Advice needed!

Hi,

My name is Sarah, and I am 18 years old. I came across this site today as I was doing research for my "options". I was told yesterday that my doctor would not be choosing the route of medication to fix my arrhythmia problems ( I fluctuate between a 27bpm & a 280bpm along with having PVCs). I was told a pacemaker is in my near future & to be honest that scared the hell out of me. I am very active, I do a cross between a cross fit style & olympic lifting, I'm in the middle of training for a half marathon & overall just love getting outside and moving. I guess I'm curious if there are people out there who are active like me & if you all could give me advice about working back into exercise/activity, how you managed the surgery & recovery time, & any other advice you could give me to help make my decision easier.

thank you,

sarah

7 Comments

Pacemaker power

by Camille D - 2014-07-08 11:07:15

Hi Sarah,

First off, it is awesome to hear you talk about your passion for athletics. And kudos to you for doing your research on your options. You sound like someone who chooses to take personal responsibility for her own health and that will serve you well.

I can only speak to my personal experience but here's what I can tell you: I had a pacemaker implanted when I was 20. It scared the hell out of me, too. I was born with complete heart block but it wasn't until I experienced a severe dizzy spell at 20 years old that the doctors recommended I get a pacemaker. I, too, had to make a choice.

Ultimately the pacemaker has allowed me to become much more of an athlete than ever before. Unlike you I wasn't much of an athlete as a teenager, but not long after I got my pacemaker I started taking on new challenges: hiking up the rocky mountains, running races, working with a personal trainer, and generally just enjoying more overall speed, endurance and strength. I not only benefited from what it did for my heart, the whole experience lent me more courage and inner strength, which is, I believe, central to any athlete.

Today I am 33 and I am more fit than most people I know. I am part of an amateur boxing community and am a very strong and speedy boxer. I do a lot of challenging strength and conditioning training akin to cross fit - strict pull ups, heavy lifting, you name it. I am also a very fast and powerful runner. I know I would not be able to enjoy these activities without my pacemaker. As an aside, I checked with my cardiologist and my coach before beginning these activities and I was cleared to enjoy fitness in whatever ways I enjoyed.

However, I would try to manage your own expectations about recovery time. The doctors far under-estimated the time required for me to heal. I was very sore and sensitive for what felt like a long time. As an athlete you will definitely want to give yourself proper rest and recovery time and recognize that in doing so you will enable yourself to come back stronger than ever.

Sometimes it is still annoying having a pacemaker in my chest. There is a physical AND emotional adjustment that will be unique to everyone. It is not always easy to accept a foreign object in your body. However I am grateful for it and what it enables me to do, and the life lessons the experience has taught me, as well. The truth is a pacemaker isn't a sign of weakness, but a source of power.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

Camille

My Experience So Far

by PeteFindlay - 2014-07-09 09:07:14

Hi Sarah,

I'm just over 2 months in, and getting back into the swing of Crossfit. My only advice is be patient for the first 6 weeks, or until you're cleared to get back to full movement and activity. Keep moving by all means - walking and running after a few weeks as the doc allows. After that, I've been surprised how quickly I've been able to build back towards where I was as a Crossfit addict. You have a youth on your side compared to me (50 yrs old), so I'd imagine your recovery will be quicker - as long as you don't overdo it. Even once you've got the all clear, listen to your body - if something hurts, ease off and take it gradually. A bit of patience, and you'll be back to close to 'normal' in no time!

Mine is implated sub-pectoral - under the muscle - which doesn't really show apart from the scar, and gives more protection if you're active. Worth a discussion with the surgeon. My main concern was a ropey front rack position or cleans getting close to bouncing off it, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for me so far. If you're training olympic lifting, I'm sure your technique will be a lot better than mine, so even less likely to interfere. Concerns I had about shoulder mobility for overhead positions like the snatch haven't materialised, either.

Fitting pacemakers seems pretty routine for the medical profession these days. My experience thus far is that it's a lot more routine for them than it is for us! I had experienced no symptoms and it was quite a shock to suddenly find myself with a PM. It is a life-changing experience - emotionally, even if physically it may ultimately make little difference to what you can and can't do. I'm not sure that the medical profession really responds effectively to that side of things. That's where sharing experiences through a forum like this can really help.

Good luck going forward!

Pete

Thank you all

by sfaut5750 - 2014-07-09 11:07:49

Hello,

I want to thank you all for responding to my post with your words of encouragement & your personal stories. I will take all your words with me through this process & hopefully, fingers crossed, come out the other side better then ever! I plan to ask loads of questions about placement & restrictions for my PM so I'll be able to do all the fun activities I want without hurting or damaging it. Thank you again, & my best wishes to all of you.

Sarah

This is a fantastic place for advice

by scotia - 2014-07-11 05:07:35

I have had my pacemaker for about a year and a half. I have struggled a bit with getting back into the same fitness level i was at pre pacemaker. But for me it was because they did not want me doing my boxing until my lead was 100% in place. One of my leads was a little out of place.

I am now back into my fitness and getting some personal training as well. Everyone is different and i am glad to have the support that is on this forum. If i didn't have the wonderful advice from these people i probably wouldn't be doing the things i do. I am training for a 5k now and that is not something i would have even considered before. I am back at my boxing as well and love it.
As i said to my personal trainer the other day i have to train my pacemaker to work for me now. I will get there and so will you if you decide to go with a pacemaker. The biggest thing is to really pay attention to your body.

good luck with your decision

Recovery

by LeeT - 2014-07-12 02:07:52

Boxing can be brutal. I know boxing very well and for many years studied the effects on boxers. If you do it for exercise and light sparring avoiding the PM ok, apart from that I would not recommend boxing for any athlete. Sorry the effect from years of blows to the body and head due cause lasting effects. Better you consult with professional fighters. Good Luck.
Follow your Dr. suggestions.

Hey Sarah !

by sdawg - 2014-07-13 02:07:08

hi Sarah my name is also Sarah and I'm 21 years old. I had my ICD/PM put in when I was 18 and I was a super active person, still am. My doc went threw my arm out for the surgery so I don't have a scar on my chest, which is awesome but also hurt a lot more. He basically tore up all those muscle to place my PM into chest. It took a whole but those muscles are finally catching up to the ones on
my right side. If you ever wanna talk please feel free to
reach out !!

Like you

by Marine8914 - 2014-07-15 11:07:48

Sarah-

I was very active up until 2 years ago when I started nursing school. Between full time school and full time work I didn't have any free time. I always was an athlete and played sports.

This past March I started becoming bradycardic and hypotensive and would pass out. It all went downhill from there. I ended up going into heart block and then this past June I went into cardiogenic shock. After coding, being resuscitated, the emergency IJ line and dopamine drip I was stable and discharged with medications. Unfortunately the medications didn't work well and the side effects made my life miserable.

I ended up back in the cardiac ICU the first week of July and ended up deciding on having a pacemaker implanted. I am 14 days postop and have been feeling more stable than I have since this all started. I am still a little sore at the site, I had the PM implanted deep between muscles, and still a little fatigued but things are slowly getting back to normal.

I wish I had opted to get the pacemaker sooner but I am glad I did it (my cardiologist and electrophysiologist think that if I didn't get the PM I wouldn't be here right now).

Good luck with your decision. It is a tough one. What I found helped me make my decision was listing all the pros and cons of having a PM versus not having one. Maybe that will help you.

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