One thing I wish somebody would have said to me prior to my surgery is this: “Get a new bed you stupid bastard! You’re going to be spending the majority of your life in that bed for the next six weeks. And, after six weeks, you’re still going to be spending a lot of time in bed. And, after that…hey, you sleep in bed every single night of your life! And, you had a major back surgery! Doesn’t it stand to reason that you should invest in a high-quality, supportive mattress.”
But, nobody said anything like that to me prior to surgery. And, I’m an idiot, so it didn’t naturally occur to me. And, while my semi-broken down mattress didn’t seem to matter much prior to surgery: after surgery, it really made my life difficult.
This is hard to explain to somebody who hasn’t gone through this post-surgical experience. But, when you’re laid-up and it hurts tremendously to simply move…you just really want a firm supportive mattress under you. I just don’t know how else to express it.
And, the problem is…I didn’t realize this until after surgery. And, after surgery is exactly when I absolutely was in no position to go mattress shopping! Believe me, you will be in no condition to replace your mattress after the surgery.
So, I waited about eight weeks. And, then I went off to some store like Mattress World or something…actually, it was called Sleepy’s…and, I bought a mattress called Sleepy Doze Memory Foam Firm Queen Size. And, for me, the most important characteristic is I wanted something that was VERY FIRM.
Now, I didn’t consult with a back surgeon or chiropractor or anything of the sort. My sort of inner-voice/inner-wisdom told me to get something firm. So, I got a good deal. I think the mattress with delivery was like $530 or something like that. I was okay with that price.
And, they had somebody deliver it, set it up and remove my old mattress. I kept the old frame. I thought it was a good deal.
And, oh what a difference the new mattress makes! Oh, it makes a difference! And, yes…I really wish I would have gone out and bought a new mattress before my surgery. And, after the surgery: it amazed me that it didn’t occur to me pre-surgery that I’d want a new bed! It’s really crazy how that works!
And, something else about the new bed. I’m also something of a woodworker. Not as a profession. It’s just something I really enjoy. And, I already had some plywood cut-up. So, I put the plywood under the mattress to make he whole thing extra firm.
It works great!