Can a brain tumor cause extreme personality or behavioral changes?

My 50 yo sister-in-law was diagnosed w/a pituitary brain tumor 7 yrs ago. She began extensive natural therapies, she's been healthy & happy since w/no more symps of BT. But this last yr her personality has changed significantly. She has turned on her entire family: husband, 3 bro

[kitlyn]

Hi Im not a  DR . but if this was not the norm for her before the tumor i am sure it could be the case now. Yes Brain tumors can cause some personality deficits from what i have read. Has she had any surgery? Again i am just a froum patient. I am very sorry to hear of her illness. Take care Kit

[Hityty]

Thank you Kitlyn, No, she has had no surgery for the BT. They told her (when she was Dx'd) that it was in her pituitary gland, and situated in a very hard spot to reach, so they didn't want to do surgery.

[Karenk3]

My daughter had a pituitary tumor removed.  If she went to a Neurosurgeon they have several means to remove these safely.  My daughter's was removed through a surgery via her nostrils.  She has had similar issues with her temperment and going against God.  She was a Christian previously.  Her Endochronologist tested her hormones and most recently.. months after the surgery, they were fine.  I am now concerned about her adrenals as her father.. whom I divorced over his horrible temper outbursts and weird behavior and one of her brothers, have had strange hair trigger tempers.. now at 18 she is behaving the same.. it's heartbreaking.  I think she has intermittent cushings or an adrenal problem but she is so frustrated with being told she was fine while feeling horrible that she says she won't see another doctor.
It's all exasperating!

[LLWB]

My husband had cancerous tumors on both sides of his head. They were inoperable. These tumors, at the end of his life, caused severe personality changes, causing, along with the morphine, him to hallucinate, see things that weren't there, and accuse both his children and me of trying to do"do away with him. When I would ask him why, he said I was giving him pills, (I was), trying to poison him...there were just too many coincidences.....as you can imagine, this was very painful to all the family. Brain tumors can certainly cause personality changes, disturbances. She needs to be evaluated by a neurologist asap... I know how sad you must feel, I know your pain first hand. Prayers..

[brainpain]

how your sister in law is acting is normal.i had a pituitary tumor about 2 yrs ago.i acted the same way.and still do.you start feeling like no one understands what you are going threw.i would go off on anything and everthing around me.dident even realise what i would say or do .the more my neo would say wait &see would make me feel helpless.i felt like they was waiting for me to die.i would take it out on my husband.she cant help what she does.i felt traped and no way out.no one understands how scared and helpless you feel.i felt desprait looking for anything or anyone that would help me.i gave up on my doctors and got scared to go.she cant help how she is acting.i would try but had so much going on you dont care any more.she wants to know you care about her and realise she has a tumor .if her family isent behind her and doctors dont help she will get worse.my dr ignored my tumor till it got 22mm and in my optic nerve.she is having so many hormone surges and gave up hope .it makes you crazy.praying for a cure and it going un anwserd it takes alot out of her.she is desprait and feels even GOD has gave up to.talk to her about whats shes going threw &how she feels.she probley feels like i did shes going to die.my tumor was in a bad spot and i findly had a crainotmy .but i still have anger &moody problems.it hurts that my husband dont understand my hormone surges.its been almost 2yrs and still have IM MAD AT THE WORLD PROBLEMS,WHY ME.sorry so long but i want you to know she dont hate you just dont understand whats shes doing to the family.

[pennysf]

I am dealing with the same saturation with my spouse who was diagnose about eight years ago he was  given medicine call cabergoline 0.5 mg  to reduce the tumor over a periods of a few months he stop taken the medicine because he did not have the headaches any more . He also stops going to the doctor up until early last year where he was place back on the medicine. After a few months, he stops taking the medicine again. His response was he did not like taking medicine. Here is the problem that I having with my spouse, he hallucinate things and when we are in the company of others  he says things like I  was trying to come on to other people or he would insinuate the I did something that I really did not do. He is often on this rage and sometime have loud outburst. The funniest thing is one minute we can be ok and the next he is upset over nothing. He even allow other things to affect him as well such as  too many cars being park in our neighbors yard or a trailer cart is park onlong the front of someone else house too long. I can go on with the issues I am having with him. I love my husband dearly and I really want to be there for him. However, sometimes he can say some cruel things to me that am beginning to really take a toll I live and respect him. What I really do not understand is when he have these outburst he is so quick to wanting to spilt up. Our marriage is beginning to be unstable not because of any outside affairs, but the attitude my husband has, he is a man without reasoning very one-sided. If he does not get the attention, require he goes into this mood change where he is very cynical comments to hurt someone’s feelings.    

