a little off topic still sleep management

[whatrdreamsmadeof]

Hey folks I really need your input here. Along with OSA many of us have a multitude of sleep issues, I was wondering if I could get some feedback as my husband and I have to purchase a new mattress. Wearing the cpap mask, managing the hose, restless leg problems are just the tip of the iceberg. I have degenerative disc disease and the nerves in my arm require me to wear a custom hard brace on my right arm that goes from the shoulder to the wrist, add a dog or two, and boy it's time for the ole heated waterbed to roll out to sea.
I have been considering a latex, or serta perfect sleeper... after cramming my brain I'm over it. Manufacturers make it impossible to compare, and unlike my cpap experience, I'd like to get it right on the first try.
Sorry for the off-topic, if you need to yell at me, I will have to forward your messages to my bud here on the site...........I'm more than sure he can take the rap for me............thanks........Ellen:roll:

[rotoplooker]

I don't know what to say here but your post is totally valid and I'm sure someon will be along to help you

take care

Roto

[JimW]

My wife and I just took delivery on a new mattress set a little more than a week ago. There is a confusing number of choices available, and we went to a couple of different showrooms to try them out; after lying on several mattresses, we'd tend to get confused as to which seemed to give better support.

Ultimately, we ended up with a locally-made set; the mattress has a layer of latex over individually-pocketed springs, with some material over the latex. We really couldn't have made any decisions based on composition alone.

Look carefully at the total height of the foundation plus mattress combination; generally, two different thicknesses of foundation are available. Even with the less-thick foundation, we're close to mountain-climbing every night. I believe this is an important consideration for a bed which should last us into our early seventies. A higher bed leads to greater safety hazards as we age; it's best to be able to put your feet on the floor while sitting on the bed.

(Add - ulnar nerve problem in your right arm? Have you ever tried a soft splint for this? Guess if we go off on this tangent, probably ought to be via private messaging.)

[whatrdreamsmadeof]

Thanks rotoplooker for your encouragement.
Thanks JimW, I so agree, lately I find myself buy things that are easier to get in and out of, on and off of, how right you are. Three years ago I bought a Scion XB, my grown kids hated the look but boy do I love the seat height for entering and exiting not to mention the head room and leg room, those are just a few of the added bonuses, not to mention 37 miles a gallon in town.
Ellen

[Snoredog]

I've had my Select Comfort at least 15yrs now, if I were to buy another it would be the same thing, but it still has a lot of life left in it.

It is adjustable so you can select the firmness you want. I also have a bad L4 and sciatica, it helps with that also.


Adjustable Bed Frames: I should add I have the Select Comfort "adjustable" bed frame option ($1400.00 option), it has its own Remote Control, it makes the Select Comfort bed function like the Craftmatic adjustable bet (think the mechanism is made by the same company only rebranded for Select Comfort.

In any case you can elevate the head or feet independently, mine also has vibrating massage.

I find the adjustable bed frame and massage pretty much worthless except for watching TV. I cannot sleep on my side, I cannot sleep on my stomach with it elevated, your body simply wasn't made to bend on those directions. So you might want to think twice about getting that option unless you sleep on your back exclusively. I find sleeping on my side greatly reduces effects of SDB.

[DreamStalker]

Check out memoryfoam.com ... they do latex and customized matress kits.

[SleepingBeauty]

My parents both have various health issues. We researched beds pretty extensively since they needed to purchase two - one for each of my two sister's homes where the split their time living. (One has a very nice house on the beach, the other a very nice ranch in the mountains. Me - I own a house in a plain old city setting, nothing very exciting)

They ended up choosing some very thick latex mattresses and purchased a set of those electric bed frames. They push them together to make a king sized bed with twin sheets on the mattresses and a king sheet on top with king blankets and spread.

They love the beds. They say there are no pressure points and they feel like they are floating. No more shoulder pain for my mom. They can raise the foot of my dad's to deal with his issues and mom's side isn't affected. Either can raise theirs up to read in bed. It also helps my dad get out of the bed easier without my mom having to help lift him.

I don't know what brand they were, but they bought one set, tried it for a month, then ordered the second set to be delivered to my other sister's home.

[cajapato]

We purchased a tempurpedic several months ago and have not regretted it one night. It has helped tremendously with the aches and pains of getting less younger and being less active. It is not the least expensive mattress out there in king size. And I guarantee you that it's not the most expensive we looked at either. It gives you full body support no matter which way you lay. Some will tell you that they heard the tempurpedic reflects your body heat. We've not had that problem. We do use a thin pillow top pad though. Our AC is set the same and we still need our sheet over us.
Tom

[whatrdreamsmadeof]

Thank you Sleepingbeauty and cajapato,
I just got so overwhelmed with this stuff that my husband and I just went out and bought a Latex mattress with a memory foam top for a little more of a plush feeling...........It all came down to feel, and now I have the confidence that we made the correct choice.
Thanks again for all your great info............Ellen

[SleepySandy]

Ironically, my husband and I purchased a new mattress yesterday. We got it from Macy's - they were having a big sale and we got an additional 10% off using our Macy's card.

We have a subscription to consumerreports.org and they have mattress buying tips. They don't have a list of better performing mattresses because, as you know, they're different between stores.

