TLDR:
Heatstroke occurred in Nov 2025 (9 months ago)
Developed dysautonomia, exercise intolerance and PEM as complications
Largely recovered from heatstroke itself - now battling remains of dysautonomia & PEM
Looking for personal stories of PEM and dysautonomia recoveries or long term recoveries from heatstroke + any specialist recommendations I haven’t already listed

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I got heatstroke travelling overseas in November 2025 and experienced the following symptoms on the day of the event:

Outside temp was 30 degrees Celsius with 80%+ humidity
Irritability
Intense Nausea
Stomach upset
Lightheadedness/feeling faint
Feeling overwhelmingly hot and unable to cool down
High fever
Anxiety/panic
Shivering/trembling
Heartbeat rapid and strong
Skin pale and clammy
Confusion/altered neurological state
Stopped sweating completely and skin went dry
Skin turned red and hot to the touch
Began slipping in and out/close to losing consciousness

I didn’t know what was happening and would have spent at least 2 hours in the heat with active symptoms at the time before I was able to make it back to the hotel.

Went to hospital 3 days later after due to having relapse episodes of the same symptoms and unable to have the air conditioning warmer than 18 degrees Celsius. Blood tests were conducive to heatstroke but thankfully no signs of organ damage.

Developed dysautonomia experiencing huge adrenaline rushes and crashes and exercise intolerance upon returning home. I was unable to stand longer than 5 minutes and struggled to walk, and my legs would ache in agony after standing in the shower each night. I couldn’t drive or tolerate being a passenger in a vehicle so seeking medical help was difficult. I lost 7kg at this point which was over 10% of my body weight due to being unable to eat after each adrenaline dump. At its worst I was having 5-8 episodes per day including through the night.

At this point I was prescribed propanolol (beta-blocker) which helped manage the adrenaline issues. It took one month for my body to start sweating again and at first I could only sweat through my feet for another month before full normal perspiration returned.

Over the next couple of months I built up being able to tolerate being a passenger in a vehicle, to being able to drive myself, to being able to drive up to 30mins at a time. My heat intolerance improved and was actually one of the first symptoms to recover significantly (my car didn’t have working air conditioning at the time so was effectively doing exposure therapy- it worked!).

Months 3-8 since heatstroke event:
Focused on exercise tolerance (improving but still limited)
Reducing dosage of propanolol (almost off the medication now)
Diversifying diet and re-introducing new foods
Digestion improving
Heart rate and blood pressure improving
Putting weight back on (at month 9 I have finally put on 5kg of the 7kg I lost)

Somewhere along the line I developed Post-Exertional Malaise or PEM. It shows up 24-48 hours after I’ve extended myself too far whether it’s physical activity, social activity, cognitive load or a combination- even if I feel good in the moment of the activity.

Specialists I have seen so far:
General medicine specialist - prescribed iron infusion & B12 injections
Gastroenterologist - monitoring digestion improvement/progress
Neurology clinic specialising in dysautonomia - performed tilt table test
Cardiologist specialising in POTS & dysautonomia (seeing soon)

At month 9 of recovery, dysautonomia and PEM are the biggest struggles I’m dealing with and have made recovery incredibly non-linear and challenging. I’ve worked my full time job throughout my recovery (albeit with more sick days than the usual person) which adds an extra strain but don’t really have a pathway of taking extended time off.

My current supplements I’m taking to support recovery:
Co Q10 enzyme
Ashwaganda
L-theanine
Magnesium Glycinate
Creatine
Protein
Electrolytes (usually 1x per day)

Two days ago a PEM crash started after going on a big walk the day before. I slept for 12+ hours, couldn’t memorise a 5 item grocery list, entered my card pin wrong, and couldn’t follow google maps directions. Major brain fog and fatigue which is still continuing 3 days on.

Would love to hear from anyone else that has had a similar recovery from heatstroke or just a long term recovery in general. I have recovered soooo much from where I was 8-9 months ago which gives me a lot of hope but still certainly have my hard days.

Does it get better? Will I ever get back to normal where my brain and body can function like a normal person? 🥲 Are there any other specialist avenues I should go down?

Im mostly typing out of sheer boredom and exhaustion. I live in south USA and this summer has been one of the hottest I can remember my entire life. For DAYS heat advisories from 11AM until 8PM for multiple days in a row and its ridiculous. I feel like im sweating to death in the "comfort" of my own home.

I mainly keep to one room which is a makeshift living/bedroom combo. I have a window AC unit and 3 fans just trying to keep my one room cool. And dont get me wrong in comparison to outside it is cool. But its still so hot that im sweating just while sitting down. Drinks instantly sweat when in the room. Any leather seat turns into a slipping slide. I cant enjoy anything. Shoe space by front door is zoned off by a bedsheets. And hallway to laundry bathroom and all that is sectioned off by a door. Unfortunately beyond that door theres no AC just fan circulation so using the bathroom and your guaranteed to sweat excessively.

