Most Recent Messages in Checkups & Settings

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Unanswered question by Dr.

Hello all,
I went this week for my every-couple-of-months check in with my doctor. I had my pm installed in May of this year. I have tachy-brady syndrome. I'm becoming unhappy with my doctor because he isn't giving me answers when I ask. I asked this visit if I could get a full interrogation to learn how much/often my pacemaker is working for me. He asked me why -- that "curiosity killed the cat." What kind of answer is that? I just meekly said, I would like to know. I didn't even k...

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pm settings

can anyone tell me about settings.i have a dual lead st jude pm and it is set as low as poss as im sensitive to higher settingsbut i feel as if my heart is being squeezed on each beat. i also feel lightheaded on standing and have fast heart rate after eating and exercise tolerance is poor. i have had the pm for five years and only had these symptoms recently. i have a moveable pm and am waiting surgery for deeper implantation and am due for a pm check up soon but they are not very helpful at th...

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3 month device check

Hi everyone,
Just had my first 3 months check of biventricular pacemaker.
Performed by St. Jude Medical technical consultant. Went very good. I told him I feel tired most of time and he said he would see what he could do. He made adjustments and then told me the following:

"Prior to 10/29 checkup device was not pacing in ventricular chambers now is pacing both chambers."

I do think I have more energy and hope it continues to improve.
Best regards to all, b...

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Questions to Ask?

Hi Everybody,
Going for first three month checkup of StJude Frontier II Model 5586 biventricular pacemaker. Know hardly anything about the device. Understand the checkup done by St. Jude technician with nurse from Cardiology Lab. Don't seem to have any problems with device. Usually feel tired. Has anyone got advice on what questions to ask?
Thanks

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Any advice for a one month checkup

It has been a month since my Medtronics Adapta dual lead pacemaker was implanted. I go back next week for my first month checkup.

I have noticed a significant decrease in the benefit I was receiving for the first couple of weeks after implantation.

Now I'm feeling tired and more short of breath again. I think I read somewhere that pacemakers might need adjustment after the scar tissue that holds the leads in place is formed. Maybe that's what is going on.

It...

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Have a pacemaker % usage?

I had check up for my pacemaker. The ep person said I was using my pacemaker in the upper chamber about 8% and lower chamber about 100%. what does that mean to me. I forgot to ask what those numbers mean. Thanks, Karen

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High Anxiety

Hi PM pals,

Well, I am 5 weeks after surgery, and had my first check-up today. Or should I say, tried to? They were able to tune my pacemaker to a different setting, and could tell that everything was working, but they couldn't do a "interrogation reading" because I was so shook up, my heart rate went up to 113, I said to the Tech, please take it off (magnet) I have to sit up, she said "Janice, I haven't even did anything yet. That is your own heart rate." So apparently, they can'...

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Sensitivity setting

A while back I posted that rough roads were causing my PM's rate response to kick in while I was driving (an 18 wheeler). Today I went to the PM clinic and they changed to sensitivity from medium high to medium low.

Also noted was I had went for 4 1/2 months without any bouts of a-fib then had an almost 2 hour episode yesterday morning (I woke up to it) and one that lasted almost an hour this morning. This mornings bout had happened without my knowing it because I was asleep. I wonder...

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Help! I need an Opinion

Hello everyone I have a great dilema and I need some opinions. I have a pacemaker since 2002 and ever since then my life has been a total blessing. I have felt great other than having to deal with my rate response when I am driving. It activates when hitting bumps and makes my heart race. Well anyway it helped me when I was playing basketball so I never really complained to my cardiologist. Well because of insurance purposes I was forced to switch doctors and cardiologist. The new cardiologist s...

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Phone Check?

I know probably a lot of you have had phone checks before. I am scheduled for my first one Oct.30 and everyday it makes me more nervous. Does it feel any different that when you go into the office? My wonderful husband of 31 yrs. says he will take off work and be here when they do it if that will make me feel better. But I don't know why it is bothering me so much. I just somehow feel it is not the thing to do. Is this a normal reaction? Has anyone felt like me or I just being paranoid? Thanks...

