Hi all, what sort of mattress is every using? Ive always like soft/medium so when I bought my new one in October last yr I thought I would try a memory foam one(before diagnosed)but wondering if it do soft and maybe should buying a firm one would maybe make it easier to get out of bed in mornings or just ease the pain bit through the night
Mattress : Hi all, what sort of mattress is every... - PMRGCAuk
Mattress
54 Replies
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Hi Karenwelsh. Well......I probably should have a firm mattress for my back problems but after once sleeping for 2yrs on an orthopaedic mattress... never again! It wasn't for me, although many people swear by them. It felt like I was laying on a concrete slab!As for the memory foam....again, it wasn't for me. I know they're supposed to be super comfy but I still felt it was too firm. My preference is a medium to soft mattress. I love that feeling of sinking into it and I have the most wonderful mattress topper that does exactly that. This probably isn't particularly good for me but I generally get a decent night's sleep and it's the quality of sleep that determines how well I bounce out of bed in the morning.
Memory foam is actually quite firm. It moulds to your body shape and supports it so is good for your back and neck. Many people use them and are happy with them.
A mattress is a very personal item, and everyone's preference will differ. I think you need to go and try some out in store! They reckon you should lie for at least 10mins on a mattress to see fully if you find it comfortable! Haha! I'd probably be found snoring away if I was to do that though!!
Good luck with the mattress hunting.
I cannot bear memory foam!
I feel that because it moulds to you it stops me moving at night and I wake up with more pain from being in one position too long.
Very personal choice a mattress isn't it 🙂
Yes, it definitely is. My experience of memory foam was the same as yours. It didn't 'deliver' for me.
I find a lot of memory foam too hot. I have a bog standard cheapest foam mattress IKEA did years ago on a basic wooden slat base. Would like to replace it - but no idea where I can get the same! But despite the warning from mattress manufacturers, it's fine!
Don't they have them any more in IKEA?
I've read you should always replace a mattress after 5 years.
Pfft - they're fine!!!I don't know - can't find them online and haven't been to Innsbruck for a long time ...
Would you be 'allowed' to travel to Austria?
No idea!!! Haven't been able to without negative test results even if you work there or you have to quarantine. I haven't been up the road to look for English cheese and get diesel. No hurry ,,,
I have booked into a hotel for 3 nights next week (they open for the first time on Monday). The hotel is a Maritim and it's next door to us!😂😂😂 The reason? They are coming to knock a wall down and finishing the balcony and I just can't stand the idea of sitting in the lounge with all that going on.
What a good idea! Enjoy it and make the most of it!
Just a ploy to make people buy them more frequently than they need to!! My inlaws had theirs all their married life and it was still ok when we finally took it to the tip.Buy a good quality one and it should last a lot longer than 5yrs.
I hate memory foam too I had to buy a big thick soft topper to make my new very expensive memory foam mattress comfy and I've loved it ever since with that on ..
I really need two mattresses - one soft one for sleeping on and one hard one to help me get up in the morning!! Any suggestions anyone?😂😂
I am wondering about a mattress topper. My mattress really needs replacing but............ The guy I go to for back treatment suggested a topper but I don't need anything else generating heat. I have just been in a bed that is much higher than mine and so much easier to get out of. More food for thought,
Toppers don't HAVE to be heat generating - depends on the material. Google cooling mattress toppers
We bought a new bed about 18 months ago and made sure it was quite a bit higher. It is certainly much easier to get out of without a struggle.
I have a duck down topper from Dunelm was expensive but ive had it about 10 years and its still so very comfy xx
A memory foam topper does it for me , Karen. I love going to bed - and having a nap during the day! Mine has an 'egg box' appearance and has made a tremendous difference to my night's sleep. You don't have to pay the earth or need one more than 5cm thick but you do have to shop around (the Internet). Mine is made by Silent Night but I don't think they make them now. Happy shopping!
Although my mattress topper is a Silent Night one it's not memory foam. Deliciously comfortable though. 😴
We have a non-memory foam topper on our spare bed. Visitors have slept well and commented on its comfort. Remember what is was like to have visitors? 🤔
😄😄😄 ....the only visitors we've had recently were rats in the garden!! 🐀 kept me active trying to block all the entry points in garden though!Sleep is so important, particularly with PMR/GCA.... so getting pillow and mattress right is imperative.
You're very brave! I'd be thinking one might pop its head out 😳. What a wimp I am.
I'm not at all scared of rats thankfully...and they're rural rats not sewer rats but still a menace. I'm actually more scared of spiders!! The anxiety a large one of those can cause me definitely could bring on a flare!!😄
Give me a spider any day: fat, thin, hairy......🕷
Me too - I will never forget my father's stories of one of his first jobs on a farm in the Welsh/English borders. He slept in the farmhouse - and woke to find a rat nibbling his finger ...
