best painkillers to use with sleep apnea?

Ask your doctor about Gabapentin. If the pain is nerve-related, it could be an excellent choice for you.

It is often prescribed for shingles nerve pain. See http://www.drugs.com/dosage/gabapentin. ... 94007.html It is not a narcotic and is not addictive, a huge plus. People are sometimes on huge doses for years.

From a small study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124884, "Treatment effects of gabapentin for primary insomnia": "Gabapentin enhances slow-wave sleep in patients with primary insomnia. It also improves sleep quality by elevating sleep efficiency and decreasing spontaneous arousal. The results suggest that gabapentin may be beneficial in the treatment of primary insomnia." It is a good choice for people with apnea if it can treat the kind of pain you are having.

This may be a long shot, but you might try ice packs to reduce the need for pain medication. For some odd reason, I don't get pain relief from some of the meds that normally work. Oxycodone (cough syrup version, haven't tried the pills) did nothing to help pain when it was prescribed for back pain many years ago, and did not make me sleepy when it was prescribed last year for severe cough. I have also had no pain relief from Darvocet or one liquid (vicodin?), though Darvocet made me feel like passing out and the Vicodin made me very nauseous. In all of the examples, I had taken the medication, had no relief, and was not sure if it was safe to take something else before the next time for a dosage. So, I used ice packs until I knew it was safe to switch to tylenol.

I also have a similar problem sometimes as I take Aleve on a regular basis for some hip pain (bursitis). I used to take it twice a day, but the problem has improved so much that I rarely take it more than once a day, and sometimes go a couple days before taking it again. But if I should take it and then have a backache or headache, I can't take tylenol. The pharmacist told me to take both during the same time period. So, I use ice packs for headache until I can switch. For backpain, I use heat packs while working, and ice packs if trying to sleep.

Also, I would definitely talk to your doctor, sleep doctor if possible, about time of day for medications. When I first went to my sleep doctor, we went over the list of medications, and rearranged when I take them so that they are less likely to bother my sleep.

I would also work on ways to avoid leak and discomfort at higher pressures since that is a way to counteract the effects. I do use flexeril on occasion, when my sciatic nerve is being pinched by an overly tight muscle. My ahi doesn't go up because my range of pressure can handle it.