So, I bought a tempur pedic.

[bmc65]

So, I bought a tempur pedic and the hubby type is wigging out over the price tag and potential out gassing fumes when it arrives. I chose to try the tempur pedic because memory foams have the best approval rating for pain. I tried out a 100% bio latex, but didn't like the feel and I'm feeling a little apprehensive about buying a toxic non-environmental bed. My last bed a Sterns and Foster is 22 yrs old and I just felt it was time for a new bed.
Anyone have a tempur pedic or other bed they are really happy with?

[mellowsong]

Hmm, not sure how to respond but I will. I am currently in the process of researching mattresses. There are many reasons I'd never buy memory foam:
1. It is full of flame retardants. Even if they use boric acid, you are still breathing it in and it can accumulate and be toxic. Breathing in the boric acid dust is hazardous to your lungs.
2. Major outgassing, probably for years.
3. They tend to form body pockets fairly quickly. You have to flip and turn it every month and even then, it will still cave in within 5 years. I had one (not Tempur-pedic but fairly expensive) before I knew better and it didn't last 4 years.
4. If in a high humidity environment, the foam actually begins to crumble and fall apart. Mine actually started growing mold.
5. Memory foam is hot. If you buy one that is supposed to alleviate that problem, it's had holes punched in it which lessens its lifetime.

Positives for natural latex:
1. It does not out gas and is non-toxic, hypoallergenic with one caveat: If the mattress you choose doesn't have a significant amount of wool batting, it contains synthetic flame retardants. Sure the block of foam is "natural" but once made into a mattress all bets are off, because without a prescription for a flame retardant free mattress, it has to have something.
2. Does not form indents near as readily as memory foam and the good ones are guaranteed as much as 20 to 25 years. You only have to flip about every 6 months.
3. You can choose the firmness level you want with latex because they are layered. Latex made with the Dunlop process is firmer but you can choose firmness. Tatalay process latex is much softer. Many companies offer you a choice of up to 3 different firmnesses; like bottom firm Dunlop, middle, medium firm Dunlop and top Tatalay.
4. You can get organic cotton covers for latex rather than the synthetic polyester that comes with other stuff.
5. Environmentally much more responsible.

I just found out that some manufacturers are using Kevlar threads and bamboo casing for their latex mattresses. Even JM is apparently a fan of this. However, when I pushed the manufacturer to disclose just how this met federal flammability standards without the use of PDBEs or boric acid, they cut off communication. So, either get an Rx for flame retardant free mattress or go with wool if you choose to go completely "natural".
Keep in mind, I'm coming at this from the perspective of a person with severe MCS but I honestly don't think synthetic foam is good for anyone. At the moment, I think I have it narrowed down to 3 companies and am waiting to hear back from a 4th.

[Reesacat]

I got a Select Comfort Air adjustable bed 10 years ago and love it. It did stink for awhile but I wasn't as chemically sensitive then.

[Aaltrude]

When we bought a new mattress nine years ago we also bought a couple of memory foam pillows. The pillows were returned within a week because, although they were very comfortable, the off gassing was causing me serious problems. The mattress we bought is a latex. It is still going strong and we have had no problems with it. It has been covered over with a mattress cover to hopefully prevent any problems with any retardants.

[bmc65]

Ya I went and laid on a Latex and didn't like it at all, so I'm a bit lost there. I've been on an air adjustable and it was one of the worst sleeps for me ever. I've done futon years ago. I find them painful and they material packs down rather rapidly.
I guess I'm just going to have to give the tempur a test run and cross my fingers. As far as flame retardants are concerned, any standard type of bed is going to have them.... Organic is the only way to get around it and I'm already financially committed.
Thanks the comments are helpful though.

[Pattypans]

I think the pioneers used straw and changed to clean, fresh, sweet-smelling straw every year or so. Obviously, they must have covered it with something to hold it together.

[Samurai]

bmc65-
Congratulations! I love making fun purchases like that! If I were in pain, I would try every road possible to help it. Let me know how it goes for you.
Make I ask what the sticker price was on this bad boy?

By-the-by- for some odd reason, whenever I have slept on the sand next to the ocean, it has been the most pleasurable, deep, restorative sleep ever. There is some sort of mojo that the ocean/ sand has on my sleeping brain.

[StephenX]

We have a mattress with a memory foam top. It has two deep ruts where we sleep. We just bought two MyPillows. Made a big difference. I now can fall asleep on my back; and my wife stopped snoring

[Pattypans]

Mellowsong, thank you for that very useful information. I'm not in the market for a mattress, but I appreciate this info and knowing where to find it (the info.)