Hello, over time my bed has become something I like and think about. I never used to. I have always had a stiff orthopaedic mattress, I now use it with a mattress topper. I bought an expensive one, it is fantastic, it’s soft and comfortable, but you can push on it to get up!
I love my bed and nothing nicer than being snug and cosy with my hot water bottle in the middle of the night, listening to the rain falling on the garden outside when I can't sleep.
I agree, I originally spent a fortune in John Lewis on a topper. I have another now from dunelm a lot less money and pretty good. The thing that makes it special is the duvet and a bamboo pillow. It is like a cloud of luxury, soft and a good temperature and a great view of the garden. I can lay there and see what I’ve done outside and enjoy the exhaustion!
What's a bamboo pillow...and why is it so special??
Made with bamboo fibre - the new natural product
thesleepjudge.com/bamboo-pi...
Thanks for that. I've not come across them before.
Bamboo stuff is incredibly soft - got socks when we were in China. Guess who couldn't count how many pairs he needed?
My husband insisted on buying a hard mattress. He has had back pain ever since. I read up on hard mattresses and one article said that hard mattresses were for people over 30 stone! Hubby is eleven stone and obviously made a bad choice!
Make him get a mattress topper. 
It used to be said bad backs needed a firm mattress - and many people thought that meant hard. What is needed is a supportive mattress that moulds to your shape and keeps the spine aligned - a hard one doesn't and can result in the spine sagging and causing pain.
spine-health.com/wellness/s...
Thank you! Some really useful advice. Thank you for the attachment, I'm going to print it out!
We moved house 20 years ago and decided to have a new pine bed frame. The shop sold all kinds of mattresses, including water beds! We decided to have a water bed and it's the best purchase we've ever made. My back has always been a weak spot over the years, when doing too much gardening or housework (never!). With PMR showing up 5 years ago, my back and limbs have been helped enormously by the comfort of our bed. However, as the others say, "try before you buy" and these things can be very individual.
Sweet dreams 🛏
PMRproAmbassador
I personally would say the most important thing is a "his'n'hers" choice. Ever since my husband had cancer 26 years ago we have had two single mattresses on a double bed frame. And single duvets. I use the lightest I can find all year round, he uses a winter one in high summer. Both mattresses are the same as it happens - the cheapest basic IKEA foam mattress and really rather elderly, The base is a roll of wooden slats, also IKEA, not sprung. I cannot abide a divan - far too bouncy.
We have a superking bed, two different linked mattresses...that was because years ago OH did all different shifts, I would wake him and he would wake me before that, and he likes a different mattress to me...best dicision ever...just replace mattresses if need be and keep the base.....
Absolutely - it was him being totally freezing with chemo in the hottest summer in living memory in Scotland! Have now graduated to separate rooms for the same reason because he needs the bedroom warm and I cannot bear it! I'd have the balcony door open all night from March to November - and in winter if I could!
Just a thought. I have 2 duvets on top of my mattress. I found without them it was too hard and couldn't sleep. Softness is the key
in reply to Bee2222
I've just put a duvet on top of my mattress to give it a try and cheaper than buying a new mattress if no need to
Bee2222 in reply to
I have 2duvets folded over right underneath me not under bottom sheet that way you get more softness I find my ageing flesh is very tender to the touch I hope it works for you
After buying two new mattresses and umpteen pillows over the last 2 years (pre-diagnosed PMR) I realised the best thing is prednisolone!!! If i'd asked for medical input 18 months - 2 years ago I would probably be still on the same mattress and a few grand better off,Joking apart I'd wait until you know how you are and your choice will be very individual to you. I am on extra firm with one squashy pillow. Good Luck.
I used to have a terrible time with waking up at night with back pain. Would buy a new mattress and be ok for awhile and then experience the same thing. Now for many years I have had a "Sleep by Number" bed and have had no problems with back pain. I keep it at a high number which is considered quite firm and when I developed trochanteric hip bursitis I put a 2 inch memory foam topper on and still use a firm setting. It is very comfortable, had a cortisone shot in my hip which also helped immensely.
I am expecting my mattress topper delivery today. Thanks for this thread. It will be nice for my increasingly bony body not to feel the wires in the leccie blanket or the buttons on the mattress.
I think the choice is very individual. I used to sleep on a memory foam mattress and it was great for me. When I moved to my husband's house, we had a soft mattress that wasn't for me at all. And I think this is not a good choice for people who struggle to get out of bed. Recently, we've bought a Helix Plus mattress reviewed by mattressive.com/best-mattre... . It is very comfortable, especially true if you have a larger body or spend a lot of time on your mattress. It’s specifically made to fit big and tall bodies and people who have other health issues that need a very supportive mattress. I'm personally very happy with it.
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