Hello, How long out of college?

Hello, My name is Lizz im 22 getting a pacemaker April 20th, and Im wondering if anyone knows how long I will need to stay out of school? I just registered for Spring quarter and my surgery is a week after the first day of the quarter, and i dont think i can just ditch a quarter after registering cus of financial aid so i was wondering about how long i would be missing. and also how do you feel after surgery how painful is it i have a 2 year old and i was already told i cant pick him up for a while or lift above my shoulder any kind of feed back will be appreciated have a great day!

6 Comments

Hi Lizz

by Peg541 - 2012-03-29 06:03:54

You need to plan for at least one week or two out of school after the pacemaker goes in.

Surgery is painful but gosh that was over two days later. I took only Tylenol every 4 hours for maybe 2 days and then nothing.

There is a thread here somewhere Pacemakers for women. Search for that and you'll see a lot of good advice. Maybe someone can find the link I am out the door in a second.

Good luck to you but be sure to get some help with the baby for a while.

Peg

How long is a piece of string?

by donr - 2012-03-29 06:03:58

Lizz, I just rephrased your question.

If I knew the answer to your question I would make a killing in the stock market & be filthy rich.

When I got my PM implanted, I could have gone back to school the next day - I felt that good.

Read through some posts here & find that some folks are out for a week or two - not due to complications, but they just feel bad that long.

We are all so different in this area it is unbelievable.

You did not say why you are getting the PM - that can make a difference in how fast you adapt to it. Don't even consider complications. Rare, but they can be long or short.

Practically speaking, plan on about three days (if all goes super well) to a week. Anything beyond that means you are out of the ordinary & there's no way on earth that you can predict that.

As far as limitations are concerned - don't plan on picking up a 2 yr old for a while. IIRC from the days before color TV, 2 yr olds check in at 20 lbs plus - so plan on letting him /her climb up on your lap or let someone else place the little urchin there. Actually, if all goes well for you, it is not painful - just achy. I never took anything for pain beyond Tylenol. Others have relied on Percocet (or whatever) for about a week. You should have been told to NOT raise your ELBOW on the PM side above the shoulder for about 6 weeks. That will become a nuisance because the pain all goes away & you have to THINK about keeping that elbow down. I recall on about the 5th day I woke up w/ my left arm above my head, so I had to do something about that. They wanted me to wear a sling, so I just had a strap sewn on the sling that went around my waist at night - solved that problem neatly. Another solution is to pull on a tee shirt & keep that arm inside the body. Then it goes nowhere.

The worst part of the PM procedure will be the next 20 + days waiting. The procedure is a piece of cake!

Don

Hi

by Charlotte0284 - 2012-03-29 07:03:53

Hi Lizz,

Im a 27 yr old single mom of an 8 yr old and had a PM put in on Feb 22nd. At my 1 week post op appointment they told me if i was working a desk job I would have been able to return to work following that visit and that i was able to do anything i felt up to doing. Just like Don posted above though, it may very according to why your having the PM put in. I was told no lifting more than 10 lbs or lifting my left arm above shoulder height for the first 2 months, so im still out of work :( But able to do anything else I want, and have been since the 1st week after my procedure!

The procedure was simple, no pain until the morning after. They gave me motrin in the hospital every 4 hrs and i continued this at home for the 1st week and about every 8 hrs the 2nd week. In the hospital they gave me a sling so i wouldnt lift my arm in my sleep. I found that to be very useful during the day because it held my arm up and took the pressure off the muscles, I only wore it 2 nights.... Sleeping was difficult for me because i like to sleep on my left side, I was able to lay on my stomach and prop myself with pillows under my left side. The pressure felt better for me. I will say the worst part was the muscle pain from my boob hanging... So make sure you wear a bra as soon as they do the procedure. After I got home i wore 2 bra's for the first 3 weeks (regular and sports bra over top) and im still wearing a sports bra to sleep in. I did find my left side muscles would not relax and found out by rolling my left shoulder forward i was able to relax those muscles.

Hope all works out and good luck!

thasnks

by mamalizz - 2012-03-29 08:03:36

Thanks you guys I have a 3rd degree Av block 2 leaky valves and an enlarged heart :) im new to here and the idea of a pacemaker as ive never met anyone with one. I guess im just looking for any kind of input to know what to expect if you can help me out Id like it!

Hi Lizz

by ebfox - 2012-03-29 10:03:51

Hi Lizz,

I wanted you to know that for a lot of people the surgery is not difficult or painful. In my case, they used conscious sedation and all I remember is laughing at the jokes the surgeon was telling. I owe him a case of beer for some reason that I can't remember.

They required a one night hospital stay and they checked me out the next morning. I felt good enough to go to work but I laid out a couple of days just because I had a good excuse. I really think there's a good chance that you will bounce right back and not miss more than a day or two of school. There's also a good chance that you will feel much better than you feel now. If you don't feel better in a week, go back in and get the pacer tech to adjust it for your lifestyle.

I wish you the best of luck and let us know how it goes-

EB

2 days

by fallenstar - 2012-03-31 07:03:37

Hi, I'm30, and in culinary school. My pm was put in with very little notice, so I was not able to plan around my school schedule. I am only allowed to miss 4 days per unit, then would be forced to take a leave of absence. I really wanted to graduate on time, so I went back Tuesday after Saturday morning surgery. It was tough, I'm still tired 2 weeks later, but it is also more physically demanding than a regular college class. My school has made accomodations for me since I am not allowed to lift heavy items or reach over my head for anything, which is helpful. I was also given an extra locker so I could leave more of my stuff at school so I don't have to carry it on the subway etc.

If you have a lot of books, I would consider getting one of those rolling backpacks, so you don't strain your shoulder or upper back, which will be tense post surgery.

Also, you probably won't be able to take a real shower for about a week, so you might want to line up some help for washing your hair which was really tough for me, but luckily my sister lives in my building.

Hope some of this helps!

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