My husband has sleep apnoea and I turn him
over several times in a night for snoring
or to get him to breathe again (sometimes
he stops for around a minute). It is worse
when he has had any alchohol. Well last
night he had a about 8 drinks for New year
and he was very tired. We went to bed
about 11.00pm. At 2.00am I awoke suddenly
because he appeared to be having some sort
of fit. He was making strange grunting
noises and his feet were jerking - but it
seemed to be semi-rhythmic, not random
like in a dream and I couldn't wake him
straight away. It lasted about a minute
and really frightened me. I havnt told him
yet as He is attending a training school
week for his Horse riding and it is very
important to him and I dont want to upset
him in case its nothing (he is a bit of a
worrier). Could this have been a seizure
brought about through lack of oxygen or
does it mean something more sinister? He
has never done this before - asleep or
awake. He had a bad bout of shingles a
couple of months ago that lasted for about
2 months. Apart from the normal aches,
pains and a little anxiety, he is
healthy.
Situations experienced during sleep such
as the one you’ve described (“making
strange grunting noises and his feet were
jerking”), may at first appear to be
seizures (epilepsy) but any episode must
first be identified by an EEG. Sleep apnea
may provoke seizures but it is not the
main reason for their occurrence. You and
your husband must consult a neurologist to
exclude epilepsy as a possible diagnosis
for these symptoms.
You should also consult an ENT to exclude
an organic cause for the symptoms that may
be present in his throat: an enlarged
palatine’s uvula, tonsils or adenoids,
for example. These conditions are
conducive to the development of sleep
apnea. Alcohol, obesity and using
sedatives are additional risk factors for
developing sleep apnea.
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