fly- I bought memory foam topper from Overstock- I cant remember the brand, it may have been serta. but it was advertised as a stay cool - and we absolutely love it- and I do get those oh so lovely hot flashes. It is a 3 inch which I googled and found was the minimum necessary to get the " float". I don't think a 4 inch was available in cooler at the time. But this is heavenly. someone on here gave a recommend a few years ago. I do have the mattress pad on top which gives more separation between foam and sheet. I will never ever, ever be without one of these again.

I just went through looking for a mattress and I'm now looking for a mattress topper. I've decided after research to avoid memory foam. I'm going to buy a 'Dunlop' rubber latex mattress topper. I've seen it at a local store and tried it out and I love it. Also not supposed to overheat you.

Here is a link that might be useful: problems with mattresses and memory foam

I think the reason why the memory foam gets warm is that you basically lay in a little cocoon. Great if you tend to be cold, hellish if you run hot. I can't take the foam but I do have a two inch layer of latex (2 pieces) and it feels better to me. I'm 40 and have had hot flash/night sweat problems for about 10 years since I suffer from endometriosis. I will get hot at night when the symptoms rear their ugly head, but I have found latex to be much more comfortable overall. It also helped my aches and pains :) I like it so much that I'm considering laying out a bunch of cash for a custom latex mattress.

Have you thought of also getting an overhead fan...it makes a big difference. I have a tempur-pedic and don't notice getting too warm, but then I do sleep with the fan on in the summer time. Just a thought. :-)

For summer, I use a ceiling fan and a table fan. In winter I can get by with just the table fan. I'm on the Gulf Coast where it's really uncomfortable in the spring, summer, and most of fall but I run really hot anyway :)

ARGH, my computer wouldn't accept cookies, suddenly, yesterday. Hope it's back to normal today.

Thanks for your suggestions, cooper, prairiemoon, alex, and vampiress. prairie, your link was fascinating...we haven't had those problems since we've had our topper (many years now--that's why it needs replacement) but it's sobering to hear that so many have. What have you found to be the best price on a suitable Dunlop topper?

We're in Oregon and big fans aren't the issue (although we did need one for about a week this summer), it's my weird personal thermostat that will send me into full-on sweat at any given moment. Like when I was talking with a salesman in a audio/video store last night. As I was listening to him and he was looking at me, I wondered if I would actually start dripping off my forehead or if it would merely bead up...and if he noticed...so wonderful. Then after that I get chills, so you can see the fan would make things worse, at that point.

Your suggestions really help, though. We NEED a new topper *now*!

As cooperbailey mentioned, as long as I have some sort of cotton pad between me and the foam, the heat aspect seems to not be a problem. One other trick I've discovered is to use my feet as a natural air conditioner. I use an untucked sheet or quilt and let my feet hang out. That keeps me cooler. Then, when the chill hits, I tuck my feet under the cover. When I make the bed, I fold the untucked sheet/quilt up and put it in a drawer. When the flashes are at their worst, I use a reuseable ice pack to put my feet on when the flash hits. Add a ceiling fan and I can get a pretty good night's sleep.