Side Sleeper - Low back arthritis, disc, nerve entrapment

[Mitchsie]

6’2" 215, side sleeper - low back pain (arthritis, disc degeneration, nerve entrapment @ L5-S1 & L3-L4, clenching in hips, pelvis, legs.

Recently went down the path of replacing my 2018 Tempurpedic Dreamcould Elete - 2018 model, was considered a medium firm. It is not responsive, sags at the hips, and no edge support so I sink toward the edge.

The back pain and nerve entrapment causes a lot of clenching, and historically I’d make it on the tempur mattress for a few nights before going to the floor or even the couch - I always had to change it up.

I currently am in the trial period for the Winkbed. I started with the Luxury Firm and then later exchanged for the Softer version b/c the Lux Firm felt like a 7-8 firm (they say its a 6). With Winkbed, you keep both mattresses for up to 60 days and pick one or can return both. They are ok overall - I thought with the poor experience with an all foam mattress that a hybrid would be better. In some ways it is - the sleep experience is better than the Tempur, I am able to fall asleep much quicker. My back is much more aligned which has helped the mid-upper spine and neck. But still plenty of pain and clenching in the morning in the low back.

What is frustrating with the Winkbed is that every five days or so I’m switching back and fourth from the lux firm to the soft, so its kind of the same as going from the tempur to the floor, etc.

The support is ok but not great. I can feel the springs through the foam, and its almost to springy for me. I do like that it is not as much of a dull firm feel that I had with the all foam (but I realize that was tech from 6-7 years ago). The Winkbed is an improvement, but I realize looking through this forum that its a more of a mainstream bed in a box mattress, and there are a lot of other options that I had not run across in my original search.

I’m unsure if a hybrid is the best solution or not. I had not considered Latex originally, but seem to be a lot of good comments on the use of it and notice Sleep EZ coming up in a lot of posts. They’ve got all the options - I’m not sure which would be best?

Ultimately, the nerve issues raise the sensory levels - I am very aware of too much/too little sinkage, and as a side sleeper am super sensitive to a mattress that lacks cradling support in the torso between the hips and the shoulder. what I want is to be able to feel the body contour support without feeling pressure in the hips and shoulders. I suppose that is what every side sleeper wants

Any recommendations for Sleep EZ or other mattresses would be great. Not a huge budget, $2500-$3k range for a king or split king. I know its not a huge budget and just wonder if I’m asking for something that just isn’t possible in that price range.

[NikkiTMU]

Hey Mitchsie.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum.

@Mitchsie

Recently went down the path of replacing my 2018 Tempurpedic Dreamcould Elete - 2018 model, was considered a medium firm

Did you have pain on this mattress as well, or was it working for you until the materials started to break down?

@Mitchsie

Any recommendations for Sleep EZ or other mattresses would be great.

I’d suggest reaching out to @Sleep_EZ directly and sharing with them everything you’ve shared here. They’ll be able to guide you towards what they feel may be a best fit for your needs!

You may also find it worth visiting Mattress To Go whose owner Jeff Scheur has a lot of experience with higher BMI sleepers and offers a number of mattresses for consumers experiencing muscle aches and pains.

@Mitchsie

. I can feel the springs through the foam, and its almost to springy for me. I do like that it is not as much of a dull firm feel that I had with the all foam (but I realize that was tech from 6-7 years ago)

For someone of your stature, it’s likely a thicker comfort and/or transition layer is going to make a big difference for you here.

There is also more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP in post #2 here that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for once you actually sleep on your mattress.

NikkiTMU

[Sleep_EZ]

HI Mitchsie and thanks for the inquiry and welcome to the forums! Based on the information you’ve provided, I would normally recommend the 10" organic with medium Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop. The top Talalay layer should provide all the contour and pressure relief needed to avoid any pressure point issues and will add secondary support to the mattress. Secondary support is needed to fill in the gaps between your body and the mattress – back sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between the small of their back and the mattress; side sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between their mid-section and the mattress, and stomach sleepers normally need this under their belly or in their upper shoulder / clavicle area. If these parts of a person’s body aren’t supported by the mattress, their muscles will work throughout the night to hold these parts of the body up, and by the time they wake up they’ve got back pain. So the top 3” of Talalay latex will provide contour, pressure relief, and secondary support. The remaining Dunlop layers should provide all the support needed to maintain proper spinal alignment and avoid back pain. Please keep in mind that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate and a 3%-4% return rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the above recommendation works perfectly for you.

I normally recommend the 10" organic mattress over the Hybrid and Roma mattresses because of the high level of adjustability the mattress offers. They’re fully customizable, meaning you can order the mattress to be as soft or as firm as you’d like. They’re also fully adjustable, meaning you can change the softness, firmness, back support, pressure relief, etc. AFTER you get the mattress in your home. To be more specific, the 10” is our most popular, and these mattresses normally go out with three 3" layers of different firmnesses - normally the softest layer (or the cushion & contour layer) is on top and the supportive layers are on the bottom. This helps ensure our customers get the right balance of contour for their hips and shoulders but also support for their lower back. If you start with a certain setup and find that it’s too soft, you can unzip the cover and rearrange the layers to get a firmer feel out of the mattress, or you can exchange a layer to make it softer. Additionally, latex mattresses typically last 20 years. If, in 5 or 10 or 15 years you decide you want a softer or firmer mattress you would only have to buy a new layer instead of an entirely new mattress. Lastly, if the mattress starts to break down in 15 – 20 years, it’s normally the top layer that breaks down first, and at that point you can likely just buy a new top layer of latex instead of a whole new mattress and get an additional 8-10 years out of the mattress.