Does Sleep Apnea make you Angry?

Birddog · Post by **Birddog** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:56 pm

My boss who doesn't make nice comments very often had to come up to me after a few months on cpap and say how much better my personality was to be around as i was not biting the heads off people as i returned to the office at the end of the day and customers also were commenting how much lighter my mood was- better sleep will change your life.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 11:54 pm

When my sleep was at its worst with early nontherapeutic cpap and ineffective PLMD treatment, I found myself easy to anger and easy to cry. When they coincided I was a mess. The hardest part for me was the times I knew not to have the grandkids over because I was so witchy and didn't want to risk them being the target of my irritability. They didn't need lifetime memories of a mean grandma. I mean, if was ranting at the toilet handle that needed jiggled (as aways) or at the TV because the commercials come on so loud (as usual), it was best I be alone.

Even though my sleep is still not what it needs to be, just getting at least some good sleep most nights has returned my personality more to my old self. If were to ever get 6 or 7 good hours a night I'd probably be ready to enter a Miss Congeniality contest.

Kathy

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:43 am

Birddog wrote:better sleep will change your life.

I think its probably more than just the lack of sleep that causes these mood and personality changes. The repeated hypoxia events likely cause all types of changes in the brain to occur. We know it affects hormones causing the desire to eat for example. It likely affects neurotransmitter levels as well since the sympathetic nervous system is being triggered over and over again.

sleepie · Post by **sleepie** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:08 pm

Re: Does Sleep Apnea make you Angry?

yep----i'm not thrilled about wearing a mask to bed,,i would have to say this is somewhat annoying--hahah

spookydoo · Post by **spookydoo** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:23 pm

kteague wrote:When my sleep was at its worst with early nontherapeutic cpap and ineffective PLMD treatment, I found myself easy to anger and easy to cry. When they coincided I was a mess. The hardest part for me was the times I knew not to have the grandkids over because I was so witchy and didn't want to risk them being the target of my irritability. They didn't need lifetime memories of a mean grandma. I mean, if was ranting at the toilet handle that needed jiggled (as aways) or at the TV because the commercials come on so loud (as usual), it was best I be alone.

Kathy

You may have been grumpy and more, but at least you were wise to stay away from the grandkids.

spookydoo · Post by **spookydoo** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:27 pm

jskinner wrote:
Birddog wrote:better sleep will change your life.
I think its probably more than just the lack of sleep that causes these mood and personality changes. The repeated hypoxia events likely cause all types of changes in the brain to occur. We know it affects hormones causing the desire to eat for example. It likely affects neurotransmitter levels as well since the sympathetic nervous system is being triggered over and over again.

I've noticed you've talked about brain damage a few times. Ok, now you're starting to scare me. I just turned 50 so I'm losing brain cells naturally as it is. Just how much brain damage is done from sleep apnea and how can one tell?

ttg · Post by **ttg** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:43 pm

kteague wrote:I mean, if was ranting at the toilet handle that needed jiggled (as aways) or at the TV because the commercials come on so loud (as usual), it was best I be alone.

So, for me, the loud commercials and TV shows also tended to trigger anxiety attacks in addition to turning me into a snapping turtle. The WORST is the Dancin' With The Stars theme, specifically the last "... duh, Duh, DUH" of the music they play upon return from commercial break! Nothing against the show but whenever my wife watches it, I hide in another room and tell her to lower the volume!

Ruby Vee · Post by **Ruby Vee** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:36 pm

Sleep apnea makes you tired -- and fatigue makes you angry, disconnected, unable to concentrate. DH and I were both diagnosed with sleep apnea this year. It made him angry and intolerant and it made me weepy and indecisive. He'd run right over me; I'd sit and cry. Not a happy place.

But sleep apnea makes me angry, too. I'm angry that I have this condition, that I'm stuck with the machine for life. That makes me very angry! I'm dealing with it, but I'm angry.

timbalionguy · Post by **timbalionguy** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:10 pm

My sleep apneia developed over a long period of years. For the vast majority of this time, the only symptoms were being tired a lot, and others reporting very loud snoring. A couple of years ago, someone else who was 'on the hose' noted that I was experiencing apneias. I listened to him, but I just didn't want the lifestyle limitations being 'on the hose' would bring. Above all, giving up the sound of the lions roaring next door, and rain on the roof seemed downright cruel.

In the last 6-8 months, the sleepiness became a real serious problem. I could hardly ever stay awake reading or using the computer. Although I had learned how to control the sleepiness during long distance driving, the control methods started not to work. I narrowly missed several serious accidents. I started to be a little more moody in those late days, but mainly because I knew what treating this condition would entail.

Knowing it was going to be like slitting my own throat, I asked my PCP for a sleep apneia test. A local DME offers free sleep screening for OSA. But I neglected to collect the results for some months. I finally saw my PCP again, and he did not have the test results. He got them in the course of the otherwise routine exam. The results showed I had it at the highest limit they could measure. When the sleep doctor initially looked at my results, she ordered practically an emergency PSG.

The PSG easily showed I had sleep apneia, and provided some initial titration data. The followup appointment was moved up by my sleep doctor due to the severity of my OSA. She commented that I was 'hard to titrate', and prescribed an initial pressure range of 10-13 cm H2O. I completely skipped the DME and ordered a machine and mask here, the same day (and I am really glad I did!).

