I'm hoping some of you on the Back Problem board can help me! I have been having a terrible time sleeping for years. We had a Soma mattress for 14 years (it's the type mattress with tubes filled water). I started finding myself tossing and turning all night, also waking up stiff....this happened 6-7 years after we first purchased the mattress. Finally, I decided to try a memory foam mattress at the suggestion of a friend who loves hers. Well, I hate it! The first night it felt hard as a board, but I thought I'd get use to it. It's been 8 months and my sleep is getting worse. I toss and move constantly and I wake up with lower back pain and shoulder/neck stiffness. It goes away later in the day when I get moving around. I have kept it so long because it kills me to get rid of it after paying $1399 and having it less than a year. Also, I'm afraid it may not be the mattress, just me. Perhaps I will have the same problem with any mattress. I went out yesterday and looked at the Sleep Number Beds. The saleslady assured me that I would notice a great improvement with the Sleep Number Bed...but that's the same comment I got from the memory foam guy!! They do have a 30-day money back guarantee, but I'd still be out the delivery fee, the set-up fee and the return costs. The bed would run around $2000. It's not the cost so much as I'm afraid I might get this new bed and have the same problem. Has anyone found releif with a new mattress? Has anyone tried the sleep number? In my experence, you just can't tell if a mattress is truly comfortable untill you have slept on it for several nights.

Hi, I have owned the sleep number bed for many years now. I can't say it will or won't help you, but I know I will never own any other type. I have had a waveless waterbed, and several normal mattresses. Sometimes I need a little softer mattress than other days, which is the best feature of the sleep number for me. Also my hubby can have whatever he needs without affecting me at all. When I got mine there was a three month trial before payments started, like I said it was more than a few yrs. ago. I do still get up sometimes stiff, but no mattress can make the syptoms of a bad back go away. This mattress, for me, makes the days i get up sore very few and far between, which is the best I think I can hope for. Good luck with you decision, it's a tough one trying to find the rite mattress.

Carol

I just purchased a sealy posturpedic pillow top because my bed was way to firm and I was damn near crippled every morning. I layed on the memory foam bed and hated it. It was too hard and too hard to get out of. The sleep # bed is a cheap air mattress. I have heard horrible things about all the simmons pillow tops. I researched mattresses for a month solid. I have 30 days to return mine. I am having surgery in 3 weeks and needed something that wouldnt hurt me. so far I luvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv it. It did cost $ 1,399 :eek: Sheri

Thanks for the feedback. I woke up again this morning stiff....I say woke....I never get any deep/long sleep. I think a mattress change may help...just which mattress...that's the hard part.

Kaycee ~

I highly recommend the Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. We had the type of waterbed you had & it was KILLING my back. We switched to the Select Comfort several years ago & I LOVE it! Even when I have a night when my usual pain keeps me awake, my back doesn't hurt b/c of the bed. I have OA of the L/S spine & DDD. I also tend to have a wierd idiosyncratic reaction to pain meds...they keep me awake. I can only take 1/2 a Morphine tab at bedtime, any more than that & I'm on the ceiling I'm so wired. Sometimes, that's not quite enough Rx to eliminate the pain...that's what I'm talking about when I say my usual pain keeps me awake. When we're away from home, the discomfort of the mattress adds to that pain & I end up pacing, sitting...anything to get off the mattress. Not so w/ my Select Comfort bed. I could lie there all night & still not have back pain increased by the mattress. I have had a problem w/ insomnia all my adult life, but I'm more comfortable in this bed than any we've ever had. The fact that you can adjust each side so that you & your spouse each get a firmness that's ideal for you...that's the best part. We didn't get the Memory Foam topper w/ the bed, but I decided I would be more comfortable w/ one. We ended up getting one on eBay for much less than it would have cost to get it initially w/ the bed.

Another plus...you get a 30 day free trial.

That's my 2c worth...hope it helps!

Midge <><

I love my sleep number bed. I had back surgery a few years ago and had a very firm matress, after my surgery I couldn't stand that bed and got a new one. I was so miserable with it. my back got a lot better with my bed and I sleep like a baby and so does my husband. its the best bed I have EVER owned.... so comforable that I never want to get out of it and I GET in early becasue I love it soooo much its heaven.

I looked at the sleep number beds soon after my back problems became chronic...If you check it out, unzip it and look at the materials inside. It's basically an air mattress, 4 pieces of foam, zipped up in a mattress cover. I just couldn't justify spending anywhere from 1000-2000 dollars on that. However, I'm not saying it's a bad bed because I've never slept on one.

I ended up getting a posturepedic as well...basically, i'd been told that I need a good quality, firm mattress, preferable with a pillow top so that it's easier to sleep on your side, and that's exactly what I got...somewhat expensive, and of course I still have some pain/stiffness when I get up, but it makes a little bit of difference. If you have moderate to severe back problems, I don't think a mattress is going to solve your problem....but a bad mattress can definitely make the pain worse, so it's probably worth the time/money to get a good one.

