Temperature Sensitivity??
 

Hi Everyone- I am new to this forum, but unfortunately familiar with concussions and PCS.

I was in a bad car accident 3 months ago and experienced a bad concussion. (I was completely stopped, and the car behind me hit me doing 45 mph.) I also have experienced two other work related concussions in the past 2 years, (I work with highly aggressive special needs children.) Anyway, during my experiences with PCS after the accident, I would experience spikes in my perception of temperature. I had also experienced a back injury and was put on Prednisone for a month. My primary care Dr. attributed this issue with temperature as a side effect of the medication. It happened a few times off and on after I went off the Prednisone, but nothing too bad.

Against my neurologist's wishes, I returned to my job this week, so that they would not terminate my empolyment. The stress of my job has created a return of some symptoms, but they have not been too debilitating, so I'm trying to just push through.

However, I'm really struggling to adjust to the heat. It's been in the 80's and anytime I take the kids outside, within minutes I'm so hot I feel like I'm going to pass out... dizziness, ringing in ears, etc. (Both symptoms of my PCS). And it takes me FOREVER to get back to feeling normal, and requires ice packs on pressure points, sitting still, etc. (The same seems to be true when I'm in the air conditioning... I get really cold and can't get warm. Although I don't experience other symptoms.)

Is this normal as a symptom of PCS? I am talking with my neurologist on Monday due to the minor stuff resurfacing now that I'm back at work, so I plan on talking with him about this as well. If you experience this, how do you deal with it? How to you continue to try to lead a "normal" life?

Thanks in advance.... this whole experience has been very frustrating and I thought I was finally get back to my busy life, but this one setback is absolutely debilitating!

So sorry you are joining us and have these issues. I also attempted to go back to work after 3 weeks off and felt pretty good when i was going back and it brought all my symptoms back full force and made it too difficult to return so now im back out till august 1. I know that its hard with the possibility of losing your job, but in our high stress, high energy, high sensory stimulation jobs, it may be too much for you too soon. I also have issues with temperature...mostly the heat bothers me. I was not on prednisone (although i have been on it before and had major temperature regulation issues) so it very well could be from your PCS. Definetly talk with your neurologist about options and ways to deal with these symptoms.

I had temperature issues too. It was really bad the first few months. Still hits sometimes but it's tolerable now.

my neurologist said it is normal

Thanks.. it's nice to know other people experience this. My neurologist said that this was not a symptom of PCS or even a neurological symptom. I basically felt like he was telling me it was all in my head.....

Hypothalamus
 

Hi Smiling Eyes,

The same thing happened to me as happened to you. I was completely stopped in a car and had another (larger) car shunt me from the back at speed.

I also experienced difficulties with temperature regulation, particularly in the first 48 hours after the collision - I was freezing one minute and boiling the next. This did settle down a lot, but I am sure that it could persist in some cases. The hypothalamus controls the body's core temperature and the hypothalamus is in the brain, so it could get damaged if your brain is injured. I, therefore, do not think that such symptoms are at all counterintuitive, and I am surprised that your neurologist seems to have given you the impression that such symptoms are imaginary. He is quite wrong there; they do have a cause.

Of course, there could be other causes so you would have to rule out things like an effect of medication, e.g. not letting you sweat adaquately; being overheated because you have put on weight. I do not know what sex or age you are, so I can suggest, hopefully without embarrassing you, that women of a certain age may experience hot flashes (or flushes, depending on where you come from).

Once other possible causes have been eliminated, then I would have thought that your neurologist should conclude that you temperature issues are due to damage caused by the collision. If he is not fulfilling your expectations of compentency in this regard, you may want to consider getting a second opinion. There is a lot of ignorance in this area.

Good luck.
Concussed Scientist

Temperature issues
 

I had some temperature issues early on, mainly during the first week. I remember saying to the friend who took me to the ER, "do you find it cold in here?" She said no. After I got home, I would alternate between being hot and cold, especially at night, either needing to bundle up or strip off layers of sweaty clothes. I also found that I was prone to feeling more wiped out when the indoors temperature got too high. Fortunately, we have A/C to keep things within range of room temp.

However, my temperature regulation seems to be back to normal. It probably took about two weeks or so for my brain + body to recalibrate.

Post concussion syndrome
 

I too suffer from PCs was rear ended in a car accident , symptoms got worse after 3 months. Today it was 94degrees and became st dizzy

Dking,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear about your injury.

This thread has been inactive since 2011. SmilingEyes has not been on NT for almost as long.

People with PCS have not discussed temperature sensitivity much. Can you tell us more about what you experience? Are you well hydrated when you had this dizzy spell?

I know how you feel
 

Like the OP I was hit from behind while sitting still and the other car was doing about 40. I was leaning forward at the time of impact because I had just completed an emergency stop and the Jeep I was driving hadn't settled yet.

I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at first. I didn't realize that I had lost consciousness for a few seconds until later. I had a bloody nose even though I know I didn't hit the steering wheel. The pendulum effect of the timing of everything threw me back into the seat hard enough to break the seat.

It was a couple of days later that I was driving from church to the local WalMart. This is a trip I'm very familiar with since I've done it at least once a week for several years. I remember blinking and everything was gone. I had absolutely no memory. The lady in the seat next to me was a complete stranger and it took another 15 minutes for me to realize there were kids in the back. It turned out that she was my wife and those were our kids.

I lost the ability to speak clearly for a while and had a horrible stutter for a couple of months. I got treatment early and I've made it a long way back but I'm not sure I'll ever be 100% again.

The reason for this post, however, is that I have been getting both hot and cold flashes. It would be 100 degrees and I will get cold randomly. It is usually associated with getting a drink but it can take thirty minutes for me to warm up again. I will also randomly get extremely hot. I can be sitting in an air conditioned room with fans blowing directly on me and it feels like the fans are blowing hot air. I start to sweat profusely to the point of soaking a dry shirt in just a couple of minutes.

Because of the pills I take as part of my treatment I have to drink a regular amount of water each day so I know I'm not getting dehydrated. Yes, I am a bigger person but I've never had this issue before.

Speaking of being bigger, I have started gaining weight at an accelerated pace despite a drastically reduced diet and increased activity.

I'm also not sleeping very well (possible apnea) and despite getting several hours of extra sleep on some days I still feel exhausted all the time.

Thought someone would find this useful.