nerve and muscle issues

Hi everyone. New to the sight. I received my PM about 2 months ago. My heart and pacing are doing fine I think although I do feel it kick in. Fortunately it only paces 20% of the time so it is not too bothersome. Before receiving PM I didnt realize for a long time what was causing my shortness of breath and several syncopes. The dr thought it was virus related cause it would come and go for about a year maybe longer. I was diagnosed finally in June of this year with 2nd degree heart block. While waiting for PM implant which was about a month I was very anxious and developed muscle twitches. I was told it was just anxiety. After surgery the twitches went all over my body sometimes actually cause a limb to jerk. I have no muscle weakness but some on and off pain. Still they say anxiety but not sure that's it. It has to be related somehow to heart issue, right? I did some investigating myself and it could be from hypoxia from living with arryrhmias so long and also slow heart rate. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

4 Comments

Thought I felt my PM kick in too.

by scarheart - 2014-09-20 06:09:58

Hello,

My Pm is pacing about 25% of the time and I thought that I was feeling it kick in too. But once when I was in the office and the Device Technician was taking a reading and testing my leads I mentioned that when she was testing, that was what I was feeling about 4 times a day. She said that the PM was scheduled to test the leads occasionally. My response,"4 times each day?" she said that she could turn this feature off. So we did. Have not felt it since! Could it be the test that you are feeling?

Just a thought. As for the twitching my muscles do occasionally twitch and usually it is from fatigue and anxiety. There is a whole lot of anxiety one experiences with arrythmia problems for an extended period of time.

It will take time and persistence to work out all the bugs. Hang in there. Mary Ann

Muscle twitches no,

by KAG - 2014-09-20 12:09:41

anxiety yes. It can take a while for your mind and body to adjust to having a foreign object in you. I found that getting back to my normal activities was the best thing. Slowly I forgot I even have a PM.

My Dr said they usually don't know what causes electrical heart problems. Nothing we do it just happens.

Muscle twitching - feeling PM

by Theknotguy - 2014-09-21 03:09:41

The anxiety can cause a lot of problems. Just because you got the PM it doesn't mean your brain has caught up with the changed conditions. So you may thing you're over the anxiety but your brain hasn't got the message yet.

I had all sorts of stuff going on after my trauma and getting the PM. Like you I could feel my PM when it kicked in and that caused anxiety and more weird twitches. Oh, and we shouldn't forget about all the changes in medication.

Gradually, over time - about five months, my various twitches and weird feelings went away. I occasionally feel the PM when it kicks in now (a year later) but mentally dismiss it instead of getting all whacked out.

Now I have to watch what I'm doing so I don't either 1) pinch the PM between my shoulder and rib cage, 2) do something that kicks off the PM like holding a Sawzs all saw with my left arm. Was playing tug with my son's lab/pit bull mix dog the other day and she kicked off my PM when she started shaking the toy while I was holding it in my left hand. Then for some reason, I could feel my PM kick in this AM when I got into the car to go to church. In each case, I just mentally thought, "Stupid woke up again!" and kept on going. I'm more happy it's working than upset about the effects. After all, my other options are being dead and I'm not ready to go that route for some time.

Hang it there. Life does get better.

One more thought

by Theknotguy - 2014-09-21 04:09:23

I had had a lot of trauma before getting the PM. Broken rib, collapsed lung, two cracked ribs, then in a coma for six days. Needless to say, when I woke up I was in a lot of pain with all sorts of twitching. There were reactions to medications, changes to medications, all sorts of nasty stuff.

Prior to getting the PM my wife and I had been seeing a licensed massage therapist. Notice I said licensed massage therapist. She (the therapist) was doing deep muscle massage.

Post PM I got a prescription from my cardiologist so the therapist would be covered by hear insurance.

My first session with the therapist looked like twitching frog legs. She'd grab a muscle and I'd start jumping. But I felt about 100% better. Second session was better. By about the fourth session I'd fall asleep in the last 15 minutes of the massage. Most of my muscle twitching has been alleviated my the therapist's work.

I still have problems with the area where the leads go in under the collar bone. I have problems with an old injury. The therapist also discovered the muscles get tight directly behind my heart where the leads are inserted. By working on those tight muscles it eliminates most of my problems.

Perhaps this would be another option for you?

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