Never able to return to activity after pm implant

I know that many people feel that their PM's really helped them, unfortunately that is not the case with me. I was never able to return to the level of activity I had before it was implanted..before implant I reached a personal goal of 50 flights of stairs in one day after pacemaker 0. If I try to be active I get extremely tired very quickly and break out in a cold drenching sweat......I have been home bound since my surgery, no more pool or walking my usual 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day and 10 flights of stairs daily logged by my Fitbit.My new Doctors ran new cardiac test which all came back NORMAL and after lowing the settings to 40 bpm's my last check came back I was using it 1%, my cardiologist said it is just sitting in my chest........So now I have to get it removed which is a risky procedure.Just wanted to see who else has had problems since having an implant.....I developed narcolepsy after this procedure and will have to deal with that for the rest of my life.....

5 Comments

Question

by Jackw - 2015-05-09 10:05:02

Why did the doc recommend a pm in the first place? If you were so active, what problem was being solved?

Jack Asks a Good Question

by NiceNiecey - 2015-05-10 01:05:06

I don't know why people don't put more info in their Pacemaker Club Bios but it's hard to help without it. So, chiming in with Jack: what was your initial diagnosis?

A couple things come to mind:

1) Do you know what your resting heart rate was before you got a PM; and
2) Don't you think a HR setting of 40 BPM is too low?

40 BPM means that your PM only kicks in if your HR drops below that; no wonder it's not kicking in very often.

I was exhausted for the first few weeks (6-8) but then got some energy back. And then, for some inexplicable reason, I got super energized at the 14 MONTH mark. No idea why; just glad it happened!

Hang in there, Statuesque. Keep pushing for answers and trying to get up and move everyday, even if it feels like you can't take a step.

settings

by Tracey_E - 2015-05-10 09:05:34

Maybe 40 is too low?? If you aren't using it then it doesn't matter if you keep it or not, correct? There's nothing about having it and not using it that would affect your activity level. Sounds to me like it's not set correctly, that perhaps it needs to kick in more than 1% of the time, like when you try to go up stairs. As the others said, without knowing why you got it in the first place, it's hard to come up with other suggestions. Have you had a stress test to see what happens on the ekg and with the pm when you exert? That might give you some answers.

Age Makes A Difference

by Artist - 2015-05-10 09:05:55

Depending on your age 40 BPM sounds way too low. Up through age 60, I was a very active person, exercised a lot and was very fit and an occasional HR of 40 BPM was easy for me to tolerate and did not cause any problems. Now that I am 73, my resting HR of 35 to 40 BPM became a real problem that was probably aggravated by the fact that I have sleep APNEA and developed various cardiac rhythm problems. My rate responsive PM is set at a low rate of 60 BPM and that works for me. But, the low doses of Beta Blockers I am taking for my rhythm problems often produces a BP of 95/55. The low BP makes me feel very tired. It does help to get up and get moving. With a rate responsive PM that activity kicks it into gear and ups my BP and HR and I feel much better. Your Bio doesn't give much information about medications, type of PM etc. It is no wonder that your PM is not working much with such a low setting! But since it is working 1% of the time, that means your HR is falling below 40 BPM occasionally. That could also mean that you then have very low BP and that can also make your feel sluggish. I can't imagine why they would remove your PM. IMO, it is not the source of your problem. I highly recommend getting a second opinion and a new doctor that will set your PM a higher rate like 60 BPM. It would be worth trying that to see if you feel better. Why take a good functioning PM out and then perhaps need a PM later on? All the PM is doing is preventing your HR from falling below a certain level. The very low rate they set your PM at could be contributing to your fatigue.

It's coming out

by statuesque - 2015-10-09 05:10:45

Doctor said I had SSS and needed implant immediately and so I had it implanted immediately because I trusted him. He then made a statement a few months later contradicting what he said the first time. That's how I found out I did not really need it. That was a shock and it was what prompted me to find out the truth. I know it is hard for some but not every Doctor practicing medicine is in it for the right reasons sad to say. So now it is coming out and I am donating it to Heartbeat International so it can help someone who needs it now to live. I am comfortable knowing that with all I have been through it can help someone else.My trust in Doctors has been lost so hopefully I will regain it because I was about to have my third joint replacement surgery before this through me off course...I don't have a problem with implants just unnecessary ones...

Jeannette

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You can feel your fingers and toes again.

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