the adjustable frame separate and put whatever mattress I want on it. I may just do that.

Outgassing is a huge problem for me, as I am very prone to headaches, and rashes...so I have to be careful. When DH got a new mattress a couple of years ago, we left it on the deck for 3 days before we got it in the house. it STUNK! then after 2 days we took it back to the store. The guy agreed, it STUNK! he traded for a new mattress, and somehow this one wasnt as bad. Still let it air on the deck for 3 days.

Its a slow process for me to spend this amount of money for an item I am going to be hooked to for months/years on end. I want to be gloriously happy, not just so so. If I want so so, I will get a cheapo and beat it up.

We had a story on the news here recently about "cheapo" mattress stores. It seems they were getting old used mattresses, replacing the covering on them and selling them as new! I think one place got theirs from a hotel that was replacing mattresses. :eek: Makes me want to string up a hammock and sleep there! :rolleyes:

mattress...
 

I would purchase a natural latex rubber foam mattress - they are hard to find sometimes and somewhat $$ but well worth the money and the natural latex is a natural defense to dust mites etc --- these beds are heavy thick and will last forever

Dej, a couple of years ago we bought a new mattress. I tried lying on that temperpedic, and immediately got sciatic pain...it was so uncomfortable!!
We always loved our pillowtop beds with lots of springs for support. We found a sealy with the highest number of independently wrapped springs, a pillowtop, and a THIN layer of memory foam on top. It did the trick-and I'm a "hot" sleeper too.
We also decided to buy two twin mattresses and dress them like a king mattress...he moves too much at night, which awakens me-then I lay there for hours trying to get back to sleep. This set up also worked well-I don't even feel him move at all!

I am happy as a clam with my mattress-and I am a real fussy sleeper...

latex is one of the ways I am looking at. I am a HOT sleeper, so I am really worried about spending that amount of money on a bed only to be miserable.

The hunt continues.

Jinga, that's one of my tricks, too, to leave things I've just purchased on the counter. Usually to be chased out of the store by a clerk.

Dejibo, since you are sensitive to smelly mattresses, similarly to me, I wonder if latex is the right way to go. I am supposed to have a Latex allergy due to Porphyria, but mine is relatively slight compared to some porphs. But I have deliberately not taken a chance with too much latex, and it does have an awful smell. It might be all right if it's wrapped.

See? Look at how much we help each other here...what a wonderful world...:)

SO has a latex mattress. He loves it. It is extra firm. It's too firm for me so he got a wool & poly topper for a little softness for me. I sleep great on it. The mattress was made by a New England company in Salem, MA. Gardner Mattress.

There was no smell but it is extremely heavy to move.

I have the sensitive smell thing and have to leave things on the patio or at the store to outgas. I wonder if it's another MS thing??

ANN

I need soft to avoid skin break down since i'm a C6.5 paraplegic. 3" Serta memory foam topper from the big "o". It's not hot for me but I like heat. Go with a 2" if you need just a tad cause it's hard on your back combined with my pillowtop (and bottom) mattress. All sizes cost the same, go large cause they're smaller then they should be. I get a Cali King, take it out of fabric case, trim with razor to my queen mattress. I'm 6' & need it all. Higher the lb #, the better. Mine's a 4lb I think.

edit- cost is approx $130 delivered.

Ann, i certainly could not say if my sensitivity to chemicals (signaled by their smells in some cases) is due to MS in any part. I know people with Porphyria have this. It is a good question to which I have NO answer.
Some people are just plain "chemically sensitive" without any other dx attached to it, and this can be very severe. I get the newsletter of the Chemically Injured Information Network, "Our Toxic Times." Many there are more sensitive than I am.
I have all sorts of inconvenient chem sensitivities. One is to printer's ink. I cannot take a newspaper subscription because they roll the papers up soon after producing them. I can buy a paper from a news stand because they are laid flat and consequently outgas.

my father suffered all of his life from Porphyria, and he worked in a newspaper office that was horribly smelly. I used to visit him there often. he had no idea what the chemicals were doing to him, but he knew that the flourescent lights got to him. So when the newspaper moved to a new building, he had his department designed without flourescent lights. Driving by the newspaper, even after he was gone, I would look up at one corner of the building which had incandescent lights, and think of him.