[tnusokr14]

i just wanted to post that i was diagnosed on Jan 31 this year to have a pituitary tumor. i have sense seen a NS and was sent for another MRI and blood work for hormone testing. it's been 3 wks and haven't heard a thing. this is ongoing and i have extreme debilitating headaches. i am 24 yrs old and feel 50+. i have to take a lortab at least once a day for the pain. i am also on gabapentin for seizures and pain. My bf and i have been living together for 3 yrs and just last week i "snapped" and became so infuritated i kicked him out. luckily we were able to work things out, but i am very emotional and hormonal. the littlest things make me so angry. and i am constantly fighting the "no one understands what i'm go thru" deal. for as long as i can remember my parents alwasy made fun of my mood swings, but now it is beginning to all make sense. it is very hurtful and there are days where i have a good day and others - its a really bad day. nothing anyone says can make it better to me, only worse. like i said... this is a constant personal battle and has lead to anxiety issues with myself. they have tried to say i need to be on meds for anxiety, but right now i refuse bc of all the other drugs i am on. you are not alone and your sister in law just needs to find someone to talk to and who can relate. even if it is a forum like this. good luck

[katie4444]

My partner of seven years was diagnosed with three brain tumors, 2 operable, 1 not.  After his four weeks of radiotherapy, his personality changed and threw me out of the house - told me aggressively (before not a raised voice) he never ever wanted to see me again.  I am devastated as he is on his own and will not talk to me or return calls or messages.  Also he has told his family to have nothing to do with me.  I go thru each day in a daze and cannot move on.  I want to be with him so much.  Any suggestions.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Her behavioral changes are characteristic of personality change. Keep in mind that she will have to have frontal lobe damage for her personality to change. Pituitary tumor may not directly produce symptoms due to pressure. There are neurotransmitter changes involved here.

Has she been planned to have the tumor removed?

Regards

[beffysunshine]

My mother was diagnosed in the early 1990's and has had no treatment. tumour was in a place where it would have been very risky to operate. to begin with, she went along with the doctorss, and was on combinations of drugs. She also has lupus and thyroid disorder.

But her conditions weren't managed well, leading to her becoming very depressed and turing her back on conventional medicine entirely. She also lost her faith; and threw me out of the house when i was a teenager, just after she was diagnosed. She became very violent and there was a distinct change in her personality.

She went from someone who was actually quite gentle, especially with me and my brother, to someone uncommunicative and argumentative. She also focuses in on the strangest things, she became very obsessive about her diet and our diet, as children; and global politics, issues in the news seemed to take on more importance than family issues.

One thing she started doing right after she got ill that had a large impact on our family was hording, and no-one could reason with her, to the point where it's hard to get into her front door sometimes.Me and my brother have spent a lot of our lives in chaos as a result and making trips to my mothers to make sure the house doesn't become so full its a danger to her.

My mother found homeopathy very useful, and her health has improved a lot, she educated herself and she got a job as a teacher, but she seems to be affected with her interpersonal skills, organisation, and her ability to form close bonds with family is always under strain because she has outbursts where she says cruel things.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant, i have underactive thyroid myself, my doctor has told me that my pituitary gland is struggling to function and i've started taking thyroxine. I understand that there's a link between the two, does anyone have any information on this because it's wprrying me that i might end up suffering from the same condition as my mother

