Pacemaker Put In 3 Days Ago

I'm and 18 year old girl and I just had PM surgery 3 days ago. After four years of diagnosed bradycardia and AV Block type 1 and 2, my cardiologist finally decided a pacemaker was necessary. I'm in a lot of pain with a lot of swelling. The prescribed vicodin gives me nausea and hasn't helped much with the overall pain. I wear my sling only when I get out of bed. Sleeping is very difficult due to pain and discomfort. I was just curious about how others recovery process went and how they dealt with the frustration from limited activity. Any advice would help!

Thanks,
Vanessa

9 Comments

Thank You!

by vmorelan - 2012-06-18 01:06:03

First off, thank you all for the advice. It's been really hard having people understand the changes I'm going through. I will definitely call my doctor to see if he suggests any different pain medications. I have been sleeping with a pillow under my left arm and lying straight on my back so I don't stress my chest.

My pacemaker was put under the skin, and it looks like I have the "third boob." There's swelling from my arm pit area to right under my collar bone.

Overall, I'm very thankful I got my pacemaker put it. Before my bpm would get into the 20s and now it wont get below 50!

Thanks!
Vanessa

I second Don's comment

by Mary1998 - 2012-06-18 02:06:05

One thing you mentioned is you wear your sling when you get "out of bed." I have to wear mine when in bed so I don't inadvertantly raise my arm above my head in my sleep. Hmmmm.

Also the swelling you describe, unless you are very small in stature isn't normal. Now, you will have swelling for awhile, but my swelling fits into the size of my slightly cupped hand. After your body settles down, the swelling will subside and the scar will minimize.

I definitely think what you are experiencing is abnormal. I had my PM moved from the left to the right and by the 2nd day was only taking Tylenol. I only took that for a couple of days.

For someone your age, I would imagine your emotional shock might be enhancing your pain. However, you need to be checked out. The last thing you want is infection to set in.

Get thee to thine Dr.

by donr - 2012-06-18 02:06:46

That is unusual for a sub-cutaneous implant & is worthy of a call/visit to the Dr.

Don

Pain & limited activity:(

by Pookie - 2012-06-18 04:06:20

Hi Vanessa, glad you found our club.

So, it's been 3 days and you're still in pain? My suggestion would be to call your family doctor and perhaps he/she could find something else that won't cause you to be nauseated but should dull the pain significantly. If the pain persists more than a week, then I would certainly call whomever installed your pacer and ask to meet with them. Actually if you think the pain and the swelling is constantly on your mind, I'd be asking my family doc to take a look at your incision to make sure you don't have an infection and that your incision is healing correctly. It's just my opinion, but it's always nice (and sometimes gives us peace of mind) to have another doctor take a peek and get a 2nd opinion on the recovery part of this.

I think everyone's recovery is just as unique as they are. Some have hardly any issues with sleep, while others (like me) well, it took quite a while before we could sleep comfortably. Are you using lots of pillows to help support certain body parts? Are you sleeping on your back or side? Some females have actually posted that they wore a sports bra to bed and it helped a bit.

You need quality sleep and plenty of rest for a full recovery. I'd have to say that the average time before one returns to "normal" is about 3-4 months based on all the posts I've read since early 2005.

I wish you a speedy recovery, but again, if you are in pain then that is the only way your body can tell you something isn't quite right so perhaps you should call and make an appt with your surgeon or your family doctor to discuss this. My motto is always: when in doubt ~ go to a doctor & get checked out:) I'm sorta pushing you to be seen because on average this type of surgery shouldn't be causing you pain but rather just being really really sore and uncomfortable, but with that being said, we do all really heal at different rates/speeds.

If I can help in any other way, just let me know.

Take care and keep us posted...ok?

Pookie

I was very uncomfortable the first 4 or 5 days

by Jax - 2012-06-18 05:06:45

I took extra strengh Tylenol and it took care of the pain.

My problem was that I'm a lefty and they planted the pm on my left side. So I must have really strained my arm. I slept on the couch because the support was better.

Where is the PM?

by donr - 2012-06-18 07:06:41

Under the muscle or just under the skin?

The answer to those two questions will have a lot of bearing on the amount of pain you have 3 days post-op.

Under the skin - you should be relatively comfortable by now - at least not wanting to stay in bed & needing something as strong as Vicodin.

Under the muscle means they had to cut through a lot of tissue & separate muscles from one another to make the pocket - that equals potential for more pain/discomfort longer.

Either way, I'd take Pookie's advice & see your Dr. Preferably the one who did the job.

Don

sleep

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-18 08:06:42

I found extra strength tylenol to work just as well as the prescription stuff without all the nasty side effects.

As for sleeping, make sure you stay on your back until you're less sore. Sleeping on it too early will make it more sore. I found it helped to hug a small pillow with my left arm, kept me from rolling.

You can lose the sling now. Just remember not to lift too much or raise your arm above shoulder level. Other than that, it's important to move it normally so your shoulder doesn't freeze up.

Go take a walk! Aerobic exercise is fine now. You need to watch the arm as noted above but other than that you should be able to do whatever you feel up to. Fresh air can work wonders.

My pm is buried pretty deep and it hurt at first also. After the first few days I felt better every day. You should be on theup swing soon. Good luck. Don't be shy if you have questions or just want to chat.

It's temporary

by Peg541 - 2012-06-18 10:06:20

Soon you'll forget all of the pain and be surprised at how fast it disappeared. Like Don said under muscle might hurt more but again that's temporary.

Now you have a really steady dependable heartbeat. What could be better?

Good luck to you.

Peg`

I just got mine 4 days ago

by Karri - 2012-06-20 01:06:26

Hi Vanessa,
I just had a pm changed 4 days ago, and I'm still in a lot of pain too. I thought it would be super easy, but I was wrong, this time seems to hurt worse then when I first got it.

My pm is under my muscle, so I know that is partially why I'm in so much pain, maybe yours is too? Also, I've been putting an ice pack on it, and that seems to help, it's just really painful when you put the ice on in the beginning, but it seems to help.

I know Poookie posted about wearing a sports bra to bed, that really helps a lot too. I try to either sleep on my back (the most comfortable) or on my right side.

Will you be seeing your doctor soon? I see mine on Friday, so I'll see if all this pain is normal, or do I have an infection started. Make sure you let your doctor know how you are feeling so they can catch it if it's starting to become infected.

Hope you feel better soon, Take care, Karri

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