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shocking experience

hello, i'm new to this site. never knew it existed. i had my first pacer check. wow! kinda weird, the rest of the day i kept feeling a small jolt from time to time. i'm 10 days out of surgery. didn't know if maybe someone else has experienced this. please let me know if you have any answers. all i hear from the doctors is "it can't be shocking you, you don't have a defibrillator." please help!

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3 month checkup

Hi everybody:

I went this morning for my 3-month checkup and all seems to be OK. During the test, he (electro-physiologist) ran some diagnostic things on the computer, including speeding my HR to 100 and dropping it to about 40. At the lower rate I felt very lightheaded and nauseous. It reminded me of before I had my PM.

Do these all sound like the normal parts of an evaluation? From now on, I will start with the monthly phone checkup, and he tweaked my PM to increase effic...

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Message to unlisted icd incidents

I've experienced multiple incidents where I had the fast heartbeats and the ICD did not register the incident. Finally, I was at work as a teacher, went to the clinic when I felt problems. The nurse called 911 because I had a heart rate of 320 which was documented with a 12 lead EKG by the paramedics. My ICD didn't register the incident, but I finally had a strip to prove my point that these incidents were happening. In addition, being in the hospital while they tried to get it back under contro...

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update--pacemaker syndrome

hi everyone,

i just wanted to update those of you who remember me. i was complaining of a full feeling in my neck and face. SVC syndrome was ruled out. my old EP wouldn't do anything else. so for 1 1/2 years i suffered with this. i couldn't even exercise i was so miserable.

i switched EP's. he said i have pacemaker syndrome. he changed my settings and the full feeling is gone. he turned my rate smoothing off, lengthened my AV delay and now i am only going to pace in...

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telephonic checks

I waited all day for the tech to call me "within 30 minutes of 0945am" never did. So I called for nearly 2 hours and got a busy. i called the docs office -same building- same response keep trying. They'll try to see what happened.

OK has anyone insisted upon either changing docs in a group, or changing groups or even finding someone to take this thing out, That is my preference, It flips when I sleep, gives me an otherworldly profile "is that a deck of cards in your pocket?"

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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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The Phone-check thing

Hi, all! I'm new to the website, just found ya'll a few hours ago. I think this is awesome.

ME: 38 yo whi female, pm inserted on 7/10/07. I have never received the phone attachment for my pacemaker check (my 3 month check is due next week). I'm having a terrible time getting the nurses at my doc's office to call me back.

My question is this: can I contact the "company" or whoever does these checks on my own to inquire about getting me set up for this?

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Up date

Hi everyone just letting you all know on an up date of what's happening, well today I had my PM check up and everything went well, although I was about to ask about why I was put on 3 months appointment, they exsplained that 1 of the wires was'nt working well and was just a precaution.
Anyway I have yet to see the cardiologist about recent chest pains that I've been getting so I will keep you all informed.
Angie :)

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Upset

I haven't been here in quite a while. I've been trying to just live my life and pretend I don't have a bad heart. I had my pacemaker implanted on Halloween, two years ago. As far as I know everything was going well. Before the pacemaker I had two open heart surgeries to implant a porcine mitral valve. That story is way too complex to rehash here.

Anyway......I went to have my PM interrogated about two weeks ago and the EP told me that it was pacing my ventricle and apparently i...

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Need your opinion

Hello,

I am an industrial design student doing my thesis on the pacemaker phone-checks/ transmitter box. Through my personal experience I have found it difficult to find a working Land Line that I can use to do my phone checks. I would appreciate any personal accounts on what you find easy and difficult when using your transmitter box for over the phone check-ups. Stories, experiences, anything would be helpful.

Thank you

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You know you're wired when...

Your signature looks like an EKG.

Member Quotes

I have had my pacer since 2005. At first it ruled my life. It took some time to calm down and make the mental adjustment. I had trouble sleeping and I worried a lot about pulling wires. Now I just live my life as I wish.