Funny feeling

i had my dual pacemaker put in two weeks ago, I had a lot of soreness as the surgeon found it had to make the pocket for it, the last few days I've had this funny/weird feeling (hard to explain it ) like as if your heart is not beating properly, I did have it all the time I only get it now if I go move, has anybody else had an experience like this, I had my pacemaker checked and they said it's working fine, has anybody else had an experience like this, my base rate on my PM is 60 and I'm 46 yrs old. Thank you.

5 Comments

I get funny fellings too

by Shaun - 2014-10-18 01:10:13

My pacemaker implant was nearly 3 weeks ago and I've tried to list my funny feelings as follows:
Tightness (stiffness / pressure) in shoulder and side of neck.
Sensation that pacemaker is not fitting neatly into pocket, especially while lying down.
Itchy sensation round pacemaker site.
Sharp pains (twinges) in chest and stomach area.
Light headedness (dizziness) when standing up.
Sensation of rapid heart beat for a few seconds especially while walking, taking a few deep breaths seems to help.
Breathless (chesty / asthmatic) sensation, coughing or clearing of throat seems to help.
Pressure (gassy / bubbly) feeling in chest area.
Blocked feeling in throat with reflux sensation.
Slouching can make me feel uncomfortable (per above symptoms) in the chest area.
Night sweats.

Ditto

by Griddlebone - 2014-10-18 10:10:53

Today I described the bubbly feeling as if a 10 year old had dropped a long straw into my ventricles and was blowing into it, like bubbling a glass of chocolate milk. Also as if the world's tiniest unicorn was prancing around inside my heart.

I don't have all the symptoms Shaun listed but I have had most of them.

I got the funny feelings too

by Theknotguy - 2014-10-18 11:10:22

I got the funny feelings after my PM implant too. They did a check on my PM while in the hospital and that was weird too because they increased my heart rate to check the PM.

My heart was accustomed to doing whatever it liked. I'd get a beat, then a long pause, another beat, another long pause, then several quick beats in succession. Sometimes I'd get a beat then it would feel like my heart had gone to sleep then I'd get several quick beats. I also had afib where the heart rate would get real fast. Got quite accustomed to the various heart rhythms.

Then I got the PM. My heart couldn't go off on its own, it had to march to the beat of the PM, they were regular and steady. Not to mention they also had the voltage at a higher level so the heartbeats were pounding. I kept thinking, "Oh, that's what a regular heartbeat feels like!"

Besides all sorts of weird feelings I'd go into coughing jags because I'd be expecting a pause and the pacemaker would step in and kick off a pounding beat. So it took me a while to get accustomed to how the PM was running things. I remember I was at a meeting seven months after I had gotten my PM. Stood up to talk and it felt like my heart had decided to stop but the PM kicked in and kept everything going. Got a funny look on my face. Everyone was asking me if I was OK.

So your funny feelings may be a combination of both the regular rhythm caused by the PM and he harder heartbeats caused by the higher voltage. They usually set the voltage higher at first and then drop it 2 to 3 months in. Not to worry, you won't feel a thing when they drop the voltage.

Anyway everything settled down and I only have an occasional session where the PM causes a weird feeling, usually when I've been doing hard exercise.

Glad you've got a PM that's working. Hope it helps.
Hang in there. Things get better.

funny feeling

by jobecky33 - 2014-10-19 02:10:43

I describe the feeling as a fast williworm (fuzzy caterpillar)going up and down my esophagus. It's really bad when they check my PM. I almost vomit when they check it.

Me Too

by Many Blessings - 2014-10-19 10:10:18

Hi Cwalsh,

When I first got mine (I have a dual chamber, 3 lead CRT-P), I had those feelings all of the time. You might need a setting or two changed. When people here suggested that for me when I first had mine, I asked my cardio doc if he would. He said "let's wait about 6 weeks" because he wanted my heart to "settle down and get used to the new way things are being ran" (my heart was used to 24/7 high rate A-fib prior to PM). In my case, he was right, it did settle down a lot in that time afterwards, but I still needed some settings changed as well. Like Theknotguy said, your heart is used to doing something different, and now it's being told what to do and doesn't always like it. Mine didn't either. Some feel great right away.

As for settings, I don't feel well with my rate response on, or when they turn up my voltage (even a little), and I do better set at 80 bpm. You might have to experiment with different settings for a while before you get things right for you. It's different for everyone. Speak up during your PM visits, trust me! Tell them what YOU want to try and tell them when you don't feel good or when you feel great!

Once you do a setting change that makes you feel better, that's all it takes to give you a sign that everything is going to be okay! A lot of us have had a bad setting(s) that made us feel like total $#&%! But, when they changed it, it made a HUGE difference in making us feel better. You are going to be surprised at how many settings there are, and what they all do. I had no idea at first. Even a little tweak of one can make you feel bad or make you feel great!

It takes a while, but it will come, I promise you! I cannot say enough, you will get through this early stage and you will feel better. Please remember that! I know it sucks right now, but when things settle down and your settings are right, you will feel better!

Thoughts and prayers are with you!

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