A new mattress for a large person, back & leg pain‏

M. writes:

Greetings Pete;
I really need your help to find a new mattress to purchase.
Last year I had back surgery in which all five of my lumbar vertebrae had the back portion of the bone cut out and removed. As a result I can only sleep on my side with a posture cushion (pillow) between my lower legs to help keep my spine in alignment.
I only sleep for about two and a half hours at a time when cramping in my thighs causes me to get up and walk around before I can go back to bed. My pain medication causes dizziness so I have to sit on the edge of the bed for a while before I can stand up.
I'm 5'7" and weigh 240 lbs. Could you please advise me on the best mattress that would help me. I appreciate your expertise and any advise that you can offer me.
Thank you, M.

Hi M.

Before we get into the mattress part, I'd like to share something with you concerning your medication.

While it's nothing as dramatic as your surgery, I had fallen off a ladder, at about 10' and landed on my back...tearing many of the muscles. The pain was unlike anything I could have imagined.

At first, the pain meds were narcotics and made it difficult to function. During this time, I awoke one morning with a bad headache. I decided to take 3 extra strength Excedrin for the headache and planned to wait a little while before taking the meds for my back pain. Unexpectedly, 20 minutes later, the headache was gone and so was the pain in my back.

In another episode, when I had pulled my back out, I refused the narcotic meds and was given a dose of 1600 mgs of Motrin. That too, killed the pain.

I mention it, only because I know how difficult is is to live with some of the stronger pain meds that are commonly prescribed.

 If we can align your spine without having to use a pillow to do it, you should be able to sleep longer without interruption. This will certainly make life a better, which in turn would speed up your healing process. 

A mattress that provides firm contouring support will help with your alignment. It will have to be firm enough to support your weight. And while it will contour to you some, the firmness needed for support won't be comfortable enough for the deep and length night's sleep I know you're looking for.

To make you comfortable at the surface, relieve your pressure points and relax your muscle...all of which aid to promote a deeper night's sleep...you will need to add a layer of latex to the mattress.

 

The strongest mattress on the market, that provides contouring support, is the Simmons Beautyrest Black. The firmest of them is the Bray model.

With the degree of spinal damage, softness is not your friend. My normal latex topper recommendation is for soft Talalay latex. But, given your condition and size, you'll do better with a 2" layer of Dunlop latex. It'll give you a decent amount of surface comfort without being too soft.

 

(Due to a line change and an increase in business, Simmons is currently running 4 weeks or so for delivery, rather than the normal 2 weeks. They say this is a temporary situation and should be back to normal delivery times soon).

 

Here are links to both products. Delivery is free and there's no sales tax. 

 

http://themattressexpert.com/mattress-brands/simmons/beautyrest-black/

 

http://themattressexpert.com/latex-toppers/

 

 

 

Thanks, Pete

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