Like most other fibromites I’ve struggled with finding a decent bed. I’ve tried them all. It’s just me, so during the move I could make it with just my car. Driving a truck down here was going to cost as much as a new bed. No matter which mattress I chose I always have to use a feather bed and then a memory foam topper on top of that one. Most mattresses have tufting or diverts that cause me pain. I’ve tried a memory foam bed but it was too expensive and wasn’t soft enough.

So my great plan was to just sleep on a futon with all the toppers on it. That plan changed after one night. My next plan was to sleep on an air bed with toppers on it. It was a double sized air bed and actually quite comfortable. It rivaled my old traditional bed, but it was too hard to regulate the air every night. So I ended up at the mattress store spending money that I hadn’t planned on spending which was stressful enough. Mattress salesman are akin to used car salesman. I say I can afford xxx amount. They say “Well actually you can afford xxxx because we have a payment plan.”

I tried all kinds of beds. Even the $5000 ones weren’t comfortable to me. I realized after awhile that it didn’t matter if the top was made out of cashmere because I’d be putting a sheet over it anyways. I went to every store in town, except the Intelligel store. I had priced those beds before and knew that I couldn’t afford it. On their commercials they say their beds are good for fibro. Maybe someday I’ll be able to pickup an Intelligel topper. Does anyone have experience with Intelligel?

One salesman was actually helpful, well he was before he started to try to sell me a bed that is worth more than my car. He said that since I toss and turn all night I really need pocketed coils. With memory foam, your body has to make a new divot every time you move. Good old springs adjust automatically. I don’t remember exactly what the pocketed coils did to make such a difference, but they did something awesome. So this wasn’t a case of more expensive is actually better.

By the end of the day, I had gone out to the car twice to cry, which isn’t really like me. It was one of the most frustrating experiences that I’d ever had. It’s hard living in a body that never feels comfort, no matter the cost. The last store I went into, the salesman stuck to my price range. I laid on a bed and it was like laying on a cloud. I told him to write it up. On the drive home I realized that while I know everything about every bed in the world now, I didn’t even know about the bed I had just bought. I asked the delivery man yesterday and he said it was pocketed coils with a very thin layer of memory foam on top. The sides of the mattress are covered in foam as well. There are a few tufts on the mattress, but they aren’t deep. I slept very well on it last night without any toppers, but I’ll have to see if it lasts.

Sometimes I’m afraid that my life story will read like this:

The Hold Steady finally came to Salt Lake & I was too exhausted to put on shoes.

David Sedaris came to one of the most conservative states in the country during an election, but it was really cold out & I didn’t want to die.

Lewis Black also came to one of the most conservative states in the country, but again with the cold.

The Mountain Goats came to town & I was going to convince them to let me run away with them, but I couldn’t so much move that day.

Spain was the most wonderful, exciting place in the world but I couldn’t make it out the front door.

One of the biggest problems I run in with fibromyalgia is the idea of a cure. The medical community agrees that there isn’t one. However, every time I talk to someone about fibro they say “Ohhh my cousin was cured using….” I use several health supplements every day to manage my disease. I would probably even look at Decaslim if I needed to lose weight. My cupboard probably has more supplements in it then the health food store. I just hate it when people treat me like I don’t want to get better, or I’m pessimistic, just because I don’t want to shell over money I don’t have for a “cure”. Been there, done that.

The idea of cleansing always makes me laugh. When you start out on most of these programs there is a set time period that you need to commit to before you see any results. However, even with some of the drinks, it has made my fibromyalgia worse. I’m then told it is part of “cleansing”. This is the process where the body gets rid of toxins apparently by getting sicker. I’m more of the old school variety where if something is making you hurt, you should probably stop doing it.