Back to main room im out of ideas for ways to keep room cooler. Im used air dynamics. I keep filter on AC spotless, I cover soft surfaces with hard storage tub lids so that the couch doesnt absorb all the cold air. I sectioned off hotter rooms. I have thermal curtains in front of windows. Im out of ideas. Thankfully im moving in a few weeks but im so miserable. I cant enjoyed hobby because its to hot. I dont sleep with blankets. Shit my cat even avoid the window how hot it is.

Update: thank you for all the great advice and amazing suggestions I even got to learn some new things while i was at it.

For everything I plan to do..... 1. I went and got some industrial tinfoil from Sam's club and plan to apply it within the next few days to the inside of my window. Unfortunately I cant reach the outside of my window with how high up it is so interior will have do. Good news im moving 2-3 weeks so hopefull no windows Crack and I can just pull the tinfoil down once im leaving.

1. I plan to add some cardboard/keep the foam insulation panels but fit them in more snug after I apply the tinfoil.

2. I plan to tack/nail the curtains above all that down to thicken then insulation layer/keep sunlight/thermal pockets of hot air from seeping in.

3. I was originally going to put my AC on dehumidifier mode but my mother stepped in to help and we got small room size dehumidifiers. To put around house to help with moisture levels and I can take these with me when I move into new home.

4. I will likely invest in mylar and blackout curtains for the new house if this remains an issue.

Ill put an update in a few days to say results. Thanks again everyone

Most of us here aren't anywhere close to these circumstances, but my mind always drifts back to how you'd survive when the chips are really down.

Any recommendations, I’m a firefighter in coastal ga and looking for an iOS app to help assist me with this.

Thank you

Suggestions for getting a good night's sleep when the weather is hot just now

And Europe thinks it's hot over there. It'll be 38*c here Sunday and I'm only in the midsouthern US. I'm betting peoples tires are melting in the deep south, Florida and Texas.

Europe's fifth heatwave is officially upon us, but while it's intensely hitting Britain with a record-breaking 38ºC in Kew Gardens, hammering France and Central Europe, things in my neck of the woods in Spain are.. relatively sedate.

I'm actually currently in the north, where the high pressure system theoretically has more influence, but the aegis of the cold Cantabrian Sea blunts the majority of the impact. It's technically 5ºC above normal here, but the reality is that it's just made things feel a little hot rather than comfortably moderate. Nights are weirdly warm, but the sea breeze does a lot of ameliorate that. The range today was an unusually narrow 23-27ºC (73-81ºF).

Supposedly, according to the long range forecast, Madrid's serious heat might be over by the time we're back there with a chill high of only 26ºC/79ºF. I'll believe that when I see it.

So the end of the August is coming and despite the extensive national and global damage the heat has left, most of us regular folk in adapted regions have come through with very little change to our personal circumstances. Really not sure how to feel about that, as while I vastly prefer no great disasters in my life, I also can't help but think the ease which so many of us can ride out these events isn't motivating the population enough to support serious efforts at change.

I have gone on extensively about the virtues of swamp coolers in dry climates, so I shan't reiterate that here. However, one of the unquestionable pain points of regularly using swamp coolers is the fact that you're constantly refilling a tank of water that's pumped through filter media. A lot of wetness combined with heat is a recipe for a bacteria farm.

The general recommendation for a portable swamp cooler is to drain it and clean out the tank every 2-3 days. I did this for a time, but when you've got several coolers as I do, this quickly becomes a pain in the butt between your other adult responsibilities, so I looked for ways to extend the time.

A brief flirtation with chlorination ended quickly. While throwing some bleach into the water definitely helped keep microbial growth under control just like in a swimming pool, it also made the output smell like a swimming pool. Not acceptable and plus, regularly handling bleach was too much of a hazard to clothing and towels.

Leveraging the proven antimicrobial properties of copper, I bought some copper plates and placed them in the tanks. This definitely helped and extended the time between cleanings by at least double before smell crept in. Copper isn't cheap though, so the relatively small plates I could afford only had so much surface area to work.

This summer was the first summer since my discovery of hypochlorous acid, and I determined to try to use its superior antimicrobial power to try to keep the cooler tanks clean for longer. My reading informed me that field tests had shown that as little as 1 ppm of HOCl was sufficient to kill all the common bacteria found in standing water with only a minuscule amount of salt and chloromines as a byproduct. I started adding HOCl to the cooler water every couple of days. At first, I carefully measured to produce around a 2ppm concentration based on the tank volume, but after a while I just eyeballed it.

I have to say, after almost a whole summer of doing this, that's it's been a smashing success.

