I'm wondering if others here find that their PCS symptoms are worse in the hot summer months. I'm particularly curious about headaches. Mine have been getting pretty bad this summer, despite upping my topamax dosage. Every day my head hurts.

A couple weeks ago, I saw my neurologist and he told me to exercise more. Well, I haven't been able to take his advice because the headaches have become so bothersome.

Any strange chance topamax could actually cause headaches? Or is this most likely a result of summer heat and humidity? I would hate to think my headaches are getting worse the longer I have pcs. Ugh!

Hi Lagr,

Sorry bout your headaches I do notice that the heat and humidity makes my headaches worse. And then it is harder to exercise. The only thing that i can really handle lately is walking in the pool. Best wishes.

The summer months are h*ll for me and my PCS. My first summer it was so bad, that whenever I got overheated, I had to lay down on the floor with ice packs on my neck. I had no tolerance at all for heat and humidity. It was instantaneous. I would feel weird and 2 minutes later, I would have to be completely flat or I felt like I would pass out.

This year is a little better. The first week of hotter temps was really rough on me. The intense heat of last week, got me agian despite being in the AC most of the time. I'm still trying to get out of the "concussion hangover" from the strain on my systems from last weeks intense heat and humidity.

What you are experiencing is completely "normal" for PCS.

My advice: Make sure you are hydrated. Seems easy, but I mean drink as much water as you can. This makes a huge difference for me. Even when I think I drank enough, if I don't keep it up, I feel sick again. Once your body is dehydrated, all of your symptoms will spike. And you may not even realize you are dehydrated. So, always be drinking water!

AC as much as possible. Can you exercise indoors where its cooler?

Have you tried ice on your neck or head when things increase? It seems to help me cool down quickly and lessens my symptoms somewhat.

Thanks for the replies. I've been trying to stay in the a/c as much as possible, but still seem to be getting headaches. Towards the beginning of the summer I was able to make the headaches go away by going to the pool. I think the cool water had some sort of effect. That doesn't seem to be helping anymore, maybe because the water has warmed up so much due to the continuous high temps here. It's almost like bath water now!

The pain has been so bad that I haven't even been exercising much at all. Went to the gym maybe once last week. Went for a long walk last night. This is such an evil cycle. Headaches mean less exercise, which means less of that good fatigue at the end of the day, which means less chance of quality sleep.

YES YES YES! I KNEW it wasn't just my imagination!! *HUGS!* And the water too! I learned that hydration made, oh maybe 50% of all the difference with my PCS. And it's SO much harder to stay hydrated in the heat. I'm very easily dehydrated and I feel like a 55 year old with hot flashes ( it's my first summer too!)

This is my first summer too but I don't feel the heat like most ppl. I went to the doctors in jeans and sweater when most were in shorts and T shirts. My hands were ice cold. Weird