[Guest]

My husband has been diagnosed with sleep apnea & Restless Leg Syndrome. The apnea is 58 episodes per hour sleeping on his back, which is usually where he sleeps or quickly ends up. For RLS, they made a dot every time his legs jerked - he had so many of those, it formed a line.

He had a sleep study done 5 years ago & the sleep specialist let it fall through the cracks - he admitted & apologized for that after this year's sleep study - which was in February. He should have been started on some treatment, such as CPAP at that time, according to this doctor. He was fitted for a CPAP the day we separated & after many other attempts with meds, changing pressures, etc., he finally
had surgery three weeks ago. Five days later, I spoke to him & heard what I remember to be my kind & loving husband for the first time in years. He went right back to work after that & it's back to about what it was before. He had been drinking a lot of caffienated sodas to get through each day because he was so sleepy.

We have been married for 6 years. He has had **many** personality behavior changes during this time, including memory loss, aggressive outbursts & rages, depression, mood swings, and probably even perceptual thinking changes, confusion, etc. In short, he feels lousy & is extremely grumpy.

According to him and his family, he was never violent before we met & doesn't believe it has any place in the home. I believe them. This man is generous, loyal, would give a stranger or friend the shirt off his back. He is a loving father & dependable friend. When he had a violent outburst this past spring, we separated.

His family can only see me as the only change that occured about the time the personality changes started & steadily got much worse. I, on the other hand, was thinking he was headed to domestic violence. We have clashed strongly in our views.

I have heard that sleep apnea can cause a lot of personality changes. Is this true? If so, could it explain what I describe, given the amount of trouble the tests show that he has? If so, where can I get additional reputable information on this?

I look forward to your answer. Thank you.

[Guest]

Sleep disruption or sleep fragmentation from obstructive sleep apnea and /or restless leg syndrome can lead to increased irritability, depression and mood swings. Obstructive sleep apnea is also associated with difficulty with thought processes. However, it is not associated primarily with violent behavior. I would suggest that you tell your family physician about these personality changes and ask for a sleep specialist in your area to evaluate your husband. In the meantime, you need to protect yourself from harm as well. You can read about sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome on our website here but also check out the national sleep foundation, american academy of sleep medicine and sleep apnea association. They all have web sites.
[quote] My husband has been diagnosed with sleep apnea & Restless Leg Syndrome. The apnea is 58 episodes per hour sleeping on his back, which is usually where he sleeps or quickly ends up... [/quote]