6 replies to this topic

[snowqueeneh]

My spouse is a C5/6 complete. He is coming home tomorrow. I have read previous posts about the temperpedic matress being the favorite amongst many SCI. For now - I have a crank hospital bed with my "pull out couch" matress and 4.5" of memory foam on top. It is a little late to post this - but does anyone have trouble with memory foam? Any advice would be very appreicated.

[greybeard]

Tempur mattresses ARE made from memory foam, so you have no need to change.

[Scott_C4-5]

I use to use a low-airloss mattress when I had pressure sores and continued to do so after they healed until the air pump burnt up. I got another, but due to power outages earlier this year I decided to go to a regular foam mattress. I bought a 3 inch thick California King size 4 lbs. density memory foam mattress from overstock.com and cut it half to give me a nice 6 inch pad, but I didn't like it because my body sunk deep into it. If you want memory foam, find something denser than 4 lbs. unless you like the cocoon feel. I called my local medical supply and got a gel mattress and it feels nice. It doesn't leave me with any redness and its firm enough as well. I just wish I had gotten it before I bought the memory foam. If your Dr. prescribes a special mattress, you'll save a lot of your own money. Also, Invacare makes a couple different denser foam mattress for you to check out, if foam is your choice.

Good luck, hope this helps any...

Edited by Scott_C4-5, 04 June 2009 - 02:00 PM.

[Apparelyzed]

I have a temperpedic matress.

The only problems I have with it, is you sink into it after a couple of minutes, and it molds itself to your shape. This can be a problem if he turns himself at night, as when on his side, his hip may sink into the matress, and he may have difficulty getting out the "hole"!

Also, if he transfers himself in and out of bed, his hands will sink into the matress when he lifts. You can get around this by not lifting until the last second, therefore not giving your hands time to sink.

These are not big problems, and can be overcome by changing technique.

I've had mine for 3 years now with no problems, I just have one turn in the night, sometimes I'll sleep straight through if I'm really tired, with no pressure issues.

I had the thick matress at first, but it made the bed too high when transfering onto the bed, so I swapped it for the medium thickness version under their money back guarantee with no problems.

Regards

Simon.

[CaitlinAero]

Many people have problems with them retaining too much heat and just getting to hot to sleep in comfortably. If he really likes to topper you got, then you can think about getting a full mattress later. They are expensive, so save your money until you have a better sense of what will work. Don't forget to check with all your regular funding sources (insurance, Medicare, etc.) and the docs to see what could be covered as medically indicated.

[Illinois Boy]

snowqueeneh, on Jun 4 2009, 06:07 AM, said:

My spouse is a C5/6 complete. He is coming home tomorrow. I have read previous posts about the temperpedic matress being the favorite amongst many SCI. For now - I have a crank hospital bed with my "pull out couch" matress and 4.5" of memory foam on top. It is a little late to post this - but does anyone have trouble with memory foam? Any advice would be very appreicated.

I tried the tempurpedic, it was too hard for me........ I got a 11 inch Sealy memory foam mattress with 3 different layers of foam.....

I love it.... don't notice any heat build up......

Jim

[greybeard]

I've got the ten inch thick Tempurpedic. Nice and soft on the top and plenty supportive. Haven't found it too hot which is a little surprising as I've always perspired a lot at night. I do have a fan blowing over the bed for most of the year though.

The only drawback is as Simon says. You tend to sink into it. It's not a problem for me, but I suspect that one of the thinner options would reduce that a lot if it is an issue.