New Pacemaker / Pain

Hi everyone. I just recently had a pacemaker put in last week in the submammary location. I also had a Medtronic loop recorder removed. Everything was going fine, until I got a sharp pain / cramp in my chest near the incision area where the loop recorder was removed a few days ago. The sharp pain / cramp lasted about a day. It subsided for a few days and has now returned. I am in excruciating pain and this is different than the pain I was experiencing due to the placement of the actual pacemaker.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Anyone have any suggestions on what may be causing this and / or any suggestions on how to solve this problem? Thank you in advance for your assistance. I learned a lot from this site prior to my surgery. Thank you to everyone for their contributions.

6 Comments

call

by Tracey_E - 2013-11-02 09:11:08

Did you do something that pulled on it? Like, drop something and grab at it without thinking or something like that? That can stir things up. It's probably just a normal part of healing, but any pain described as excruciating should be seen by a dr asap. Since it's the weekend, I would go to the ER just to be on the safe side. Better to go and be told it's healing pain than ignore something going on.

Mine is submammary, too. I was pretty sore for a while but once it healed it has been wonderful. I got my first one in 1994. I can barely feel the edges of it, it never gets in my way.

Ice may give you some relief.

CM

by Tick-tock - 2013-11-03 06:11:05

I am hoping you were able to get some medical assistance related to your pain issues?? I am curious as to if you went and what your outcomes were. I hope all is well.

CM

by jeanlancour - 2013-11-03 12:11:31

Anytime you have excruciating pain for a lenght of time go in and find out what it is. Excruciating pain is hard on your whole body, as well as your mind. Tracey is tell you to call,,if you haven't call now, she knows what shes about.

CM

by mcastle - 2013-11-13 01:11:31

I am a 28 yr old female and I had my PM put in last tues (nov 5). I also started having excruciating pains in my left ribs just under my breast. I went to the ER bc I was afraid that something was wrong with my PM. They did a ct scan and didn't find anything wrong so they sent me home. I was told there were air bubbles but that was normal. I am continuing to have these pains and today it moved to my sternum and hurt when I took a deep breath. The only thing that I have found to work for me is trying to position myself in different ways and using pillows to prop myself up. I will also use a heating pad and that sometimes helps the pain subside. There are times when I have no pain at all and other times the pain is so excruciating I can't do anything. Did you ever get an explanation for your pain or find anything that helped you?

Thank you / Follow up

by CM - 2013-11-13 02:11:28

Thank you everyone who took the time to comment. Your concern is greatly appreciated. When I wrote my posting I was on my way to the ER, but just thought I would ask if anyone had any insight to what could be the cause of my pain before I went to the hospital.

Let me explain what happened in my situation. I originally had excruciating chest pains, which is why I went to the ER. Later I began to have the same stabbing pain in my back. I explained to the Dr. I recently had the PM implanted just a week prior. They did an EKG, a CT Scan, and of course, lab work. All tests came back normal. The pain continued for hours and it had become painful to breathe. The pain had also become positional - any way I moved, the pain would increase. I truly was in agony.

They called the Medtronic rep to come out and test the PM. They realized that one of the leads had shifted. Also when the rep sped up the PM to test it, my pain worsened. I was admitted to the hospital. Later I had an Echocardiogram - this showed I had fluid around my heart. I ended up spending several days in ICU and finally, my EP aspirated the fluid. I am now home from the hospital, but it truly was a very painful ordeal.

Mcastle - again this is just my situation, but I strongly suggest you call your Dr. and / or go back to the ER if needed. Ask them to call the rep to test your PM and I would request an Echocardiogram. Excruciating pain is definitely an indicator that something is wrong and you don't want to take any chances - in case it is your heart. Don't stop following up with your Dr. until you get some answers. Not to alarm you, but complications can arise after a PM is implanted and it is best to address your pain ASAP. I hope this helps and again I am just sharing my situation with you.

Thank you again everyone for your feedback and concern. Good luck!

Thank You CM

by mcastle - 2013-11-14 09:11:20

Thank you for your response. I am so sorry to hear you had to go through all that and I hope you are feeling much better now. I am still having these pains and last night I had the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. When I called the emergency number to my cardiologists office the on call dr said it was most likely just scar tissue and that I probably stretched my body too much during the day. (I didn't really like that answer) but I'm going to call back again today and ask about what happened to you to see what my drs thoughts are on that. Again thank you for sharing your experience.

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A pacemaker completely solved my problem. In fact, it was implanted just 7 weeks ago and I ran a race today, placed first in my age group.