Totally relate to the struggle with those “fixes” not sticking, especially overnight. I tried the bitter stuff too and just ended up with weird-tasting thumbs and no real change. The retainer thing made a big difference for me, though—mine was one of those old-school Hawley ones with the wire, and it was clunky but did help keep my teeth from flaring out more. Took ages for things to shift back even a little, though.
Funny you mention keeping your hands busy at night... I used to fall asleep holding a sock (don’t laugh), just so my thumb wasn’t free. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not so much. It’s wild how these habits dig in.
Curious—did your dentist ever talk about doing anything more permanent, like a bonded retainer or even a little appliance on your thumb? I always wondered if those things were worth the hassle or just overkill for adults.
I actually asked about a bonded retainer once, but my dentist seemed pretty lukewarm on it for adults—said it might be more hassle than help unless the teeth were really shifting. I still get tempted to try something more “permanent” but honestly, the old-school wire was annoying enough... not sure I could handle anything glued in 24/7. The sock trick made me laugh—I used to try mittens! Didn’t always work but hey, sometimes you just need whatever gets you through the night.