Pillows

[NOYFB]

I am in desperate need of a new pillow. I have been waking up lately with severe neck and shoulder pain, and have not been able to get a good night's sleep for the past few days. I am a back sleeper and already sleep with a pillow under my knees, but lately my 2 pillows just don't seem to be cutting it. My last massage was 2 weeks ago, so I don't think I need another one right now. I really think my pillows are the culprit.

I am looking into either a Tempurpedic curved neck pillow or a cervical traction pillow. Both pillows get mixed reviews. Has anyone here tried either one? And if so, would you recommend it?

Also, what about a full body pillow? I could sleep on my side if I had one of those, but I'm not sure if they would provide enough neck support. And, when I do sleep on my side, I have a tendency to stretch out the arm that's on the bottom so that it misaligns my neck/shoulder anyway, but I don't know what else to do with it - LOL

 

[TooPatient]

We bought FI a couple of the Tempurpedic pillows a few years ago. I think we got two different sizes.

They SMELL AWFUL!!! I'm serious. They stunk so bad (especially with a couple of nights of use -- even with their cover + pillowcase) I started sleeping as far away from him as I could get in the bed... and I was distracted if I did go near him

I never thought they were all that comfortable. Both sizes were just wrong for me and didn't support where I needed it.

Oh... and the funny thing is that I found some foam pillows at a craft store (2 for $10) FI ended up taking them because they were more comfortable for him than the Tempurpedic were.


If I sleep on my side with a big pillow, I need to have another pillow under my head to support my neck. (basically forming an upside down L).

 

[mary poppins]

I use a curved memory foam pillow for my head and a regular pillow between my knees. I find that combination to be very helpful to alleviate or avoid neck and back pain. My husband got the curved memory foam pillow from Target and it doesn't smell. Also, I reviewed some instructions online which said you should not put your arm or hand under the head pillow for two reasons. First, it props your neck up in an unnatural and eventually uncomfortable position. Second, you will eventually want to move your arm which disrupts your sleep. After reading that I changed to putting my hands on the knee pillow, which has also helped.

I hope you find something that works for you. It's awful waking up feeling worse than you did when you went to sleep.

 

[Jennifer W]

I tried a lot of options, some of them ruinously expensive, before I found The One. It's from Ikea, and I think it was around £30

It's contoured, so that it sort of wedges in between your head and shoulder. I can't recall the name of it, but if you go to one of their stores, it will be very obvious which one it is. They come at different price points, depending on the material it's made from, so you can try a cheap one and if it works for you, upgrade later.

I've found that it seems to help my lower back pain too (I had some fractured vertebrae a few years back) so I'm guessing that it sorts out my sleeping position a little. I did try a body pillow, but it sort of got between DH and me, so I ended up freezing cold in winter.

 

[NOYFB]

I tried a lot of options, some of them ruinously expensive, before I found The One. It's from Ikea, and I think it was around £30

Thanks for the tip. How much does that translate to in American $$?

 

[redfaerythinker]

I have a pillow from Sleep Number. I don't know if they still have this line, but you could "make your own" pillow. You picked the firmness of both the outer pillow and its core. This way I was able to get a nice soft outer pillow but with a firm core to support my head and neck. It's the best pillow i've ever had!