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mariposatraicionera

Memory foam pillows?

DH is having problems with his neck and was told by a friend that the Memory Foam pillows will help.

Does anyone have this problem and tried the MF or other type of pillow?

Mari

Comments (28)

  • 18 years ago

    I have a crummy neck and got my mem foam pillow at the foam store. It has one side that's very high and another that's not so high. Yes, it helps. If you get one for DH watch him lay on different ones and try to find the one that keeps his neck in straight alignment with his body when he lies on his side... if he sleeps on his side.

  • 18 years ago

    My sister uses a MF pillow and it really helps her. I have been told that using a proper pillow is crucial for your neck. I am thinking of getting one for myself as well to prevent any problems in the future

  • 18 years ago

    I use a MF pillow because I kept waking up with neck-strain headaches and couldn't find the right blend of support and comfort with a polyfill pillow. My MF is perfect for me - no more shifting the pillow around to get it 'right'.

  • 18 years ago

    Both DH and I have the flatter memory foam pillows. He has a bad neck from an old auto injury and it really helps him. He won't go back to any other pillow. I'm a side sleeper and I anything higher would give me a neck ache, so I needed the small, flat profile.

    However, my favorite part is that DH STOPPED SNORING on that pillow! And let me tell you that he can rock the whole house. :-) Whenever he starts snoring again, I know it's because he's bunched up the pillow. So, I make sure I flatten the pillow back out when I make the bed and there's no more snoring again. We've had ours over 1 year now.

  • 18 years ago

    I bought a pair for as an anniversary gift to my husband almost 2 years ago. We love them. We purchased them at Sam's Club for around $25 each.

  • 18 years ago

    I guess I'll be the one voice of dissatisfaction. I had one and loved it at first. It did wonders for my neck problems. We used to pack it along on trips, it was that important for me. But it wasn't long before it started to compress down a bit and then it wasn't working for me anymore. And this was a pricey one -- Tempurpedic. I heard somewhere that they are only supposed to last about a year before the foam starts to compress -- mine didn't even last that long. I guess I would say start out with one that isn't super expensive to see if it works well.

    Now I sleep on a regular pillow with a neck pillow just below it (not under). Heaven, I tell you. I've even been able to stop going to the chiropractor!

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions, will check out a few brands today.

    DH snores so I kind of excited to hear that these pillows could help with that. He sounds like a train going through a tunnel,lol

    Was looking at the Tempur-pedic online, but it's pricey but after reading Canobean's experience, I'm wondering whether to splurge or not on that :-(

  • 18 years ago

    We got one of the Tempur-Pedic Millenium pillows as a "free gift" when we purchased our Tempur-Pedic mattress set a couple months ago. Both of us tried out the pillow and we both pretty much hate it. It's just not right for either of us. It actually seemed to increase neck and head problems, rather than helping. DH went back to his old poly-fill pillow. I bought a cheaper memory foam pillow that has the shape of a standard pillow from Walmart and love it.

    I would recommend memory foam, just be sure to try out different pillows and find one that actually works for you.

  • 18 years ago

    Housewitch, I went to a place that sells the Tempur-Pedic and DID NOT like the feel of it either! Not sure if DH would like it though... I did see one at BB&B that looks like a regular pillow but has the memory foam (online), so will be checking that out to see if it's any better. Thanks for letting me know. A friend swears by what you got with your mattress, but her DH hates it,lol

  • 18 years ago

    I went through a lot of neck pillows before I got the one I have now, and I agree about them not lasting even a year. The one I have now I've been happy with for years. It's never changed.

  • 18 years ago

    I sleep on a natural latex pillow and love it. I am allergic to the chemicals that outgas in a memory foam pillow and I also find the pillows to hard.