[biggy25]

i have had a brain tumor most my life. i was diagnose at age 6 when i kept getting frequent headaches. i had surgery for my tumor but they did not remove it (stupid huh?) now im left with a scar and my tumor is still there. yes i do believe tumors cause behavior change. it's more of a denial and blame lots of people. hers differ from me because i grew up with it. my problem is my tumor is blocking the fluid to the spine which cause me great spine pressure. anyway yes tumors cause behavior changes, i'm speaking from experience

[Rodber]

I can speak from experience, i almost lost my partner and my family because of my extreme and on one occasion violent mood swings. i was suffering from a malignant meningioma and the front lobe of my brain was under attack. i would find myself losing control over the slightest things and although i wanted to stop it, i had no control. The tumor stopped my whole emotional logic from functioning. I struck out at my family verbally and on one occasion struck my teenage son physically. I was paranoid and angry and didn't understand why. I felt so alone and afraid. Afraid i was destroying m family. I would have good days where i was very jolly and loving, then at the drop of a hat i could go off on one. Thankfully i have made a full recovery and i know have a very calm, loving household. Its important that people around you try to understand the monster you used to be was under the control of the illness and not a choice of the primarary victim. When they understand this, then they will find it easy to forgive you for the hurt caused

[sunshinela22]

HI, yea im in the exact situation today, my friend for 6 years started ignoring me. She is in her teens and when i try to talk to her she never responded. She has brain tumor for about a year now.It's very hartbreaking for me to see her like this because, when i tried to talk to her she goes on about all the bad things i did and that she was the only one in the friendship that cared about the other. I tried very hard for her to understand that i'll be there for her but. She started memeriozing things from the past and kept twisting my words into horrrible stories that she's been telling to all my classmates. I dont know weather to let it due to the fact she that those personality changes were deveopled fromt he brain tumor or  say somthing about it becase, it's also affecting how other's see me.

[jeandry1951]

my sister has a brain tumor on the back of her brain near her neck, over the past few years her personality  has changed finally she is like a little child and do not understand, we have to help her with everything, she does not really talk she's very quite. Very slow and just act like a 2 or 3 year old, after our parents passed away she totally went down hill. The tumor is benign, the doctors say its been slow growing for years, we are hoping once she has surgery most of herself will come back if not all. Its so hard its like raising a little child and she still can't understand, her sentence does not make sense when she does try and speak, she knows what she is trying to say but she just can not put it together. She can not even understand cleaning herself its so frustrating and sad.

[ILADVOCATE]

It depends what other areas of the brain (including glands) it may have disrupted by directly pressing on them or affecting the growth of neurons or blood vessels that facilitate their functioning. However only a neurologist would be able to understand this in full so they should do a full Pet scan, MRI's and other relevant tests and see if any areas of the brain have had their functioning disrupted and what might be the reasons and if any treatment might help.

[shellbug1973]

My father of 65 was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in january of 2010. After 5 months in and out of the hospital, loosing the left side of his body, and becomming an in home health care specialist....I understand what you all are talking about. My dad was and at times still is, my best friend in life. Lately (like the last 6 months) the mood swings are comming  more often, he lashes out at his wife and myself for no reason, then doesn't recall doing or saying anything hurtfull. After reading all of the comments, of the emotional pain, and sadness, the frustration...I get it. I miss my dad terribly and now only get to see glimpses of him once in awhile. My life is on hold, like his wife and his friends and family...Because that's what family does for eachother. When the caretakers have their breakdown due to frustration, it gets a lot harder.

[chelsea_27]

hi.....my name is chelsea and im 24 yrs old i found out about 3 yrs ago tht i have a pituitary tumor and i was was wandering if this could cause me to have sever mood changes and cause problems emotionally it has been bothering me pretty bad i have began to have really bad headaches and pains dwn my neck. If anyoe has any advice or knows what i should do please let me know thanks so much!!

