Trazodone is another old AD which is used for sleep. Unfortunately, it stopped working for me, but when it did work, I had no side effects.

Elavil is actually used a lot these days as a pain medicine, to prevent and alleviate pain. For that, its dosage is << than the AD dosage. Likewise, the sleep medicine dosage of Elavil (10-50 mg max) is much lower than the AD dosage (150-300 mg if not more). I am saying that just to make sure that you are not basing your judgment of this medicine on your experience with a high dosage. At high doses (my late mother took Elavil for depression) - yes, absolutely, it can cause weight gain, dry mouth, slurred speech, you name it. But - there is a difference between taking 10 mg and 300 mg, and that difference just might be like night and day.

I had dry mouth for a couple of days when I was getting used to Elavil, and then for a day I had increased appetite. Then my body adjusted and I do not have side effects. I take as much as 50 mg because it helps prevent migraines - well, not prevent completely, but decrease the frequency.

For sleep alone, 10 or 25 mg was sufficient for me.