I never actually use Reddit so bear with me here.
I (26F) have struggled with chronic insomnia since I was a teenager. In college, I had no health insurance, so I was taking things like Zzzquil and Unisom or just straight Benadryl every night to help me sleep, but I really didnt like the way it made me feel, especially because I would develop a tolerance and have to keep taking more just to feel anything.
I have Medicaid through my state now thankfully, so I've been trying a number of prescription sleep aids for the last 4ish years. I was on Trazodone most of the last 4 years (I did have to increase from 50mg to 100 to 150 but over the course of years rather than weeks) and it worked really well, but the problem is that it almost always caused my nose to get congested immediately, like as soon as the drowsiness came on, so too did the congestion. I ***cannot*** sleep if I cant breathe through my nose, so I'd be forced to stay awake through the Trazodone high or take Benadryl to help me breathe, but that defeats the point of me taking the Trazodone bc I specifically do not want to take OTC sleep aids/Benadryl like that. They can be good for short term insomnia but not this.
I'm coming here to ask if anyone has any recommendations based on the information provided above and below bc my psychiatrist said we are running out of options and I'm struggling to find a good alternative in my own research. I'm currently on amitriptyline 10mg though I've been doubling up on that because 10mg didnt feel like quite enough.
•I'm looking for something decently fast acting, like ~30 minutes. The thing I don't like about amitriptyline is how long it takes to kick in.
•I already need to lose weight bc of my Degenerative Disc Disease (and spina bifida) so anything that causes weight gain/increase appetite is not an option
•Counterproductive to my previous point, I know, but I tend to eat later in the evening. Ive seen some medications say to take on an empty stomach and I don't think that's in the cards for me I'm afraid. My weird appetite already has me eating "breakfast" at like 2-3pm.
•The main reason I struggle to sleep at night is because thats when my brain decides to go a million miles per hour (I'm already writing this at 11:30pm) and I can't shut it off.
•I do wake up through the night but I can usually go back to sleep, the biggest issue is falling asleep.
•I've tried melatonin, it either doesnt work or I get nightmares, no in between.
•I tried Clonidine a month or so ago, it did absolutely nothing.
•I am also currently on Wellbutrin, Prozac, Vitamin D (as I have a deficiency), and on hand I have Hydroxyzine as needed and Flexeril (low dose, for pain from my last vet job), and technically Propranolol as needed but its more for chest pain associated w anxiety, it has never made me sleepy.
•I also smoke weed in a fully legal state and it does tend to help me if I can get the right strains, sometimes its all I need, but it's not exactly affordable for me right now, and sometimes I still need something else to put me down the rest of the way.
I want to explore more with magnesium glycinate as I've heard good things about that, but the capsules I have are intimidatingly large so I havent found the courage to commit to taking them daily.
Im diagnosed w GAD, depression, PTSD, and obsessive thinking (OCD minus the C I guess?). I recently got screened for ADHD & autism and the doctor doesnt think I have either but I also think shes wrong about the autism as I hit MANY markers of autism, I just mask a lot. So any thoughts or advice from other neurodivergent folks would be greatly appreciated. Sorry this is so long, just wanted to get out all the details you could possibly need. Thanks in advance.