How to get my kitties to stop scratching at the door all night?

Let me start by saying that I suffer from tension migraines — all the muscles in my neck and back tense and lock if I get stressed, which is 99% of the time triggered by a lack of sleep — and one of the biggest causes are my cats. We cannot keep them in the bedroom at night, because I'm a light sleeper and they are very active. Yes, we feed them and tire them out before we head to bed. We close the door every night, but they are hellbent on breaking in (and we also keep the door closed during the day to minimize temptation). We started with innocent ways of trying to get them to stop; the deterrent spray didn't work, the sticky tape didn't work, the SSScat didn't work, and the container of water in front of the door didn't work. We even bought 2 scatmats to try to keep them from the door; they've gotten to the point where they're so desperate, they endure being shocked just to scratch at out door. I'm about one more hospital trip away from adopting my kitties out (with my tension migraines, I either end up in hospital on a muscle relaxing drip, or I take prescribed medications that make me violently ill for the next day); it's been 2 years since I had a good sleep. It's stressing me out and I'm pretty sure getting rid of our kitties would ruin my boyfriend and I's relationship. Please help!

First, let me totally empathize with your situation. I've suffered from migraines my entire life so I know all to well how serious bad headaches can be to deal with. Add in some rambunctious cats and well, yep stress level can be high!

Since you've tried just about everything I would have suggested I'm going to give you one that might seem counter-productive at first but hear me out.

Keep the door open. All the time. Even when you aren't there.  My thought process is once they realize that it isn't a forbidden place, they might actually stop being so frantic to get inside. Of course if they are very young, I understand this might not work for a while since kittens are going to be high energy all the time.

The other option, is to keep them in a separate room overnight at minimum if you have the space to do so.  Even the bathroom would be ok as long as they are provided with food, water, litter box, a few toys and some warm things to curl up on. Just be sure to take away anything which they could get into that might harm them in any way. 

You might also try using some ear plugs. There are some really great soft ones that don't feel too bad wearing which will do a great job of muffling sound. As long as they aren't also jumping all over you, you should be able to relax and sleep even if they are in the room.  I used them for a while some years back and it really did help me.

I'll also say your health matters more than anything. I'm no advocate of re-homing but there are unfortunately times where it does become necessary. Pets are not for everyone, and if it is taking a toll on your life that much, it might be worth considering.   If it weren't for a friend needing to rehome his cat, we never would have had the pleasure of adopting him ourselves.

I hope others see this to give their suggestions. Perhaps there are other options I haven't thought of

I agree. Leave the door open so they can investigate this new territory. Once they have access it shouldn't be their priority to get in to see what they are being kept away from.