Sam: I'll bet there are several factors involved in the lovely sleep by the sea, such as the grounding effect, the lulling sound of the ocean itself, just being out in nature, which has many proven healthful effects on body, mind, and spirit.

[bmc65]

Thanks Sam.
By the way, I read that buck wheat pillows are the best. I bet sand has a buck wheat, mold to the body like quality that is really comfortable, plus it must be really grounding. I'd be willing to try a sand mattress. Don't know how I'd get one put together or how much it would weigh. Could be good though.
Stephen I've worried about dents developing, but from what I've read, and the folks I've asked who have tempurs, no complaints yet. Still I feel like this is a huge, expensive crap shoot. Price on the king contour select (not the most expensive, but felt the best to me) was $3098.00 with platform and extra protection plan. I happened to buy a new love seat too. I thought I'd be getting a more expensive tempur model so budget wise had extra funds (kind of) and our love seat was a hand-me-down that we didn't plan of keeping as long as we have. The old seat lists on one side, thus is uncomfortable to sit on if there are two people. Also It's little, and two adults are wedged together, so two never sit together on it. I got two free tempur pillows thrown into the the mix as well. Kind of exciting... Let's hope there are no financial melt downs in my future and I should be able to sail this purchase okay. It feels really extravagant, but when considering how long I've had the old stuff it seems reasonable. .... At least that's what I tell myself.

[Katee]

(Like all my stories) our tale about choosing a bed is long.

When we first married, we were sleeping on an air mattress with a foam topper and a memory foam topper. We built a platform for it out of plywood. It was very comfortable, but as time went on the air mattress stretched and stretched and ended up being enormous. Eventually one of the internal supports gave way and it wasn't usable any more. We looked at a number of different options, including the Tempur-pedic bed and the Sleep Number bed, but they are all really expensive. I also found, to my surprise, that i didn't really like the Tempur-pedic.

What we ended up doing was purchasing 4 inches of latex foam at a local foam/upholstery shop, and putting the memory foam topper (after they had both off-gassed for several days) on our platform. It is okay and works well for us and was very cost effective, but i'd rather like going back to an air mattress. If i were to purchase one soon, i'd probably buy from this company: Waterbeds dot com (http://www.waterbeds.com/WAIR05.asp) and buy the dual side air mattress as Duane likes a firmer mattress than do i. Then we'd put a memory foam topper on it. (I learned to my distress years ago that an air mattress is the same temperature as the room, so without a good topper it can be very uncomfortable in the winter.) It would be similar to the Sleep Number bed, but at a fraction of the cost. I might consider adding this enclosure (http://www.waterbeds.com/WENC04.asp). Even then the cost is considerably less than most high end mattresses.

I used to use a shredded foam pillow that i liked a lot. Like buckwheat, it was very accommodating to my change of position. Then we discovered micro-beads. They are very much like buckwheat, but even finer and more accommodating. They were very popular for a while, and you still can find them in neck rolls (http://www.microbead-pillows.com/microbeadbolsterpillowred_p/031_red.htm) or novelty (character) pillows. When we got ours, they were being sold in squares or rounds. We put 2 of the squares in a zippered king-size pillow protector and then use regular king-size pillow cases on them. The only down side to these is that they don't work as well to prop you up while reading or whatever.

Up until the time we changed, Duane would frequently wake up with a stiff/pinched neck and need me to do massage (trigger point) to relieve the pain. He used to need this at least about twice a month. Since changing pillows to the micro-beads, he probably doesn't require it even twice a year.

I know that JoAnn's sells the micro-beads in large bags. They aren't cheap (around $40 last i checked), but our pillows are at least 6 years old now and still function perfectly. I have made a couple (for us to use at my ILs) from the stuff i purchased from JoAnn's. If you sew, it is possible, but a challenge. Those micro-beads are tiny. Think of static sand! :) I did buy one ready-made pillow (http://www.microbead-pillows.com/dreamerevolutionmicrobeadpillow_p/106.htm) online a few years ago. It is a standard size (and i know i didn't pay this much!), but i've been disappointed with it. They seem to have cut the fabric poorly, and the pillow tends to twist inside the pillow case and has to be straightened out daily. I don't like it much.

