Brand new Pacemaker

Hi,

I'm a 31 year old Australian single mum of two, I had a pacemaker put in last Monday. I'm still in a fair bit of pain. Perhaps because I'm not able to rest to much because of the kids.

I just wanted to say hi, join the forum for support and wonder if there's any patient secret tips you have learnt along the way? Mine was an emergency insertion and I was sent home the next day so haven't even talked to my electrophysiologist yet!

Bit of background, I had the Yellow wiggle disease POTS with IST (inappropriate sinus tachycardia). This all came on after the birth of my second child who is nearly 5. I have had 4 ablations of my sinus (SA)node and the last one knocked it out. They left me for six months feeling unwell, dizzy, tired, until I presented to ED with a HR of 28 (junctional bradycardia) I was in ICU for 12 hours then in. I was awake during the procedure and it hurt! I help on to the nurses hand, poor thing probably has broken fingers.

So here I am. With a pacemaker, thanks for welcoming me into the club!

9 Comments

Awake

by carlyy_82 - 2014-01-18 01:01:31

I'm a nurse (not cardiac though) and still just assumed I would be knocked out. I'm glad the lead up was all really quick, I didn't have time to be scared.

Australia is amazing, Cairns and surrounds are on my top 5 list. I've always wanted to visit the US, had a trip planned with my now ex-husband a few years ago but had to cancel due to ill health. I should now be able to travel to my hearts content! (Maybe when the kids are a bit bigger!)

Awake?!!!

by Alma Annie - 2014-01-18 05:01:17

Hi,
I live South of Adelaide, and have had pm 21/2 years. I was asleep most of the time, and woke just as EP was pressing in the pm. Everything else was done. I must admit I yelped and said I was awake, but it only hurt momentarily. I would not have coped being awake all the time. I am surprised you were left 6 months. I had an ablation for a fib, and had a pacemaker 4 days later, as my heart rate kept going to 23, so EP would not let me go home. Where do you live?
Hope you feel much better now.
Alma Annie

Awake --- definitely !

by IAN MC - 2014-01-18 05:01:49

I was beginning to wonder if my "awake" procedure was unusual so I've just taken this from a UK , NHS website :-

"What happens during a pacemaker implantation?

Having a pacemaker implanted is a relatively straightforward process. It is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, which means you will be awake during the procedure. "

I don't think Bill is quite right when he says that " they put us to sleep in the US " maybe they do in some centres but there have been many posts from the US where the recipients were awake, as happens in the rest of the world. There is no need to be put to sleep and the recovery is far more rapid.

That apart, welcome to the club,carlyy, and I hope you have a rapid uneventful recovery.

…oh, would you please send some of your heat over to the UK ?

Best Wishes

Ian

Post insertion- join the Club

by Selwyn - 2014-01-18 08:01:16

Welcome Carly,
You will at last be getting some good health back from this pace maker (PM) . Although this site is full of complications, the vast majority of people with PMs are fit and well. Yesterday I swam 100 lengths- no problems.

With regard to post operative pain, clearly some is normal. It should get better day by day. Keep an eye on the wound- any redness or swelling increasing is a bad sign and may be due to infection or bleeding. You should have received printed instructions as to what to look out for. If not get onto the hospital and demand these by e-mail.Make sure you have a personal pacemaker card from the hospital. Useful medical information for you and your doctors. You should also have a 'do and don't ' leaflet about magnets etc. and PMs. Make sure you do have all the literature.

You have to restrict lifting beyond the shoulder that arm, most say for 6 weeks, but do move the arm and shoulder otherwise you can get a frozen shoulder.( the literature to hand should tell you this)

Once you have had the first electrophysiologist check up you should be tuned to go. Try and get a print out from their machine as a record of the settings is helpful to have to hand and is educational.

Insertion under local anaesthesia is usually pain free. I remember having a conversation with the cardiologist during the operation about coffee drinking and other such exciting past times. If you had pain during insertion, you haven't had the proper local anaesthetic ( either placing or amount). Personally, 30 minutes after insertion I was eating lunch!

Hope the advice helps. That is what springs to mind at present, the great thing about this club is that there is collective wisdom and understanding.
Enjoy.

ha

by BillMFl - 2014-01-18 09:01:32

I guess they put me to sleep to shut me up. Otherwise I would have bossed them around!

I was awake

by Enrique - 2014-01-18 10:01:10

I thought that standard procedure was without putting you to sleep. When they implanted my first PM I was completely awake, I just had partial freezing in the area around the cut for the insertion. I was a bit sore for a couple of days. I didn't have ablation though. After around a week, and specially after the removed the staples I have had a normal life.
You should feel fine soon (:-.

PS: We are going to Australia next month, for 5 weeks. We are looking forward to spend some time in warm weather. We live in Canada and we have had too much snow this winter....

twilight

by pace-man - 2014-01-18 11:01:47

Hi , I am also from Australia and had my pacemaker put in last October 2013 in Brisbane due to my heart beat dropping to 25 bpm , up until then I had a perfect heart rate , when I had my pacemaker fitted I would say I was in a twilight state, I was mostly asleep but I would stir every now and then and could feel then tugging at my chest, but I had no pain, every thing has been good since then, welcome to the club ! Rick

welcome

by BillMFl - 2014-01-18 12:01:32

Welcome aboard! Sorry you were awake, they put us asleep here in the US. But you folks are tough down under. Enjoyed a visit to Oz a few years back. Sydney and Cairns , a week in each. Thought Sydney was really cool and dove the reef up in Cairns. Wish it wasn't so far away or I'd be back again.

dreamtime

by velvet - 2014-02-22 07:02:54

Hi, sorry to hear you had a painful experience. I had a pacemaker put in last Thursday in Australia. Didn't feel a thing as I had light general anaesthesia. I must admit I feel different some how, can't really explain, maybe it's having a regular heart beat after so many years. I still have some pain over the incision but generally doing well.

Good luck and hope you continue to improve.

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