  • 18 years ago

    You do need to discover which pillow style best suits your body. I have 2 different Tempurpedic pillows on my bed, and have had them for 2.5+ years. They are still like new, and they have made all the difference in my arthritic neck, which used to cause my fingers to go numb, and required frequent trips to the chiropractor. Since I've been sleeping on these pillows, my neck problems have been resolved. I have the Tempurpedic pillow with the "hole" in the center, designed for you to sleep on your back and lay your head so your spine is in the "hole". I also have the rounded, curved front pillow, which I can use on my back or sides of the head. Both pillows are very comfortable, and I will definitely replace them with the same styles, when it's time.

    I think it's very important to actually lie down for a while on the bed and try the pillow out, to see how your body responds to the design. I would never buy one of these pillows withoutout an in-store try out.

  • 18 years ago

    If you have a Relax the Back store near you he can try them out. They come in different sizes and styles depending on the issues he has in his neck. I have herniated discs in my neck and back and tried a couple of different pillows at the Relax the Back store before we found the right one. Also discovered that sleeping with a pillow between my knees helps my alignment tremendously. The thing I really appreciated about the RTB store was they weren't pushy, were very helpful and actually told me to go to Walmart and get a similar pillow for my knees much cheaper than what he could sell me. I bought the tempurpedic for my neck from him and it has made an amazing difference in how I feel each morning and how I sleep.

  • 18 years ago

    If changing pillows doesn't help with your husband's snoring, he might have sleep apnea. My DH went to a sleep clinic where he was found to have severe sleep apnea. No pillow was going to help that. He, too, was a constant snorer. He now sleeps hooked up to a CPAP machine. Not always comfortable or something he's gotten used to, but he does get better, more quality sleep.

  • 18 years ago

    I purchased the one at Sam's Club and have used it for several years now. I really like it. I usually sleep on my side or stomach with one arm under my head and pillow. My arm and hand used to go to numb during my sleep, but not since I've been using this pillow. Grammy

  • 18 years ago

    I, too, have memory foam pillows purchased from Sam's Club. When I bought these pillows, I was having trouble turning my neck from side to side. The doctor finally diagnosed arthritis in my neck. To be honest, I couldn't live without these pillows. I even took one of them to the hospital this year when I had to have surgery (not on my neck). Since Sam's doesn't carry them anymore where I live, I'm now trying to find some more of them.

  • 18 years ago

    I didn't care for my Tempurpedic pillow because it was so heavy and I couldn't move it around or sleep with my arm under it. Although it did help my neck, I would have to stay in the same position all night. I am a side sleeper, but sometimes flip to my back. You need to switch the pillow around with the different sleep positions.

    We sold our expensive TP pillows at a garage sale and bought the best pillows I have ever had! After a Carnival cruise, where we fell in love with their bedding, we ordered their feather pillows. We love them and my neck problems have mostly disappeared. We still have our TP bed, though.

  • 18 years ago

    I returned my Tempurpedic pillow - it was too hard.

  • 18 years ago

    Count me in on not appreciating the T-P pillow - we got two free when we bought the bed. I returned them and talked the dealer into knocking $100 off the price of the bed instead. Because we're both stomach/side sleepers (I tend to sleep half on my side and half on my stomach, DH goes back and forth) the "contour" pillows don't work very well, and the one that is shaped like a regular pillow was just very heavy and hard. I always woke up with a sore ear. I wonder if it's because my head doesn't generate enough heat to really soften the pillow like my body does on the bed? I too couldn't put my arm under the pillow because of the weight. Make sure you purchase from a place with a good return policy and no restocking fees. Instead, I buy cheap fiberfill pillows and donate them to the SPCA when they've gotten mashed/matted down - usually two or three pair a year. I can squash those into just the right shape.