My mood has not changed much in the 44 or so days so far on therapy. I suspect that it will take a while with me to work. I also deal with a lot of frustrating, non-health-related dead-end problems that must be solved, and this tends to leave me angry, anyway. I still get sleepy during the day, but not nearly as much. I can also drive long distance now, with little or no 'compensation'.

I can hear both the lions and the rain at night (not as well as I would like, though), but only because I chose a really quiet machine and installed it in a way that the noise it does make is mostly absorbed. Although I have made significant improvements, I am still trying to get my pressures right. The doc was right. I am 'hard to titrate'!

The real anger though comes from the loss of some 2-3 hours a day I used to use to get stuff done. Even though I usually took an early evening nap, I would work until 1 or 2 AM to just stay caught up. Now, I have had to give up that time, and the result is I simply cannot do what I used to be able to do. I am having to give up activities and limit time with friends. I am looking at dropping involvement in several groups I belong to. This is all very painful. So, although xPAP therapy has left me feeling better, and less tired, I am frustrated because I have less time to do stuff in. I am not a good 'back off' person, so being forced to back off of activities is acutely painful to me, and I am fighting it as hard as I can.

So, sleep apneia can make someone angry. So can treating it.

mars · Post by **mars** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:06 pm

jskinner wrote:
I think its probably more than just the lack of sleep that causes these mood and personality changes. The repeated hypoxia events likely cause all types of changes in the brain to occur. We know it affects hormones causing the desire to eat for example. It likely affects neurotransmitter levels as well since the sympathetic nervous system is being triggered over and over again.

spookydoo wrote: I've noticed you've talked about brain damage a few times. Ok, now you're starting to scare me. I just turned 50 so I'm losing brain cells naturally as it is. Just how much brain damage is done from sleep apnea and how can one tell?

Hi from Mars

Here is my take on the above.

I first got very concerned about brain function around 1998. I was forgetting so much on a daily basis - such as where I put things - couldn't see them where I put them - then found them in the same place later on. So I was looking at the right place, but not seeing what I was trying to find. Being in a room - wondering why I had gone into it. I solved the key problem - I chained a spare set to my belt, also chained my wallet to my belt. I once parked my car, then moved it to a spot right outside the shop I was going to. In the shop I needed something from my car, so I walked out of the shop, right past my car, to the place where I had first parked my car.

I basically lived with this, not having enough cognitive energy to get it checked out until I changed my doctor, then all hell broke loose as I found out I had multiple things wrong with me, most of which I was not aware.

My new doctor sent me off to the local Cognitive, Dementia and Memory Service, together with a complete pathology profile. I saw a Geriatrician and a Neuropsychologist. I did not have a home visit because my cats did not think it necessary. I then had a CT Brain Scan at the local Medical Imaging place.

So I now know I do not have dementia.

However, the final report (which I have just looked at again in order to write this post) came up with something that I had not noticed before. And that was that my memory problems may be due to cerebrovascular supply. Now it seems to me that cerebrovascular supply dysfunction is like having a lot of tiny mini strokes every night, which sounds very much like the same kind of result that sleep apnea produces. And if the blood flow to the brain is slowed down, or less than it should be, then the brain is not getting as much oxygen as it needs.

I understand that no permanent brain damage is done, but I think that each apnea event does have some affect on our cognitive functioning.

Of course, we are now getting better, so we do not have to be too concerned, and it probably explains why we were the way we were in the past. (If only my ex-wives still spoke to me, I could explain so much).

Thanks for asking that question, hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction.

cheers

Mars

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:21 am

mars wrote:I understand that no permanent brain damage is done

The studies I have seen suggest otherwise. While CPAP usually reverses most of the symptoms, the individual doesn't always return to baseline.

mars · Post by **mars** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:25 am

jskinner wrote:
mars wrote:I understand that no permanent brain damage is done

The studies I have seen suggest otherwise. While CPAP usually reverses most of the symptoms, the individual doesn't always return to baseline.

Hi Skinner

Sorry mate, I was talking about myself at that point.

But even then a closer reading on a 2nd Magnetic Resonance Imaging study indicates that I may have inferior contusion and mild cerebellar atrophy.
So if thats permanent then so be it.

Thanks for pointing that out.

cheers

Mars

spookydoo · Post by **spookydoo** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:00 pm

jskinner wrote:
mars wrote:I understand that no permanent brain damage is done
The studies I have seen suggest otherwise. While CPAP usually reverses most of the symptoms, the individual doesn't always return to baseline.

Skinner,

How do you find out if brain damage has been done? Can they tell on an MRI? I read the article you linked on your other topic you started. Or do they need a before and after MRI?

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:35 pm

spookydoo wrote:How do you find out if brain damage has been done? Can they tell on an MRI? I read the article you linked on your other topic you started. Or do they need a before and after MRI?

Regular MRI is not sensitive enough. The research studies used a more sensitive type of MRI called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) . The techniques are not available in clinical settings. Hopefully someday...

spookydoo · Post by **spookydoo** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 11:28 pm

jskinner wrote:
spookydoo wrote:How do you find out if brain damage has been done? Can they tell on an MRI? I read the article you linked on your other topic you started. Or do they need a before and after MRI?
Regular MRI is not sensitive enough. The research studies used a more sensitive type of MRI called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) . The techniques are not available in clinical settings. Hopefully someday...

Going to see a Neurologist this week. Maybe he'll do that test. Something is going on upstairs.