I feel like I'm in a nightmare. I don't sleep week anyway. Before this struggle, I'd still wake up every couple of hours. Now, the impact is worse. If I'm lucky enough to fall asleep once, I'll wake up two hours later and then the gunk is so much worse that it's nearly impossible to fall asleep again.
For two months, I've given up each night and just sit on a couch in the dark until I finally pass out or not.

I gargle with warm water and salt and that helps a little.
I'll try what you've suggested along with other stuff I've read above