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newbie my story

Hi,
I just wanted to tell my story in hopes that it will make me feel better. The whole deal started last December when I was feeling very sick thought it was the flu but turned out I was pregnant. So felt horrible and lost a lot of weight and finally in the beginning of February I went in to the er with a pain in lower right side. Yes I ended up having my appendix removed at 12 weeks. I thought things couldn't get worse but then two months later I rushed back to the er with the most h...

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Search the Internet, Give to Heartbeat

What if Heartbeat International, a non-profit charity that provides pacemakers, defibrillators and implant surgery to patients in developing countries, earned a penny each time you searched the the Internet. Well ... now they can!

Goodsearch.com is a new search engine powered by Yahoo that donates half of its revenue, about half a penny per search, to the charity of your choice.

I ask that you search at Goodsearch.com and select "Heartbeat International - Florida (Tampa,...

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first post questions on recovery

Hi,
I am so glad I found this site. I am a 35 year old and just had a pm on 8/16. I had never had any problems before with my heart and was in the hospital for gallbladder surgery when they noticed a low heartbeat (in the upper 30's). So instead of leaving an organ I got a new one! I have had a really hard recovery and now am going to Physical Therapy to help get normal movement and range back with my left arm. I was wondering if any one knows of any lotions or oils to use to help str...

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High blood presssure/heart beat

I am a little confused since i had my pm inserted i have all the problems of high blood pressure and high heart rate. Has anyone else had this occurr. Thanks Marie

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touch

Hi,
I have a St. Judes zephyr xl dr 5926 pacemaker. It has been 6 weeks since I had it installed. My surgeon told me its ok to lift weights again. Today I lifted for the first time. After my workout I felt around the pacemaker with my fingers and have like a little slit or notch on the edge of the pacemaker facing my shoulder. From what I remember before my workout I thought it was a complete smooth circle. Am I just panacking?
Help...let me know if anyone has this same device.
Th...

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Anyone do Curves?

I have exercised at Curves for the past 2 yrs with tremendous success. Has anyone here exercised there before and were you able to return. I had to give up the treadmill because of arthritis in my hip. Since my PM I've been walking to get exercise but I sure would like to return to Curves someday.

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Does anyone else ever get this?

OK, I have to quit being so neurotic, but something happened to me tonight that scared the heck out of me. I'm the new PM Girl (just put in on Monday of this week). I thought I was doing pretty well especially with the help of all your kind words. But, right after eating dinner tonight, I stood up to feed my cat and Whammo, my heart started to skip all over the place-felt like in the old days when I would get multiple runs of PAC's and thought I was dying-the only difference is that this tim...

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tattoos

OK this is probably a totally dumb question, but, here it is...is there any problem getting a tattoo when you have a pacemaker? For example is there any kind of electrical current or interference involved in the whole thing. I've never gotten one before so I don't know anything about it and I'm going in the next couple of weeks to get my first. Just wanted to make sure I'm not going to set something off or anything! Thanks!!

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Shocks every three hours.

Hi all,
I'm the lady with the muscle twitch. Now that I've spent some time checking this it seems to come every three hours like clockwork and is more intense if I press down on the generator itself.
I have a Medtronic EnPulse. I wondered if this was the automatic check that it has, but why would I feel three sharp shocks that make my muscle twitch?
Anybody have any ideas? First appt I could get with my EP is Oct 16th. I don't feel sick and my pulse seems fine. It's just a st...

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Update on my Mayo Trip!

Smitty I remember my questions about A-Fib. It was the first question I asked the doctor so before I forget I am going to start with that. He told me that A-Fib is not caused exactly from the pm itself but it is from what I was having problems with before I got my pm. So they took pretty much all of my SA Node in June so I am more sensitive to getting A-Fib now. He said that they will have to adjust it over time and it will just change sometimes. I found that interesting. I still have a lot more...

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How Long?

I am having an ICD implanted in early November. How long must I wait before I can play golf again?

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Almost 3 months now!

Hi everybody!

56 year old here..........

October 7th will be 3 months for me...it's funny that for the past few months I've had little or no reaction to this change in my life. I have noticed this past week that I'm starting to focus on the PM and having somewhat of a reality check.

It bothers me that the whole thing took place, but I also recognize the value and benefit that it has afforded me.

It almost seems like a delayed stress or anxiety reaction...

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I'm still laughing

Hi there all, I just read a posting from pacerkid. And it has my laughing my @## off.

Since I had my implant done I've seen a lot of folks here showing and sharing a lot of fear and tears. But this is great.
It'll make you laugh and boy does that feel good. :)

Pacerkid hit the nail right on the head.

Could you imagine having a re-tracable AC cord attached to your belt or a braclet. And when someone asks you about your PM or IDC you just look them straight...

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Thankyou so much!!!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to answer my post and offer all your support! I just knew that talking to others who have gone through this experience and are doing well would help me cope! I look forward to the day when I can help someone get through the initial post-op period and beyond as a veteran. Not trying to be sappy, but just the fact that you guys took the time to reply brought tears to my eyes, so as you can see, still a little emotional here. I'm sure I'll have many more qu...

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Nerve Endings

Well its been 12 weeks since I had the pm put in, in the last two weeks i've had these sharp burning pains around the site and they are getting worse. The site and around seem to be hurting more than when i first had it put in. Talked to the nurse she said that its the nerves around it and it can take up to a year before it gets any better. Just wonder if anyone else has had this problem and what helps if anything?? Thanks Stacy

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general info

hi ive just had my pm fitted at the age of 24.2/10/07. i just wanted to know is it safe for me drink to drink alcohol so soon after the op.and how long before i can play sports again

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Plug me up?!

Ok This is no Joke When I was little my mom was in the waiting room holding me and a lady came up to her and they started talking after awile of talking the fact of me having a pacer came up . When my mom told her that she said oh ...where do you plug her up ?My mom just stared at the lady and told her that we did not plug me up anywhere .Really what my mom wanted to say was we push a little button in her back an a cord comes out of her butt and we plug her up to the wall! In conclusion ... som...

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Does anyone use Byetta?

Good morning. I was just wondering if anyone with diabetes is using the new pen Byetta. I just got the pen 2 weeks ago and am very pleased with my blood sugars. Diabetes and heart disease usually go hand in hand. I have a difibrillator that was one year old in Aug.

I have been told that I might lose some weight with Byetta. Boy, I sure hope so. But the main thing is to get my HbA1c test down to normal. My last test it was 7.1%. My sugar has been running 78, 88, and 91 before...

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Still dizzy?

Hello out there,
I just had my PM installed last week. I had slow rate of 40-43 when sitting still for a few minutes. No problem with jogging or excercise as my heart responds normally to excercise. They set my resting rate at 60 and I am still feeling dizzy much like prior the PM. However, I have much more energy and do not feel fatigued as before. Has anyone experienced continued dizzy after PM. Does it go away? Am I just getting used to the new amount of blood and oxygen? Any helpful adv...

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Nervous "Pacer"

I'm a Newbie both to this site and to having a Pacemaker. In fact I just had it implanted On Monday, 3 days ago. I could sure use a little reassurance that all will be well from all you veterans. I am 54 yo, suffered from tachycardia for yrs and then Whammo, developed an intermittent block that made life miserable, I guess it was a Tachy-Brady Syndrome type thing. At the moment I'm bruised and sore, and worry often that I might have one of those "complications" I've been reading about, you kno...

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Member Quotes

I still feel great today and can’t stop feeling excited at my "new" life. Modern day miracles through medicine and electronic devices are amazing!