Ya' know the old saying, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."? Well, I must say, the proof of the bed is in the sleeping...or the getting up w/o pain & stiffness!! My pain level increases through the day, but I definitely DO NOT get up w/ pain & stiffness! Morning is the best part of the day for me. In fact, I delay getting up as long as I can /'cause the one time I don't hurt is when I'm in my Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. (No...I don't work for them; my back keeps me from working for anyone. But I couldn't give them a higher recommendation if I did!) :bouncing:

Midge :angel:

HI, I would try the cheapest route first to see if it is your bed. Go to any kmart, walmart, target, and get an eggshell mattress topper for your bed for 15 dollars and try it for a few nights. I too have had soma, waterbeds, pillow tops, and my daughter has a temper pedic , (they are too hot for me to sleep on,) but ended up with a cheap beautyrest mattress and the eggshell topper. sleep great. good luck

I'd like to hear more about the sleep-number beds. We have a 5 year old Sealy Posturepedic "top-of-the-line" junk bed. Came with 10 year warranty; however, it has to have a 1.5" impression before warranty kicks in. We're at 1". Kills my neck and back.....haven't slept through the night for several years. Sleep number has my curiosity. Some of you have confirmed what we hear about the Tempurpedic.....hot!

I'd like to hear more about the sleep-number beds. We have a 5 year old Sealy Posturepedic "top-of-the-line" junk bed. Came with 10 year warranty; however, it has to have a 1.5" impression before warranty kicks in. We're at 1". Kills my neck and back.....haven't slept through the night for several years. Sleep number has my curiosity. Some of you have confirmed what we hear about the Tempurpedic.....hot!

I don't recall how many years ago we got our Sleep Number bed, but it was a loooong time ago...I'm guessing 10-15 years. We love it as much now as we did when we 1st got it. :bouncing:

I keep my side set really soft...like 15 - 20. My husband, who is just beginning to develop back problems, used to keep his at 35, but keeps decreasing it.

We got the basic pillow-top mattress w/o the memory foam. We added that later by getting a piece for my side on Ebay...much less expensive.

I went to bed at 11:30 last night, read till 12:30 and got up @ 9:15 this AM. I'm more sore right now from sitting in my computer chair than I was when I got up! My back felt perfectly fine when I got up. That's almost always the case. My back gets progressively worse through the day, but I have no pain when I get up in the AM. (I'm not saying everyone w/ this bed will get up w/o pain as that depends on the condition of your back to start out w/.)

Select Comfort can be found online, and they also have retail stores, usually at malls. When we got ours, they offered a 90 day free trial. I believe that's now down to 30 days. However, we knew after just a few night that this was for us!

I can't recommend their mattress highly enough. People keep saying they've looked inside & it's just an air mattress & a couple of cushions inside a pillow-top case. For that reason, they say it couldn't work. There's an old saying..."The proof of the pudding is in the eating." I say the proof of the mattress is in the sleeping. If our Select Comfort is this comfortable after 10-15 years, I'd call that proof!!

HTH! If you want more info, feel free to post directly to me, although I'm not sure what more I can tell you. :)

Midge :angel:

i have a sleep number bed, and it has helped (although there are just those days that nothing helps). i love it.

i got tested first as part of my reearch...i was a 25!!!!! (the min is 25/100 - the softest setting.)

well, one day the hubby says "let's look into this mattress thing you've been bugging me about." so, we go to the mall. i have him tested first, b/c i want to know his number. he's a 75!!!!

since i always knew his tolerance was higher than mine (slept on a litteral 'rock' for 10 years), i asked the saleslady to take him to my number (just to bring the point home). after he got to 25, he looked shocked..."is this really your number???"

the beauty with this is that both can get what they want (starting at full or queen size)...if i need a little extra support, i just up it for the night. if i need the hammock feel, i take it back down.

i also got mine covered under fsa...so between opening the credit account with select comfort until i could get approval (keep original bill though!!!!), i probably paid out of pocket for some financial charges and that was it. the rest was pretax through my paychecks.

fyi - medical necessity should be obtained through your doctor if you do the fsa route!!! required or not, i think it helps your case.

I had a very expensive pillow top mattress and it made my back hurt so bad I had to toss it out. I loved the bed but I don't think there great for people with bad backs they are to soft we need firm but not to firm, I bought the sleep number bed and have never been happier. the best investment I ever made:)-

I have an off brand of the temperpedic mattress; I absolutely swear by it! Makes a big difference on my back.

Hi, I also have a tempurpedic mattress. I bought it a couple of weeks before my op and have not had a stiff back since. I have always heated up during sleep and was worried before I bought it, but I needn't have, I love it and my back always feels rested.I admit that turning over in bed just after my op was a little awkward as my top half moved but the bottom half stayed put! I could not get on with the tempur pillow though, just couldnt get comfortable. It works really well for me.Worth every penny.
Cally