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Mattress matters
I have PN and recently my husband was diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy (dysautonomia). After 50 days in the hospital and several weeks of rehab he will be coming home. His AN affects several systems, one of which, his BP. He needs to sleep at a 30 degree angle (his torso), no lower.
I am ready to buy a Tempur pedic because of the adjustable incline that he requires. Looking at bases, several have vibration modes which I found too rough. But their highest base has several vibration options, intensities, one segment of the body or all, etc. I was ready to reject it like the others as gimmicky but after a couple minutes it felt quite relaxing, then afterwards, my feet and ankles felt wonderful. Then I quickly googled “PN and whole body vibration” and found some studies which bear out WBV reducing pain in various chronic conditions.
Has anyone found a massaging mattress to be helpful? I would think it would increase blood flow to the nerves. One article said too much could have the opposite effect but they didn’t quantify that that was.
It is a big investment, especially with their best base, so I was wondering if anyone has a mattress with vibration and if it has a positive (or hopefully not negative) impact in their PN.
Thanks to everyone in advance! Between my PN and his AN with lengthy hospitalization, it has been quite a summer.
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Just took a look at this base, and I can see why you might be interested. We've got an adjustable bed from a different brand that doesn't vibrate, and I'll offer these thoughts:
-- I personally find tempur pedic and similar mattresses problematic. I sleep hot, and they make me even hotter. There are post-market products that you can put on top of a mattress to cool it down, but I have no idea how well they would work on one of these when the bed has been bent in the middle.
-- If you normally sleep in the same room/bed, consider a split king or split CA king instead of a queen or king. Ours is a split, and I'm so glad we went that way. It totally keeps us from having to negotiate a setting that works for both of us at the same time, which realistically would have been impossible.
-- Making the bed in a split is a bit of a pain, especially if you have back issues; lots of reaching and bending to put on the bottom sheet where the two mattresses butt against each other in the middle. We finally found these: https://quickzip.com/. I normally don't endorse specific products, but the fitted bottom sheet solution here is great! Basically, you pull the bottom sheet into place the first time as you would normally. After that, you just unzip the top to wash it, and zip the top back into place. I believe there's a video that shows how to do it. It's not in the least difficult, but it is also not intuitive.
-- Our bed required professional installation, and the frame is really, really heavy. We're going to need people who are a lot stronger than we are to move it, if we ever need to do so. You really want to position it correctly the first time if yours is too heavy for you to move yourselves.
-- We needed two electric outlets for the split, since they are entirely independent motors and the cords were not terribly long.
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3 ReactionsMattresses are important to our health. Today's NY Post had an article about a $160,000 mattress that can also treat a person with red light therapy. Some health clubs are incorporating these mattresses as part of their care regimen.
I'm unable to sleep on a mattress any more due to my neck, and the osteoarthritis in my knees and hips. We had to buy a special recliner for me to sleep in, which means not being able to sleep in the same bed with my wife. It's been like this for 10 years now, and when it came time to replace our(her's) queen size bed a few years ago, we just got her a twin sized bed due to space limits.
A chair is a LOT cheaper than one of those overpriced adjustable beds.
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2 ReactionsI researched mattresses for 2 years and decided on Saatva with vibrating adjustable base. I absolutely love it. They have a lifetime warranty, 365 night home trial, free delivery and set up. They are organic so no outgassing of nasty chemicals used in most mattresses. The purchase was well worth it for me.
I use red light therapy for my feet which seems to help. I find most the neuropathy creams don't work.
Gabapentin did not work for me.
My PN presents as burning feet and hands go to sleep at night.
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3 ReactionsThank you so much. I will check this brand out. I will also try the red light therapy. Can you tell me which device you use and how long your sessions are with it?
The red light brand is Bedrock Bioscience light pad. It has infrared lights too. I use it for 20min on each foot 3 ot 4 times per week. If used every day you can reduce the time to 10min per foot.
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1 ReactionThank you!
I am trying to put together a general essay on Red Light. Will you please post more details of your Red Light Therapy?
How many LEDs? Part number if possible. Wavelength if possible.
Total Power in Watts.
Area treated at one time.
Duration of treatment.
Distance of LEDs to treatment area.
Anything else that you can think of.
Wavelengths: 60x 660nm (red) and 60x 880nm (infrared) Diodes
Material: Neoprene Fabric
120 Diodes
Treatment Area: 4” x 24”
Warranty: 1 Year Limited Warranty
Product comes with lightpad, power cord, and straps
Power: 2000+ joules of energy over 20 min of treatment time
If you search "Bedrock Bioscience Light Pad" there is much more info. Mayo would not let me send a link because I'm new.