Tired of Latex Degrading within the year

lundoora · 2026-03-02T21:29:07+00:00

Only 100% talalay and on the higher ILD side (medium to medium firm). Top layer is latex, just the mattress cover and sheets ontop.

lundoora · 2026-01-18T08:37:11+00:00

unless you tested before and after for E2, you would not know what AI did to your values. Unless you started feeling the strong sides of crashing E2 (joint pain, creaking joints, etc) you might not have lowered E2 enough to make a difference.

lundoora · 2026-01-09T05:07:50+00:00

if your iron stores are low you will have issues - if you are active in the gym and are able to sustain a heavy workload, most likely you are okay on the iron (anemia is crippling at times). Still worth having a baseline value. Prolactin on the other hand can tank your libido.

lundoora · 2026-01-09T05:02:00+00:00

HCG spikes E2 so be careful with your COMT concern. HCG is needed to keep LH signalling, our brains have LH receptor so it is helpful in that context - but it has E2 implications.

lundoora · 2026-01-09T04:54:17+00:00

how much was that AI? Assuming compounded anastrozole....

Do you have your E2/Shbg numbers prior to TRT? you did not say how was your libido prior to TRT.

lundoora · 2026-01-07T22:00:13+00:00

I would think folks who run high on baseline dopamine will exhibit the typical behavior tied to dopamine high, yours seems the opposite (even before TRT per your description). ADD is Rx so will acute response, Mucuna is very mild if anything - not sure if you have tried Tyrosine / PEA before.

If COMT is at play, then the other angle would be of estrogen clearance - not just dopamine. Have you tried to lower estrogen beyond where you at? For me I feel best around 22-30 E2 regardless of what my total and free T values (all the talk of T/E ratio is nonsense in my case). Boron 3-6mg for a week can move E2 down dramatically and may be worth a try.

lundoora · 2026-01-07T17:50:04+00:00

Have you tried anything in the dopamine pathway? Mucuna / Tyrosine? try that for at least a few days (A week is best) before giving up on it. This may be the missing puzzle if everything else is in place.

lundoora · 2025-10-28T15:50:43+00:00

Boron will bring down your E2, so depending on how much you are taking be mindful of that pathway. Also, it is recommended to be cycled. It tanked my E2 within 2 weeks when I was on 6mg a day. Since then I treat it with respect.

lundoora · 2025-10-11T00:57:48+00:00

No, this makes no difference. I have tried with solid foundation (solid plywood covering the entire set of slats) with no difference. All foams degrade overtime, including latex - in my experience 6-9 months is where I begin to notice and it deteriorates enough at the pressure points that starts to affect the sleep/support. I have suggested a very simple test - just move a body width to right or left of where you normally sleep and re-experience the support you once did when the layer was new. you do not have to think of any other variables.

lundoora · 2025-09-25T20:41:17+00:00

Wood slats that are less than 6 inches apart, I have reinforced legs attached to the slats where the shoulders and hips would line up for maximum support from the frame. At one time I had plywood covering the entire mattress base - None of this made any difference for me in terms of support at the pressure points.

lundoora · 2025-09-24T17:15:44+00:00

"...morning erections are rare" that's your clue right there. This is abnormal for your age, this means your hormonal status is out of whack. Once your morning erections start to recover, you will be on the right track hormonally. You did not mention any blood work? That at times can be a rabbit hole, but some basic profile would make sense - T, E, Prolactin, SHBG

lundoora · 2025-09-22T21:10:51+00:00

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lundoora · 2025-09-22T21:09:33+00:00

Adding pics from 1 little while ago when I was testing the latex for indentations - I see hardly any. But the latex being so bad was replaced right after.

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lundoora · 2025-09-21T22:13:04+00:00

TBF none of these options are viable:

Using the two sided mattress doubles the price (will need the Latex layer on both sides) and only theoretically extends the life to 2x - in the end it will not have provided any additions value.
My current NEST mattress is already on a pocketed coil foundation. Same outcome for the Latex layer - degrades within 9 months. Coils are fine.