[snd0521]

Chelsea, My husband was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor in Nov. 2008. He had been seeing our family dr. for low testosterone for about 3 yrs. so blood testing went months in between in the end before when she done a test where his T levels was 2 and should have ranged from 280-800 for his age which at the time was late 20'S. She decided to send him to an endocrinologist. The endo done blood work where we found that his LH,ACTH,T3,T4,PROLACTIN LEVELS,FSH AND TESTOSTERONE was all out of wack. I began to read up on everything and keep myself educated because over the course of a year and half all they would do was do blood test and only give meds for the low T. My husband had very weak spells and was unbearable with emotions and the headaches was unbearable. I finally demanded a mri and there the tumor set. It first was about 9cm then after seeing a neuro surgeon we began the real truth. We began all the brain shrinking drugs and he could not tolerate them. We seen a new endo. and began hormone replacement for everything that was low. When the headaches was unbearable enough and the tumor was still growing after a hemorrhage in the tumor itself we had the surgery for removal. The surgery was successful. We done the surgery Aug 2009. We had been married for 13 years at this time. My husband had always had problems with depression (severe) and mood swings since a child. He was born with health problems and family had mental disability so I thought it was inheritable. All along after getting medical records he had an adrenal rupture as child and was always blacking out and the dr. never put it together what was really going on. Between 2001 and the time of surgery my husband was angry, moody headaches and just crazy. He had an affair with my best friend of 13 yrs and her husband was his bf for 28 yrs. He threatened me and my children, he hated his life and o.d. in March 10. He made it through it and I was going crazy. We began to learn to communicate and seeked counseling. I worked very close with the dr.s and done all his communicating because he was in denial. I tryed to understand  as hard as it was and still is hard at times. He has very diabling headaches and weak fatigue days and we work together to get through them. He has finally come to realize that he has to take his med's to feel better. His pituatary gland does not function at all and is on replacement med for all that it does. When he gets the headaches we get him to a warm bath, imitrex and 2 naproxen. dark quiet room and rest. I massage his neck and temples it helps. Do not give up you are young. If you are in a relationship with someone or close to someone in your family set and talk with them and ask for help when you need it. Tell them your feelings and how sick you feel. Make a safety plan for your feel like crap days. Be close to someone who can notice the diff. between a headache and something diff. headache. Tell your work about your bad days and aprox of how long they last so they can be understanding. My husbands headaches are bad but he has things that can show him signs that they are coming on. We have just learned that when he does not have enough cortisol for the adrenal glands he will start to get a headache so we adj. the dose. I feal for everyone on this board because it is a living hell and each case is diff. I worked at a hospital for years and even though i was not a nurse I learned alot. Family needs to educate theirselves on your condition and attend dr. appt with you. keep a log of how you feel each day and your activities and what you eat they may be a connection. I wish you luck and if you need to ask questions email me at ***@****. IT IS A TRICKY CONDITION but managable. You will learn the things that helps and the ones that don't. Make sure you have a good dr that is knowledgable on your condition and with these types of tumors each if diff. have dr's that will communicate with each other so each will know what their part is and everyone is on the same page. My husbands endo, neuro sergeon and family dr all touched base before making choices for my husband.Good luck.

[omar563]

Hi, I was diagnosed in May 2007 with a pituitary tumour. I was put on testo gels and cabergoline.   The symptoms started in 2001 with severe headaches and mood swings.  I used to get angry over everything and anything and suffered from severe road rage every time a got in the car.  I began became very distant and emotionally detached from everyone including my wife.  I started to self-harm and always felt tired and angry.  I felt like  there was a black cloud hanging over me the whole time.  I contemplated suicide on more than one occassion.  My violent outbursts were directed at my wife whom I had loved more than anything in the world.  I started to question whether I had ever actually loved her.  We separted in 2010.  In the last 6 months I have stared to feel like I was waking up again.  I am now aware of my mood swings and I'm able to control them.  I felt nothing when my wife moved out but lately I have started to rember how much I love her and I miss her so much.  We have both been through a lot because of my illness and I can never apologise enough to her for all the pain and suffering I caused her.  She stood by me even after we separated.  

The point that I'm trying to make is that the tumour and/or the meds do have an impact on your personality and it's important to write down your feelings so that you remember what you were like before the illness started.  