Some of the tips from the site (not directly copied - paraphrased by me):

• Lie on the mattress for 15 minutes to try it out. I'll be honest and tell you we didn't do this. I can't lie on a mattress in a store for 15 minutes - it's entirely too boring. But, we did lie on them for a while and tried back and sides. I also took paper towels to put on the pillows - putting my head on a communal pillow kind of grosses me out.
  
  Look for a comfort guarantee. You want to be able to return the bed if it doesn't work for you. The policy at Macy's is 30 days from delivery and you pay a 10% restocking fee.
  
  Wait for a sale or bargain. Unless it's a specialty mattress like a Select Comfort which I'm pretty sure doesn't go on sale, you should never pay list price for a mattress.

My personal recommendations:

• Be sure to have plenty of time to shop and go more than one store. You want to allow a lot of time to try out the different mattresses and you want to get a good price comparison. Buying a mattress isn't something to rush.
  
  Trust your instincts. My husband and I spent a lot of time at Macy's comparing beds thinking "this one seems good"; "well, this one is good". When we finally got to the bed we chose, we knew pretty quickly it was the right one.
  
  Pick a salesman who seems good. This might not be easy but our tactic is to tell people we're "just browsing" until we're ready to commit to a specific salesperson. I don't want to work with someone who is pushy or doesn't know what he's talking about. I also assume all salespeople are not in it to be our friends - they want to make the sale. We had a good salesman. He emphasized that what matters is comfort and price. Period. He said if it's not comfortable the price doesn't matter. We liked that.
  
  Send the salesperson away so you can talk privately if you need to. We did this about 4 times. We were nice about it. My favorite phrases are "we're going to try a few more beds" or "we need to ponder". Something like that. I need to be able to have private discussions with my husband about how much money we want to spend, if we want to go to a different store, or what deal we want to negotiate.
  
  Try to get things thrown in. Depending on where you are, you can try to get the frame or delivery included in your purchase. This worked for us the last time we bought a mattress but not this time. I never hurts to ask.
  
  Decide ahead of time what to do with your old mattress. You can usually get your mattress hauled away (sometimes for a fee). But, we decided we're going to donate it. We found a place that provides furniture for people making the transition from homelessness to housing. We'll call Monday to see if they'll take the mattress. If not we'll post it for free on craigslist. I'm sure someone will want it.
  
  Go shopping with your sleeping partner. You both need to test the bed together. Roll over while the other person is in the bed to see how much it moves around. If the bed moves around does that bother you?
  
  Eat before you go. I get grumpy when I'm hungry. That doesn't make for a good shopping experience or easy to decide what to do.

I personally stay away from the big chain mattress stores. That's just my opinion - I figure they're so big they don't care if you have trouble. I have no evidence for my opinion about this. Macy's could do the same thing.

We ended up getting a king sized (wohoo ) Simmons Beautyrest with a pillowtop. It was a middle of the road price but we found it really comfortable. It's coming a week from Wednesday. I'm SOOOO excited.

[mtstromberg]

I just did a second sleep study (after about 10 years) and the center had a tempurpedic bed. I'm sold on the concept, but the price is unbelievable!

I did some research and found a second company that uses the exact same foam. This is important to me as I have a pillow made by tempur and compared to the other so-called memory foam products out there, it's vastly superior. Only problem is that even this company is too rich for me right now. Still, Here's the URL. Remember that I have not purchased anything from them yet, but I like how they sound. Hope this helps.

http://www.ebed.com/product.php?ver=0&id=13&fid=1

[kteague]

I am using a quality mattress (though no frills) that is probably 15-20 years old and still in decent shape. Inherited it when Mom went to a nursing home. Always had to pry myself out of whatever position I woke up in due to back and shoulder pain. Added a TemurPedic topper a year or so ago. No more back or shoulder pain in the morning.

I have had very little mattress experience. Used a waterbed for years (back still hurt). A couple years ago on a business trip I stayed in a hotel on the Marina del Ray, and when I slid under the covers, their pillow top mattress was so heavenly I just melted into it. Felt unbelievably good. Mattresses have come a long way. I grew up on featherbeds, but remember well the straw bedding when visiting Grandma (ouch).

Till I can go shopping and test the competition, I'm pleased with my topper.

[SpookyFodder]

A couple of years ago I had occasion to spend some time in the hospital. They had recently purchased new mattresses. I have never been on a mattress as comfortable as these were! I did not want to come home . I believe they were the memory foam type. Incredibly comfortable.

[Guest]

Saw a "Verlopedic" mattress advertised on a billboard this morning. Bad news is that the billboards we fought to take down are going back up. Good news is with foam mattress competition, the price is bound to come down.

[rested gal]

Love my Tempur-Pedic bed!

The two things that sold me on it:

1. While I was trying it out in the store, I had propped myself up on one elbow while asking the salesman some questions. At some point I suddenly realized...there was no feeling of pressure against my elbow which was digging down into the foam. No feeling at all of needing to shift off that elbow. Made me realize how the Tempur-Pedic does really absorb pressure.

2. After months and months of battling repeated bedsores on my father when he became bedridden after a massive stroke at age 80, we bought a Tempur-Pedic bed for him. The bedsores healed and didn't return.

It's not the perfect mattress for everyone. TV ads mention a 120 day satisfaction guarantee. Four months of using it should be plenty of time to know if it's "the" mattress for a person.