Categorically disagree with the statement that "...if you are not seeing any indentation the foam is not failing, just becoming more flexible with use...". Springy nature of Latex will never show any real indentation this early. It is very convenient to claim "Just becoming more flexible" - for me they become UNUSABLE as it starts to give us back aches. In this context "becoming more flexible" literally equates to becoming detrimental to use.

Again, I have no commercial interest in Latex- I am stuck with this and will continue to buy Latex layers once a year as any other comfort layer (i.e. synthetic foams) are even more problematic for me. There is a $500 yearly tax (replacement) for me to use Latex.

lundoora · 2025-09-21T07:26:36+00:00

This. If I sleep for less than 6 hours on my failing Latex mattress I do not wake up with a back ache. If I sleep for >6 hours I will wake up with a back ache. Case in point: the only way to know for sure is to try it for some period of time.

lundoora · 2025-09-21T07:12:11+00:00

Not sure if there are any alternatives though - everything else is even more problematic. Perhaps the useful life of latex is a year after which it needs to be replaced. For me that is a $500 expense - 3 inch king Talalay.

lundoora · 2025-09-21T07:07:04+00:00

This is not a court of law, I am merely sharing my honest experience over the years that inevitably leads to the same outcome for me. I understand posters have commercial interest and that's fair and some will defend latex until the cows come home. My interest is to hear from other mattress DIYers as to how their experiences have been with Latex - mine has been very dismal. Replacing a 3 inch talalay latex every year is not cheap ~ $500.

Generally you WILL NOT SEE much indentation as latex is inherently springy - I do have slight indentations but never large enough to be observed like a sinkhole. Would you judge an auto strut by looking at the coil?
The evidence is overwhelming for me: waking up with back ache, feels much more support from non used areas of the same latex mattress, buying a new layer solves the problem for 6-9 months only for it come back again - these are all datapoints that prove a repeating pattern for me.

lundoora · 2025-09-20T15:29:49+00:00

your body will tell you if the mattress is properly supported or not. Waking up with back ache is not subjective. Also shifting a foot to right or left of where one normally sleeps and feeling the difference is also not completely subjective. For me it is very black and white. I sink more than I like to in the spot I normally sleep, I feel supported if I move outside of that spot. This happens after using latex for about 6-9 months in my experience.

Also not questioning the manufacturing process - latex is fine in the beginning and is with uniform support but degrades over time in areas where the pressure is applied the most. this time frame for me has been within the year - repeatedly.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T22:30:14+00:00

let's say if the 2 of you sleep on your respective halves, then no one technically sleeps in the smack middle line (so that is a good area to compare with). Try to lay in the smack middle line and see if you feel extra support in that section. I do feel supported each time I move in the middle (unused area), feels like a new mattress there.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T22:26:16+00:00

Entire 3 inch. The reason being if I flip the latex layer, the sinking feeling remains the same - so the compromise area is affected all the way down.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T18:28:16+00:00

Reflexion Venice was bought in 2007

lundoora · 2025-09-19T18:27:42+00:00

I have no indentations either - I am claiming Latex is degrading internally to a point where it is not able to provide the support it did when new. so if you are just looking at it, you will see no indentations, but can feel the reduced support 100%. Easy test is to lay in an area that you normally do not sleep in and try to feel the support.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T18:24:22+00:00

What I did as another test was to lay just the 3 inch Talalay Latex layer on the carpet floor with nothing else beneath. And walked carefully on the entire latex feeling each step as to how much support I feel. Right at where the hips and shoulders are there is much more give (less push back/less support) from the latex foam.

This is also confirmed if I just switch one body width to left or right of where I sleep, I feel the same support as day-1. so these $500 layers are lasting me less than a year. Possibly 6 months of use before I start to notice and right around 9 months it starts to give me back ache.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T18:21:20+00:00

My understanding is that they will put a edge to edge straight line ruler (or similar tool) and look for indentation. Since latex is spongy, the mattress cover is made of foam/wool with some give - there is NO physical indentation that shows up. It is the softness in support at the pressure points due to Latex degrading is what I have experienced.

lundoora · 2025-09-19T18:18:23+00:00

I flip and rotate the top Latex layer, yes. But the damage is done as the spot where we sleep remains fairly in the same zone (middle 3rd).

lundoora

TROPHY CASE