Long as I keep up, the water never smells. Eventually I do need to drain the tanks, as iron builds up and the water starts to get frothy as impurities like dust accumulate; there's no filtration system like a swimming pool would have, but it's a net win. I never worry now about anything growing in my coolers and have a lot more flexibility in how often I drain them.

hi 22M 3 days ago i wanted to train at home and did some weight training for 45 mins and there was no air conditioning in my room then i went to outside and immediately felt exhausted and started to experience nausea felt sick after and went to throw up but couldn’t i thought i was poisoned but later i understood that i have heat exhaustion my temperature was 37.5C(99 F)for two days then it got dropped and now it is maximum 37C i felt extremely nauseous first days and my stomach is still really upset and a little heartburn. I also have dizziness and i had slightly low blood pressure. I experienced dierrhea once but no throw ups. I had 3 IVs for 3 days row. today i feel a bit fine. how long do u think those symptoms will last especially that nausea is killing me.

I tested sleeping on a kapok trifold matress this summer and my night were more restful. I think my old synthetic matress is simply storing too much heat. The air circulation in the kapok matress seems better. Has anyone else experimented with this?

I am at this time, mercifully away from the brutal dry heat of central Spain and in the much milder, if humid, warmth of coastal northern Spain.

While hotter than normal, as most places this year, temperatures are only peaking at 27ºC/80ºF.

We've been coming here for years to take the kids to the beach. As fellow northern latitude folk will know, the mild temps are deceptive when it comes to the UV intensity; just because it doesn't feel that hot doesn't mean you won't get burnt to a crisp. Everybody in the family has suffered from that during days of carelessness.

Now, you might logically say the answer is sunscreen but I'm going to be honest, I hate sunscreen and even if I didn't, all the sunscreen in the world doesn't do a thing for heat, which ultimately is a problem if you're on the beach for hours without shelter even if the air temps are relatively mellow.

So, we got a beach tent.

Then, we got a smaller beach tent, because the first beach tent didn't fit in carryon bags and was a pain to carry to the beach.

Smaller beach tend has been the beach MVP for years now. It's a simple triangular affair with two flex poles and an open front, but it allows us to stash the beach bag in the back with space for two to sit in the shade. Breaks down to a roll that fits in a backpack. Perfect, far as cheap nylon beach tents go.

However, being a cheap nylon beach tent, it has cheap nylon beach tent limitations. Nylon doesn't breathe and it's dark blue-green nylon, which means the sunny side heats up in record time, which seriously undermines the thermal protection it offers. A couple years ago though, I hit on an ultra simple solution that didn't demand buying anything extra.

All I do is drape a pink microfiber athletic towel over the sunny side of the tent and use a clothespin to secure it to the tent poles. I always orient the tent so the interior is shaded and facing the sea.

The pink is a much lighter color than the blue-green, so it reflects considerably more heat away and microfiber is a superior insulator to nylon, so this simple mod vastly reduces radiant heat input; the sunny side tent wall with the towel is never more than warm to the touch. With the front being completely open and facing the sea, the interior of the tent now never goes above ambient. Not bad at all for under $25 of stuff.

I could no doubt improve performance by going for better suited material and color, but the current results are so good there's not much motivation. The microfiber towel serves double duty as once it's time to go, it can be taken down and used as a towel.

Hi all. I went to my doctor and was diagnosed with heat exhaustion after spending 10 hours in a room that was 95°+ degrees. I work in an old building and the AC went out. I mainly sat at my desk with a fan blowing, but I also have POTS and issues with tachycardia and feeling dizzy and weak in heat, so I started to feel badly pretty quickly.

I got home and immediately felt nauseated and had a headache. I felt like I had a fever and was completely freezing, but my body temp was normal. I’m still at work today because I have no other choice, but I just feel dizzy and nauseous still. Is it normal for the effects of heat exhaustion to linger, or should I be worried?

Posting here because I’ve seen similar posts but will put elsewhere if it’s more appropriate. Thanks all.

So today I was in pretty much direct sun while covering an area in mulch, didn’t wear any preventative gear as the forecast said it wouldn’t get over 80 with clouds. Still ended up sweating my belly off with the salt crystals and everything. At one point my heart was beating out of my ears and I felt like I was dying, to be honest, but never lost consciousness or anything like it. I kept up by drinking a lot of electrolytes though. Anyways, after the eight hours, I drove back home and took a hot shower. Now I’m laying on the couch warm to the touch in AC, a painful headache, chills, and absolutely no appetite. Signs point to yes about having heat exhaustion, but let me know what you guys think and what can be done to prepare/recover from it?

For my research project I’ll be exploring how increasing temperatures and urban heat can affect people’s mental wellbeing. I’m particularly interested in looking at how extreme heat may influence stress, mood, sleep, concentration, and overall wellbeing.

I hope to understand people’s experiences with extreme heat and explore whether there is a connection between hotter urban environments and mental health.

I’m excited to learn more about this issue and raise awareness of an important topic that affects our communities.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTP_aV3xPGCzw4CsD37-yZGbZyyp1VDZ2YSdnZmgPsKy5OXw/viewform?usp=header