hello, i have been recently diagnosed with apnea & have a million questions.
i have tried CPAP unsuccessfully because i have a neck injury & the mask causes me pain.  i go Tues for an appt with a dentist to look into the oral appliances.  i was not able to sleep during a sleep study in a clinic & had to take the home SNAP test.  only able to sleep about 3 hours each night for it, 2 night test.  results came back "overall no apnea but some mild to moderate apnea".  huh?  what the heck does that mean?  my ENT says it is a very inaccurate test, but then tells me my apnea is not life threatening.  treatment is only to improve quality of life.  ok.  but i've heard people say that they took a 2nd test & it had gotten worse?  doc told me i didn't have to worry about that for along time.  problem is, i have nightmares & wake up gasping.  it doesn't feel non life threatening, it feels very scary.  last couple of nights i have skipped taking the magnesium that helps my neck pain, neck doesn't feel so hot but no nightmares or gasping.  is the magnesium the problem?  will i have to find another pain solution?  (i should mention that i am a recovering addict with 10 years of soberiety, taking narcotics is out of the question, & they woudn't be any good for the apnea anyway right?  anything that depresses breathing is bad?  yes?)
so that's my story.  i am a 40 year old female married to a wonderul guy & we have a happy life with no kids but lots of pets.  i don't work, & manage my pain mostly through working out.  
any advice would be much appreciated.
thanks!
:)

Welcome.

Your ENT is right, the SNAP test, to be blunt, sucks.  You can flip a coin and get just as good results.  

Your ENT however is wrong is saying apnea isn't potentially  life threatening. Would need your numbers to get a better idea on the severity of what you have.  Pain control is key, as poorly controlled pain can also cause sleep fragmentation, resulting in poor sleep quality and efficiency.  Narcotics would likely make apnea worse, yes.  Oral appliance is certainly an option, but again depends on the severity of your apnea.

Have you had an in lab test?  If you haven't, that's really what you need.  As I said earlier, SNAP is useless.

Best of luck

thanks for your reply.  i hear mixed reviews on SNAP, some say it's as good as anything & for me it's as good as it gets - as i said, i could not sleep at all during the overnight sleep study.  
i am concerned that the ENT said it was non life threatening.  i don't know my numbers, he didn't give them to me or explain them very well.  all i know is i was told "overall no apnea but mild to moderate apnea".

danibm,

I am a recovered alcoholic with almost 23 years recovery.  I tried to take the sleep test twice and could not fall asleep so the next time the sleep doctor prescribed Ambien.  I had to take two Ambien for the next two studies. I have had alot of trouble sleeping with the mask and the Ambien gave me bad side  effects.  It has been an 8 month struggle but I am not a quitter.  Anyway, I now use Lunesta so I can fall asleep with the mask and I desperately need my mask.  The only time I took a narcotic was when I in the emergency room for the worse pain I ever had in my life and then at home for a week then at home recovering from surgery.  Sleep aids like Lunesta are not narcotics.

thank you - that is very helpful advice.  i will probably need to take a sleep aid for the test.  i would worry about taking it more often myself because i can become addicted to just about anything so easily.  but for the test yes i agree, i would take one then.  i have also only taken any pain meds for major surgical procedures & then as little as possilble.
it's good to hear from another person in recovery!  glad to find you here :)

Agreed.  a sleep aid in a real lab is better than a SNAP.... I've looked at the data on SNAP, it's complete !@#!.

Ask you doctor for some Ambien CR 12.5mg to take the night of the study

Best of luck!

thank you, yes it is a relief to hear that people can & do take sleep aids because it may come down to that for me even for gettin used to the mouthpiece.
i very much appreciate your responses, i do wonder why my doc didn't just do that in the first place?