Mattress quest

 I bought a mattress when I moved and had it installed before I actually took up residence. I was so happy to have accomplished this goal. But I woke up every morning stiff and in pain--the muscles of my torso, my ribs and around my spine were sore. I could not lie on my back or my sides without pain when I breathed. I exchanged the mattress with the same manufacturer for a firmer one, hoping that it would do the trick. No luck--I was still experiencing pain every morning. It didn't hurt when I lay down and went to sleep but I'd wake around 4AM unable to get back to sleep and too tired and sore to just get up. Once I was on my feet or sitting in my chair, the pain would mostly go away. I thought it must be the memory foam top layer making my spine curl up funny, so I scouted out the location of a nearby Mattress Firm store and went in and got a new firm mattress with no foam topper.  Thank goodness the store was only a few stops away on the L line. But it turned out to be even more uncomfortable--I overdid it on the firmness. I tried folding my winter quilt and using it as a topper and it was just a little bit better, but still painful. Now I am on mattress number four--I went back to the store yesterday and laid down on a couple of mattresses, and decided to get one that has a gel and foam top layer with coils underneath. The sales people pointed out that if I didn't have proper lumbar support, my body would sag into a bad position.They were very generous and allowed me to do the trade-in  for the same price even though the new mattress was more expensive.  The delivery will be in the next ten minutes or so, and I'll ask them to help put the mattress protective cover on.  I'll hope and pray that I can sleep without pain again. 

OK, delivery complete: the mattress has to poof up because it was rolled up in a box. They did put the cover on for me. These delivery teams are so efficient--not a wasted motion as they strip off the plastic, set it up, then bundle up the one to be removed with plastic as well. I hate the idea that I'm "wasting' a mattress, but pain-free sleep is a basic for life.

UPDATE: first night with the new mattress, woke up with ALMOST no pain. Still just a teeny bit stiff but able to lie on each side and turn over without pain.