[kowgirl]

Hello. I was diagnosed with a grade rwo cancerous Astrocytoma Brain Tumor at age nine. It was removed and since then, I have experienced personality changes. Prior to the surgery I was an optimistic girl with high hopes, great grades, easy to be around and extremely friendly. As it stands today, I am more of a pessimist, always seeing the dark before the light, I have a harder time makeing friends than before and can fly off the handle pretty easily. When you experience such a trauma as having a tumor removed or even an injury to the brain, if it has affected the correct area, you will experience emotion imbalances and changes. I am now doing my senior resaerch project on how anomolies or anjuries to the brain affect ones personality. I hope everything works out for you and your family in the end.

[steffyp]

How do you cope with your partners mood swings and angry outbursts , I am going through something similar w/ my boyfriend , He is always blaming me for things that I dont do and is very quick to be done with me , this hurts my feeling's so bad to the point I want to leave him .....What do I do?? please

[Orlandoe_01]

My name is Orlando I recently had brain surgery due to a blood clot in my brain, due to I was in a car accident. And about a few weeks after I left the hospital I have felt very weird, rebellious, and extremely angry. I also feel as if I am two different people. One person is a very nice person. But the other person is a person that gets so angry so fast and then turns against everyone, and just wants to go against the world. I feel as if I have split personalities. I wonder if I will ever be normal again? And what gets me the angriest is when someone try's to tell me im lieing about my pain, becuz I am not. Just becuz I don't complain all day about how bad I feel, becuz I don't want people to feel as if they are obligated to help me or feel bad for me. If anybody has any answers or links or anything PLEASE HELP! I feel as if I am going to die soon.

[myheart77]

My mom had three brain surgeries and all tumers were located in the front part of her brain and also on her forehead all were removed and the only side effect she had was DRAMATIC persanality change. She is 55years old and acts like shes in her twenties. She has turned her back from her children and our father her husband for over33 years. She had said she lacks emotions she does't feel. before all her surgeries her persanality was church and home. Oh and her sex drive is thru the roof and she is heartless and very aggresive (aggressive) with our father. Sometimes I feel like we are living in a movie.

[brit44]

Wow, I know EXACTLY what you mean. My boyfriend has an inoperable brain tumor, and he has become very hard to be around due to his extreme personality changes.  He yells and swears at me all the time to the point of my crying.  He also is bipolar, so between the two, he is becoming unbearable to be around.  Last night he went to the extreme of "verbally attacking" my granddaughter whose four-week old son passed away a month ago of SIDS.  He called 911 because of something he thought she said.  The entire evening was an embarrassment to everyone concerned.  Last night he ended our relationship, then he texted me and said nice things to me.  This is what I mean about extreme personality changes.  I am at a loss as to what to do at this point.  The cancerous brain tumor is supposed to be "a secret" from everyone, but it's coming to the point that I am going to have to tell people because it's becoming more and more noticable.

[jadalynn]

WOW, until I found this website I thought I was so alone. My husband was diagnosed with glioblastoma in late March and had sugery April 2nd to remove the tumor. He is now very mean and very OCD since the surgery. We were living in Ala when he had surgery but moved back to Ark where his family is. Along with dealing with his mood swings and behavioral changes I am still having to deal with the culture change. I didnt want to move but knew it was best for him.  We have been together since 1986 but got divorced in 1996 but have been back together for many years now just never remarried. We have 3 kids, two are grown but we have a 13 yr old son that I have to be strong for.  My husband is very mean to me and then he gets over it, but the hurt to me is still there. I dont hold a grudge, Im not that kind of person but when someone is so mean to you its hard to just let go when you turn around. They are still working on getting his radiation started and they are going to do chemo at the same time. I have been thru alot in my life but never ever anything this hard. I love him and plan to stick this out but its the most difficult thing I think I will ever have to experience.

[Regina619]

wow my sister had brain surgery3 weeks ago for the same cancer and she is so different like she wants to kiss everyone and hug them, she praises God alot and she acts like a child again and she is 54 years old.  She carries a purse and wont let it go or anyone hold it or see in it.  she Eat's ALL the time and very demanding.  Is this normal? is the cancer already back? I am so confussed.