DH is going to take me on a shopping trip to the big city! we are going to flop on mattresses, and roll around till we see one we like.

I am thinking about the latex one because it lasts so long and takes a beating. Even the salesmen tell me that the memory foam ones sleep hot, and suggest a gel infused memory foam. hmm....so many things to think about. With the last mattress I went for price vs comfort. This time i am remembering that I spend a lot of time in bed.

We should go in a few days. maybe I will do a montage of us mattress hopping. :D

Please do...or a video!! :D:p:D

Hi dejibo
 

Tempurpedic, now comes in a variety now. Not just one "soft" or "hard" If I could afford it, this would be my choice. I have looked. I have a 4" topper, with memory foam, and this has to do for now. I am hot sleeping too, and I don't think the new ones will make it worse. Good luck in finding one to suit you. Take your time looking Dej. ginnie

Try Biopedic
 

Sorry I meant Bodipedic!

I am planning a trip to the city and we are going mattress hopping. if I find one I like, I will go on line and get a cheaper version of it.

Im quite worried about the sleeping hot thing, as I already sleep hot on an innerspring.

Thanks for the tips!

Dej - They have "cooling" mattress pads that you can use. I know we have discussed them on here before but can't remember what thread. Maybe another mattress thread. Someone got one and said it worked real well for them.

Anyhow, I cannot sleep on a memory foam, Temperapedic type mattress at all. I have tried and for me, it is awful. Between the constant hug and all the spasms and jerking around I do at night the memory foam mattress do not have enough give in them when I am spasming/jerking. Again, this has been my experience with them. I got a new mattress that is firmer but has some give in it and have done real well with it. I got a Sealy Forest Cove - Firm. When I first got it, it was a little too firm but I knew that - it just needed to be broken in. :p It wasn't cheap but has been well worth it.

Let us know what you decide and good luck mattress shopping.:hug:

see!? this is exactly why i started this thread. I was ever so tempted to get the memory foam, and now that I have read so many experiences I am glad I didnt. I mean if I am sweating, and hot and miserable on an innerspring, what makes me think a foam (dont they use foam to insulate houses?) would be any cooler? I would rather be cold, and wrap up with blankets than sweat and be uncovered.

The hunt continues. I do want an adjustable base tho. I want to be able to sit up and watch TV or play my game or just relieve the hug. Sometimes laying flat makes the hug go crazy!

Hi Aussiemom
 

I got a memory foam topper of 4". I could not afford the temperpedic either, though that is what I truely wish I had. Not sure I will ever come up with that much. The memory foam does help me too. Have a good nights sleep aussiemom,. ginnie:hug::grouphug:

I just had a thought, do you have an IKEA close by? Check on line their line of beds and prices. DD and her hubby bought a foam bed last year there. I sat on it, felt like concrete. Then a grand and I took a nap on it, OMG it was wonderful!!!! For a fraction of the price too!

Ginnie, there is an IKEA in east Tampa, close to USF

I have been sleeping on a six inch, medium-firm, high density foam for the last ten years and wouldn't go back to a regular mattress. They need to be replaced every 5 years or so but you can get them fairly reasonably in standard bed sizes at a 'foam shop'. A duvet/comfortor on top of it with a regular bed sheeet on top of that keeps it from being too hot.
I clued into trying a foam mattress because I always seemed to sleep better in my camper, which has a foam bed. Maybe someone you know has a foam from an RV that you could try out?

Erika

Hi aussiemom
 

Yes I will check out Ikea. I like the idea of at least trying to find a new bed that I have a chance of being able to afford. I appreciate the response too. ginnie:hug:

Remembered 2 people I know with sleep number beds absolutely love them.

I actually cured a chemo patient's night sweats. Doctors couldn't figure out why he was sweating at night. "I" for one, woke up SOAKED for 10 yrs till I learned about memory foam toppers. Since i'm a paraplegic & can't twist & turn in bed like the body does/did naturally to relieve pressure/restore circulation, i'd be freakin soaked till I woke to turn. 3" memory foam topper cured it so...

The chemo patient has a sleep # bed. Asked how he keeps it, keeps it firm, wife's side soft. Told him soften it, he said "no my back will hurt"..I said do it. Saw him a couple Tysabri's later, the whole waiting room heard him thank me. Still makes me smile.