    Unless I'm forced to by something like surgery, I just cannot sleep on my back; being an insomniac, if everything isn't Just Right, including the positioning, fuhgetaboudit. In 2 of my 3 sleep studies they made me sleep on my back and it was miserable. I could only do it by putting the head of the hospital bed up 45 degrees so I couldn't turn over.

    ellen, if your husband is having a hard time with the CPAP and has mild to moderate apnea, hopefully next year the FDA will approve a new machine that uses a cannula (the little thing with the prongs under the nose like they use to deliver oxygen in the hospital) at much lower pressure. It's called "TNI", Treatment with Nasal Insufflation. I tried CPAP (one of those "for lack of anything else to do we'll try this to see if it does anything" routines) at my last sleep study and it was so awful that there was no way I was going to drop a pile of cash on this ultimate anaphrodisiac! (My insurance will only pay 80% for the most basic machine and one mask per year; if you want a better machine, different masks/pillows, or accessories you have to pay for it.) I saw an article about the TNI machine in the last Fibromyalgia Network newsletter and I'd be willing to give that a shot because there's no uncomfortable "hosehead" with bulky masks.

  • 18 years ago

    Nothing in the world as wonderful as memory foam, have the pillows and mattress toppers on all beds...have a friend, was going thru pillows like they was going outta style, get's neck pain etc. told her about memory foam, also best place to buy it online... now I would not want to try to take it away from her, she even takes it with her when she travels, however with the pillows you need to give them about a week to get used to, then you will love it!

  • 18 years ago

    I am unsure if I like my tempurpedic pillow or not. It's better in the winter than summer because in the summer I'm a flipper. I wake up I turn my pillow over to the cool side. I've always done that since I was a little girl. The TP pillow gets hot right away and it's not comfortable to me if the room is warmer.

    I use mine about 25% of the time. Usually I use my down alternative pillow.

  • 18 years ago

    Well, I love my Tempurpedic pillow. I have the one that looks like a regular pillow, not the contoured one. The TPs do have a break-in period. I found the pillow a bit too hard at first but after about six weeks it softened considerably and I now think it is perfect.

    In the past I had a contured memory foam pillow that was purchased at Costco. That thing never did soften up and I gave up on it - it was like sleeping on a rock.

  • 18 years ago

    "The pillows do not soften up" you simply get used to the way you sleep on one, your head aligns with your body, as with a topper your body perfectly aligns with no pressure points, and a side note...they do not get hot! they adjust to the body's temp. I did alot of research on memory foam before my first purchase, it was developed by NASA the toppers make a good mattress fantastic, the best sleep we've ever had!I also have the real pillow not the contoured. My niece has sleep apnea, uses a c-pap, her Dr. told her to get memory foam,

  • 18 years ago

    Susieq - do I know you? I'm wondering how you could have slept on my pillow, otherwise how would you know whether or not it has softened with use? :) Really, I don't know anything about other brands, but both TP pillows and beds soften up a bit with use. Part of the reason that TP gives a 90 day warranty on their beds is that there is a break in period for their materials and they tell you when you buy them that they will feel softer after a few weeks of use. Other memory foam products may well be different. As I stated in my original post, my Costco brand pillow was too hard to be comfortable, and it never got any more comfortable with use.

  • 18 years ago

    Costco has one that's much cheaper. We have both the MF and the costco brand one, and I can't really tell much of a difference. Both are too hard and too tall for me, so I use a regular pillow, but DH seems to be ok with either one.

  • 18 years ago

    Look, I know from my intense research, and experience of owning our pillows and toppers for a couple years now, and they have not changed one little bit. Plus they go by density 3lb.-4lb. etc. I got the densist, for firmness and long life, also bought them on line, for better prices than in any stores, I've seen some in stores and they are crappy, and still very high priced. As far as what any of you purchased, I don't have a clue, only know mine are wonderful, changed our lives as far as restful sleep goes... we look forward to retiring each night, it's heaven!!

  • 18 years ago

    Susie, where did you buy yours online?

  • 18 years ago

    I have a contoured memory foam pillow and love it. I notice that my pillow *does* hold body heat, though. A full hour after getting up, when I make my bed, the pillow is still warm on the underside.