Is sleep apnia and narcolepsy the same thing, and are both intrically linked with a very bad snoring problem?

I have a bad snore and have been put in touch with the narcolepsy association, but I still don't know if my snoring and tendency to nod off during the day constitute a case of narcolepsy, or sleep apnia, or if they are the same thing.
If it is narcolepsy, then the site can maybe help, but if its not and its something else, I clearly need some alternative information from a different source.
Can anyone advise?

Definitions
Narcolepsy: A disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable, though often brief, attacks of deep sleep, sometimes accompanied by paralysis and hallucinations.

sleep apnea: A temporary suspension of breathing occurring repeatedly during sleep that often affects overweight people or those having an obstruction in the breathing tract, an abnormally small throat opening, or a neurological disorder.

Basically, narcolepsy is the inability to control when you sleep. Sleep apnea is having your breathing temporarily stop while in a normal sleep process. Many people have sleep apnea and don't even realize it as it may cause you to "wake up" 100's of times during the night, but it is more like you stop sleeping when you stop breathing.

If you are constantly tired through the day, and that is what is causing you to nod off, it may be sleep apnea.

If you are in a major metropolitan area, there are probably some sleep deprivation clinics you can find in the phone book or through your doctor.

Narcolepsy is uncontrollably falling asleep randomly in the day. Sleep apnia is when you stop breathing in your sleep. Snoring is associated with sleep apnia.

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience fleeting urges to sleep. If the urge becomes overwhelming, patients fall asleep for periods lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, some people may remain asleep for an hour or longer.



People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.

With narcolepsy, you just go off to sleep anytime anyplace. With sleep apnea, you are asleep and you stop breathing. You wake yourself up several times a night to breath. The snoring is due to you throat collapsing during you sleep.

Possibly.

Sleep apnea can be from being overweight, breathing disorders, or anything else that would cause excessive snoring or a feeling of choking that wakes you up in the middle of the night. If your sleep apnea is severe (you wake up multiple times during the night) it may induce drowsiness the following day.

Narcolepsy just means extreme tiredness during the day (not necessarily falling asleep like everyone thinks). It is usually diagnosed separately, but as mentioned before, can be a result of severe sleep apnea.

Hope this helps.