to electric frank

Hi: I would appreciate your expertise on this. I live close to niagara falls new york and when I feel like losing money I go play the slots at the seneca niagara casino. After sitting to close to the machine for 45 minutes or more I start to feel weird Its more than remorse for gambling. I feel my pacing change and feel dizzy and nauseated . the pacemaker clinic tech told me it could be polarizing my pacemaker. What does that mean? thank you !

4 Comments

I'm going out on a limb...

by donr - 2012-06-09 11:06:34

...& giving your tech the saw to cut it off near the trunk!

I think he/she is unsure of what is happening & picked that out of the air to just give you an answer & hope that you would not ask him to explain it!.

Pls Google on "polarizing my pacemaker" & see what, to the average person, is gibberish. The first hit that I came up with was so esoteric that my eyes rolled so far back into my head that I could see the front of my brains! The following hits were pretty far out as far as sitting in front of a slot is concerned - they were all about chemical ions concentration in the muscle tissues in the heart.

I have been to the casinos in St Louis, MO since I had my PM implanted, so have some very limited experience w/ the issue. I've never experienced what you have.

Questions: Do you play the slots by pulling the lever or pushing the button to activate the machine? 45 min is a long time to sit there in an awkward posture on a stool w/ no back support & your feet probably NOT on the floor, all the while performing the same repetitive motions - in an atmosphere so befouled w/ smoke, noise & other pollutants that it is unbelievable that a human can survive. Throw in the stress & anxiety over winning or not winning & you have a truly winning combination for the symptoms you experience.

Face it - no matter whether you are coming out ahead or behind, there is a stress & anxiety level that exists - every time you activate the machine. All that, plus the atmosphere, can easily affect your breathing, which can regeneratively affect your anxiety, etc, leading to feeling bad as you suggest.

Now, if you have ruled out all the physical causes, like the PM malfunctioning & your heart malfunctioning, this is what's left over as a potential cause. Consider it.

Don

Listen to don

by ElectricFrank - 2012-06-10 01:06:03

He said it all.

Now if you decide to go over the falls in a barrel drop be sure the Rate Response is off.

frank

to Don R and Electric Frank

by rosemarys granddaughter - 2012-06-10 06:06:13

Interesting articles. I usually press the button when I play. and you are right on ; the smoke and atmosphere of the casino not to mention crime element there is probobly the main ingredient that is contributing to the way I feel in the casino. I haven.t been there in 7 months anyway and now Ill think twice about going back thank you for the response. But while I have you attention. Why is it that when I first got my pacemaker almost 10 years ago. I made scurity checkpoints go off in stores ect. but in last few years nothing. I know Im at end of life with this battery but has something changed in store scurity ? thank you much. Taking my dog for a walk.

To Don R and Electric Frank

by Cheryl B - 2012-07-30 11:07:15

I read your post holding my breath, Don, hoping you didn't tell this man not to go to casinos and play the slots. We, in Cleveland, Ohio, just got our first casino, and my husband FINALLY took me, where I promptly lost $20. So we went to the buffet and lost over $40. I'm not a big buffet eater. I can't wait to go back. I went to Las Vegas with my sister. (In fact, you and Electric Frank, I believe helped me cope with flying for the first time in 20 years, and I visited her in AZ -- had a wonderful time, by the way) I realized after I played the slots that I really like the slot machines but I got really angry when I lost, so now I'm pacing myself -- pun intended -- so I won't lose too much and get too mad. Don't want my ICD firing unnecessarily. Ha Ha. But just as a side note to Rosemary's granddaughter, when I go into Home Depot stores, I last for about 20 mins. and get very, very tired so I have to leave. Can't understand why. My electrophysiologist says I probably just don't want to be in there. He's such a funny guy at $300 for a 5-minute appt. Thanks for the laughs you guys.
Cheryl B.

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

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