Regina

[alg1787]

My dad had a pitutitary adenoma removed a couple years ago, and had gamma knife radiation therapy right after. Since then, he has seemed to turn into a different person; he left my mom after 35 years of marriage after cheating on her with another woman. He has continued to suffer from multiple symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, head and neck aches and just generalized pain. His quality of life seems very diminished since the tumor treatment.  Personality wise, he seems different to me, my brother and all the family. He frequently lies and twists things, is very manipulitive and narcissisitic. As far as the personality changes, he is not aware of them. His judgement seems impaired and he has become irresponsible with money, putting everything on credit and is in quite a bit of debt.
Despite the debt, he continues to recklessly spend. He is constantly going to doctors for various symtpoms. His neuro surgeon and primary care physician have pretty much washed their hands of him, and his endocrinologist is having a heck of a time trying to correct all the low hormones he has. Overall, it has been a pretty crappy hand we all have been dealt. I hope there are others out there that have had a better prognosis than my dad. Because this thing has just been a real tragedy. I feel sorry for him truly. He has always suffered with depression his whole life, but the person he has become now since the tumor is someone none of us recognize anymore.

[s1975]

My boyfriend was diagnosed with brain cancer 4 years ago. We have been together for 2 years. In the time of him having this, he has had 3 crainiotomies with 2 of those on his right frontal lobe. Each day he has gotten more violent, puts me down, makes up stuff that never happened and then turns it around to make it my fault. I love this man, but each day it gets worse and he always says sorry. Always make fun of me when I get upset and cry.

[worriedmummy5]

Im  really interested in what you have said. My husband had/has a pituitary adenoma which he had to have surgically removed. Thee were complications and after a second attempt to remove it 3 days later, he then developed a CSF leak. He was in a dark room in hospital flat on his back in terrible pain for 4 months. During this time they attempted to block up his leak with 3 more surgeries. Of course the whole experience was terrible. The seperation from me and the kids, not being able to return to his employment and provide for the family etc etc and the trauma of the whole experience. But here we are 2 years down the track - he still has residual tumour as they could not remove it all for fear of causing a stroke (so repeated MRIs, eye tests etc), but he has never been the same person. I feel that he never came home from hospital. We fight constantly because he is a different person and I don't like this person he is now. He says he loves me and the kids but his apathy and neglect of me is bringing us all down. I really need to talk to someone who understands what we are going through. WE've been to individual counselling and marriage counselling but it never gets better. I want to leave him but the financial mess we are in now after he hasn't been able to teturn to work and now noone will employ him (well so it seems) and I too haven't been able to get reemoployment (had to quit work to care for him, when he first came home he had to learn to walk again). I want someone to talk to me about the personality changes - he is also on cortate, testosterone, thyroid meds etc. But I know I'll never get him back. I dont know what to do - but I'm tired of fighting in front of our children.

[sandra208]

Thankyou for your post, I am going through the same thing with my husband, It sounds exactly the same as I am going through, uncanny.  I thought I was so alone in this.

[lisa433114]

I work with a woman who has a pituitary tumor that is morphing into something else.  It is now shaped like an octopus.  She use to be a nice person, but she has become mean.  She is very vindictive and picks a target at work and does her best to get them fired.  She tried to get me fired on several occasions, but thank God I have a boss that sees right through her.  I try not to let it bother me, but there are times I have wanted to strangle her (and I am not a violent person).  Everyone at work feels that she is like the movie fatal attraction.

[Hypnolady]

It's been a long time since your post.  I hope you have gone to a women's support organization of some sort and gotten the support you need to get yourself out of the situation...for the sake of the children.  If you have done all you can for your husband but you are going down the rabbit hold economically and emotionally you need to now switch your allegiance to your children and yourself.  You may need to move to another town or state where you have relatives who will take you in and start a new life.  Your husband isn't the person you married through no fault of yours or his...you just have to realize that and move on.  There are also legal aid organization that may be able to help you with the debt question.  Women's groups will be able to point you to a therapist.