Pillows - Have you found a different pillow of benefit?

I am having a lot of neck pain at the moment and have done some research into pillows - I am thinking about changing my pillow again and wondered if anyone had found one which helps?

Research has shown that the pillow you have can trigger migraine, the amount of 'stuff' that collects in a pillow over time can cause an allergy. Dr. Alexander Mauskop, in his book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Migraines, explains that allergens such as mites and dead skin can trigger migraine attacks, even if you don’t have allergies:…As a part of the inflammation process, the blood vessels (including those in your head and face) become more porous, allowing the blood’s fluid and cells to seep into nearby tissues. The irritated blood vessels widen as tissues become even more inflamed. Does this sound familiar? It should, because it’s a major part of the migraine process. Although true allergy headaches are relatively rare, many environmental factors do have the potential to assault the nervous system and trigger a full-on migraine attack. That’s why it may be worth your while to reduce or eliminate as many of these factors as possible.

According to Dr. John Maunder of the British Medical Entomology Centre "If your pillow is 6 years old, about 10% of its weight is probably made up of dead skin, dead mites, live mites, and … mite dung"


I have tried a few over the years, these are my observations of the ones I have tried:

Feather Pillow
Little scent - but can cause an allergic reaction
Very soft so little support
Needed more than one
No reduction in neck pain

Memory Foam Pillow
Very strong chemical scent
Very strong support - in fact too much - the pillow did not 'give' at all
Needed only one
No reduction in neck pain - in fact caused more

Microfibre pillow
No scent
Good support - but did not 'give'
Needed only one
No reduction in neck pain


I am now thinking of getting either a Buckwheat pillow or a Water based pillow- has anyone tried one of these?


From what I have read so far:

Buckwheat Pillow

* Very heavy
* Scented - but not chemical smell - its a natural scent.
* Good support
* Keeps head cool - can be put in the freezer before use - Natural heat from your body adjusts the temperature of the pillow
* You can 'burrow' your head in it and it 'gives' in to your movements


The Chillow Pillow

* A glove-soft outer material and unique core of the Chillow combine with water provides a cool head
* Suppose to give more restful REM sleep (this is the sleep pattern which is thought to be most troublesome to migrainers )
* It needs no refrigeration it can be refrigerated briefly for more intense cooling power


Mediflow pillow
* This one has a water layer at the base, which should provide responsive support for the head and neck
* It has been proven in clinical tests to improve the quality of your sleep
* You sleep longer and deeper without disturbance
* Great for people with shoulder pain and a need for neck support - Even helps with chronic pain
* Constantly shapes itself to you as your body moves during the night
* It is soft and firm in all the right places because you vary the volume of water in the waterbase, from really soft to medium to firm


Mediflow Waterbase Pillow
* A layer of super-soft, hypo-allergenic DuPont polyester fiber floats over top of the water layer.
* A thermal insulator fully encases the water layer to prevent body heat from being drawn from the head, neck and shoulders.
* A water pouch secured to the base of the pillow provides the responsive head and neck support. Easy to follow instructions show how much water to add for soft, medium and firm support.
*Use ordinary tap water. No chemical additives are required.

Cant bear the initial pain of the wheat pillows at night they just kick off a ice pick migraine in me , as most pillows do until I fall asleep.
Just refuse to pay out on anymore pillows as I have tried so many now and have found none that are comfy to initially put my head on.
Sheena

Well I plumped for the Mediflow pillow and got to say it is an improvement on the last ones - it is a little low down - so may make it a bit more harder / higher tonight - BUT my neck is not as bad has it has been in the mornings I do have a slight headache - but you cannot have it all

I've tried 'em all when it comes to pillows, and always end up coming back to my old ones! This obviously ends up with me having a horrible pillow full of dust mites, but it is the only comfortable one I can find. I do use the anti dust mite covers though.

Buckwheat: I've never had such a rock hard pillow. It felt a bit like a memory foam one, in that there was a lot of neck support, but it was just too uncomfortable and like laying on a slab.

Chillow Pillow: I kind of liked this for a while, but the problem I found with it was that I didn't like the cold feeling against my whole face, I just wanted it against my head. Also, it leaked and filled my mattress with water!

I use a memory foam contour pillow as in the picture, although I have cervical spondylosis and prolapsed discs in my neck this helps me a lot, I do have 2 anti allergy covers on it as well as the pillow case, which are changed every week at least. The pillows are quite expensive though, the one i got was over £120 but recommended by my neuro-orthopaedic counsultant.

I bought a couple of Posture Care tri-core pillows for those b.a. migraines when aura is so bad moving my head makes me throw up. I keep Boots ice packs in the freezer to shove in the gap it has.

Another similarity, go figure! YES, I have a time with pillows too and have tried almost all of them as well. I recently started using a crushed memory foam (shredded foam) and I have to say it feels the best, BUT, I have wondered seriously about it's chemical side. Plus if it can be washed I don't think it can go in the dryer. The standard memory foam was the worst, followed by buckwheat, both press into the neck area too firmly and cause me pain. The data Tee provided on pillows and restricted vessels and tight muscles of the neck are spot on. Going along with pillows I have been told for years that I have tense neck muscles and need to do something about it. I try, do self massage, gentle exercise, after bathing use my towel to rub the area, all the good stuff, but the area just stays more tight than most people.
My pillow of choice is a microfiber or crushed polyester that I have opened and removed about 1/3 of the fill. This makes it squishy but I can put the fluff where I need it. I did the same with the crushed memory foam. I can no longer lay flat, so have a number of firmer pillows to prop me up and then my fav. pillow of top to tuck under my neck, and cradled up to cover my ears.
Another things that works for me is, I spray a little lavender on my pillow each night. I have a small spray bottle and use about 2 tablespoons of Lavendar essential oil and there remainder of water. Before spraying, I shake well as the oil otherwise floats on top. I find it very soothing and help me fall to sleep faster. I did mention washing my pillow earlier which I do about once a month and fluff dry on high heat all to help with any of the said problems (dead skin, allergens, mites, etc.) I think this is very helpful as are the allergy pillow cases. Just make sure your laundry detergent and softener are not one of your triggers. Jerri