Sciatica, sleep apnea, large man...Mattress Recommendation?‏

Sheri writes:

Good evening.
I was searching for the best mattress for sciatica and came across your info. Our situation is as follows:
I'm 5'4" and 135 and hubby is 6'0 and 320ish. I used to be a stomach sleeper but as I've gotten older I'm a side sleeper R&L. My husband has obstructive sleep apnea & uses a CPAP machine/mask with attached tubing. He prefers to sleep on his stomach but between the mask & tubes and his nose stopping up he can't really sleep in that position. He spends 85% of sleep time going from back to side to back to other side.
Our main concern right now is exacerbation of sciatica down the left side that takes a good hour-hour & a half to partially resolve after getting up. We built a new home in 2009 and got a new mattress set.. It's very firm with little to no give even 5 years later. 
Questions for you:
1) Can our mattress be the source aggravating his sciatica?
2) If it is, what type of mattress would you recommend?
3) Would a talalay topper solve our problem or do we need a new mattress?
4) If a new mattress is needed, what would you recommend?
Thanks so much.
Sheri 


Hi Sheri,
There is an excellent possibility of the two of you getting everything you need to sleep well....including allowing your husband to sleep on his stomach without the cpap machine.
So, let's start there. In order for that to happen, he'll need to sleep with his head elevated.
If you've considered an adjustable bed, you'll know that it will not work for a stomach sleeper.
There is, however, an adjustable bed that tilts the bed, but keeps you straight...shown here:


To opt for this, you would need to buy through the manufacturer directly. It's not something I sell, but I can assure you that it is of very high quality.
This is ideal for him, as it will allow him to sleep in any position he likes...including his stomach. Tilting the head up will allow him to breathe better, which could very well eliminate the need for the cpap.
Keeping his body straight, allows us to also address his sciatica.

The extra firm mattress you have, sounds like it's strong enough to handle his weight. You'll want to hang on to it for that reason.
A latex topper will do the job of 1) making the mattress much more comfortable, which will reduce and quite possibly eliminate his tossing and turning.
The extra firm mattress is aggravating his sciatica and the latex topper will relieve that, as well.

At his weight, we find that the soft Talalay latex alone won't be strong enough. The Dunlop latex is more dense and more appropriate for his size, but alone, it's not likely to be soft enough.
We've had a lot of success with large people, his size, using 1.5" of soft Talalay latex under 1.5" of Dunlop....creating the best of both latexes.
Here is a link to the latex toppers.



It would be important to start with the latex, which you can get quickly.
This will immediately relive the sciatica and allow him to sleep deeply on his side and back.
The adjustable bed base is something to consider seriously.



Thanks, Pete
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