Replacing battery

I will be having my pacemaker battery changed in March. I will also have a temporary line until the Doctor's are finished putting in the new battery How long will i be recovering for and will i be able to sing in my choir 6 days later?. Joanne Do you have notice when the battery is low?
Joanne

4 Comments

one more thing

by Tracey_E - 2012-10-18 10:10:12

Don't count on it being next March, that's just a guess at this time. The dates they get are a range, not a specific date so it's odd they'd tell you a specific date this far in advance. It may last longer than that, it may deplete sooner than expected. I had one they thought would be spring but I made it until summer break. I had another we were hoping to make it until spring break but a lead was bad and it drained the battery, when we did a check in Dec I was already on the verge of EOL, blew right through most of the ERI period in the month since the previous check. Point is, they're just educated guesses.

easy

by Tracey_E - 2012-10-18 10:10:50

You can easily sing 6 days later! They go in the same place and use the same pocket so it's much easier than the first time. Assuming your leads are good, all they do is pop out the device, put a new one in and then close it up. Recovery is just a matter of the incision healing up, none of the restrictions from the first time.

Ask if the temporary line is necessary. I'm completely dependent with a low underlying rate and they've only ever used an external pm on me as backup during replacements. I'm on my 4th one now.

You should have plenty of notice when it's low. How often are they checking it? I usually go every 3 months but switch to monthly when it gets to the last 3-4 months. 3-4 months is just a guess, sometimes it's 2, sometimes it's 6.

Depending on your insurance, they can do it electively when it goes ERI (elective replacement mode) but some insurance requires it to go into EOL mode (end of life). ERI is like the gas light on the car, it means it has about 3 months left and is fully functional. After ERI is EOL which also lasts about 3 months but the function is limited. If you are fully dependent, you will know as soon as you go EOL. It will pace at your minimum rate but that's it, not go up and down. See if you can do it when it's still ERI, it's a lot easier.

Replacement

by Vicens - 2012-10-19 02:10:38

Hi,
I had my PM replaced two years ago and I do not remember having a temporary line inserted. All happened very quickly and I passed just a night at the clinic, just in case.
BTW, I had it replaced when it was still in ERl mode, and my insurance company did not object.

No line needed

by ElectricFrank - 2012-10-20 04:10:56

My replacement was done in an outpatient surgical center. I chose to remain awake during the procedure with only a local pain shot (no sedatives).

The cardio opened the pocket, removed the old pacer and laid it on my chest. It was programmed to a fixed rate (I think it was 85). The ventricle lead was removed from the old pacer and inserted into the new one which was programmed the same. I only felt a skipped beat or 2. The atrial lead was moved over the same way.

The new pacer was inserted in the pocket and the incision closed. Since I hadn't had any anesthetic I went directly back to the hospital room for an antibiotic drip.

With that done I went home.

The extra lead is unnecessary unless you have some condition that requires it. I would ask if it can be dispensed with. It just increases the time in surgery and likely would require an extra day in the hospital.

Since the new pacer uses the existing leads there is no restrictions on raising the arm. I just used pain as a guide for getting back to normal activity.

frank

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I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for pacemakers. I've had mine for 35+ years. I was fainting all of the time and had flat-lined also. I feel very blessed to live in this time of technology.