[Pattypans]

When Sam mentioned that about sleeping by the sea, I began thinking about a sand mattress, too, BMC, but it seems to me that it would be prohibitively heavy. Who knows, though? Maybe not.

[Pattypans]

I've felt microbead pillows before, and they seem ultra comfortable, but I can't help but wonder what they're made of, and if whatever that is is toxic. Do you know, Katee?

[Reesacat]

I love my buckwheat hull pillows!

[bmc65]

I have a buckwheat, but it is poorly made and gets dirty from the inside out. I'll have to look for a better one some day.

[Katee]

The ones from JoAnn's (http://www.joann.com/poly-fil-micro-beads-20-oz-/xprd636226/), which are typical i think, are 100% polystyrene. Essentially they are styrofoam.

I really can't find much information about styrofoam off-gassing. We have never noticed any odor with ours - and we both are rather sensitive to such things. (We have to off-gas foam/memory foam toppers for several days before using.) I would guess that these pillows are much less toxic compared to most other things in our lives, and i would consider them much less risk than, say, a memory foam pillow.

These really are tiny beads. They are about the size of a grain of sand, and i'd not thought of it before, but they do move inside the pillow in a manner similar to sand. We are very pleased with them.

[StephenX]

BMC, hope it works out for you. Good sleep is a very important facet of good health. Strangely enough, I get my best sleep when I sleep on the ground. I have heard that it is beneficial to orient your bed so your head is on the north side. Something about alignment with the Earth's magnetic field. For the Aussies in the group I guess maybe south would be better?

[Pattypans]

For the Aussies in the group I guess maybe south would be better?

Ahem, Stephen...there are people here who live in the Southern Hemisphere in places other than Australia! Moi, for example.

[mellowsong]

I ordered a mattress yesterday. Hopefully will get it by end of next week. It is certified organic latex, cotton and wool. I can't wait to get it as what I currently have is causing me excessive pain. I have to use a hospital bed and the mattress, which is less than 2 years old, has collapsed. Even with 3" of blended latex and 3" of memory foam toppers over it, it is awful. Without the toppers, I could actually feel the springs through the mattress when it was brand new. Anyway, it was given to me by the VA, need I say more? Of course, they said it can't be replaced for 7 to 10 years. I don't want another one of theirs anyway! What I have is encased in a bed bug almost everything else proof casing but it is still "chemical" and I want it gone.

[Pattypans]

Mellow, your choice sounds really good to me. And a mattress without metal springs, I think, will be much better, not just for your comfort, but for EMR reasons.

[sollyb]

Mellow,
What brand did you buy?

[sollyb]

To the original poster: exactly which Tempur-Pedic mattress did you get?

I know several people who have Tempur-Pedics and love them. Others who hated them. But there are so many types of Tempur-pedic mattresses these days......and last time I looked into one, it can make a big difference WHICH tempur-pedic you get. And it seems like when people hate them, they really HATE them, LOL, and get rid of them ASAP.

A friend of mine bought a mattress with foam, forget what kind, but she asked the store if she could have the floor model, which had had a couple of months to get over its outgassing. She first purchased a tempurpedic but couldn't stand it, and the store did take it back. For a mattress like the one she ended up with (I've forgotten the brand) I'd have to have it shipped, and if it had to go back, it would be a nightmare!

Still this discussion is very interesting to me....I'll probably be starting to look for a new bed again in the not very distant future.....

[mellowsong]

Mellow,
What brand did you buy?

I got it from Foam Sweet Foam. I must have spoken with 10 companies over the last few weeks and this guy seemed most knowledgeable and honest and up front. I had narrowed it down to 3 companies with NO BBB complaints. Price didn't vary from each company a whole lot but I think this one ended up cheapest. I opted for the organic everything which did increase the price some but I really want something that I don't have to worry about hurting me. http://www.foamsweetfoam.com/category/Latex-Mattress-Organic-55
I got the Organic Plus with X firm on bottom, firm in middle and soft on top. He said that was best configuration for pain. I sure pray I don't have to exchange. Their latex beds do have a 30 year warranty too.

[bmc65]

Mellow, I looked at a pure organic latex. The price point with the one I found was about the same as a tempur pedic. it's sounds like you got a good seller. I'll be interested to know how your bed feels.
Sollyb if that question was for me, I ordered the contour select. I'll be getting it this Thurs.

[sollyb]

StephenX:
So, how is is going with the My Pillows? I'm having pillow problems again, and considering trying one.
thx,
sol

[sollyb]

Yes it was me asking which model..........thanks!