Not sure how heavy or what exercises I can do

It is 6 weeks post pacemaker implant. I was told that I can now go back to my former routine. I don't know exactly what I can do without injuring myself.

5 Comments

Wallk & Walk !!

by donb - 2014-11-30 02:11:03

Hello Morris !
As an old pacemaker veteran and being 2 years older than you I found the best activity for my body & mind was walking. I did a non-stop walk of 4 miles at the 6 week time, "BUT" I was only 60 years old at the time.
The old saying "Mind over Body" worked for me ever since.
I did a 3 hour walk behind my old Lawn Boy bagger doing trash clean-up stopping only to empty the bag. No problem with heart but knees & hips sure let me know the mileage. As lawn is 2/3 acre I estimate 5mile walk.
Upper body activity has been my major weak area. As you don't want to overdue lifting & arm usage. As I've always been very active, I have also gone through 5 pacemakers because of erosion as I don't have the build to support implants in my chest.
So, at age 82 I now have my 6th implant in my lower right abdomen and am free to do most any type of activity. I might mention I am in the minority with chest implant problems but erosion including infection is not uncommon.
Good Luck & let your body tell you your limits as my Cardiologist always tell me !!
DonB

Some thoughts on your routine

by Theknotguy - 2014-11-30 03:11:33

Morris:

Welcome to the PM club. Some thoughts on your former routine.

For what you say in your bio - that you do body building, my cardiologist indicated I should wait 90 days before going back to my previous routine. Turned out to be seven months but I had a lot of trauma before I had the PM implant.

What I found out during cardio rehab and physical rehab is "No pain, no gain" has to go out the window. My PT therapists said that if I walked out of the session sore, they weren't doing their job. So I'd be in PT therapy for 45 minutes with up to 30 minutes cool down time. Doesn't sound like much, but if you do intense PT, 45 minutes is about the max for a while. Make sure to cool down, use cold, dry compresses, and take Tylenol. Also make sure you drink water before, during, and after your work out. I also worked with lighter weights. I'd be doing fewer reps too. Didn't feel like much but you'd be surprise how soon fatigue would set in. Now is not the time to impress someone. Now is the time to heal.

As Donb said, walking is an excellent way of pacing yourself. Due to the trauma I received prior to getting my PM walking was about the only thing I could do. Started out at 500 feet and worked up to over a mile before my cardio rehab. Cardio rehab was mile and a half walking with three miles on stationary bike. I'd usually end up coming home and taking a nap. But then, like I said, I had a lot of trauma pre PM. My cardio therapy sessions were an hour and a half. Make sure to drink water, do a cool down, cold, dry compresses, and tylenol. Notice I say cool down. Don't shrug off the cool down routine. With the PM your body will need it.

When I was finally able to get back to a more normal routine, I still had to pace myself. But I also had to look out for "pinching' the PM in the PM "pocket" in my upper left shoulder. Also pulled the leads a couple of times too. Pulling leads hurts like hell. If you do "pinch" the PM and get the sore pocket, you'll have to drink water, take tylenol, and back off your sessions until the pain reduces. If you don't "pinch" the PM and get sore, you'll still have to back off the sessions until the pain reduces. You now have to give your body time to build up scar tissue in the PM pocket area. You can't fudge, and go back to your exercise routine until your body has a chance to heal. Bored sitting around? Do the walking. I take my son's two dogs out. They have a great time, I laugh at them a lot, we all get exercise.

The main thing is to walk out of your sessions feeling good but not exhausted. Then, no matter how good you feel, don't go for another session in the same day. You'll feel good, ignore me, do another session anyway. But I'll tell you now the payback is hell. So try to look at it objectively and not emotionally. Your brain is telling you, "Hey, I did this before!" But that isn't the way it works now. Just do your session, feel good, and quit. Your body will want to do more but don't. After another four weeks see if you can increase your sessions by about a half hour. Your body will remember how it was and you'll be up to your old routines fairly quickly. After the second month you'll know how to pace yourself.

For me, due to the trauma I had it was over a year before everything started feeling good. If you've had no trauma, I'm guessing about nine months. But, and the big BUT is, you have to pace yourself as to how you feel and not look at a calendar. Your body heals at its own rate and you have to stick to that schedule and not a calendar. Besides, if you push it too much, you'll get hurt, then you'll have to go through the frustration of being hurt and being bored while your body heals. You'll ignore me and probably do it anyway, but look in the mirror and yell at the person you see. That's the guy that'll need the lecture.

I moved 2300 pounds of wood the day before my collapse. I walked 3 1/2 miles with the dogs and then I collapsed. I was following my doctors orders, exercising, eating right, trying to take care of myself and still ended up in a six day coma. They told me that if I hadn't been in as good of shape as I was I probably wouldn't have survived. Almost didn't anyway. Oh, and it took me over a year before I could move the 2300 pounds of wood again. It took me over a year but I finally was able to do the 4 1/2 miles with the dogs. So don't try to be Superman, you'll get hurt.

Do your body building but be smart about it. I hope you come back and give us periodic reports with additional comments about how you pushed it too hard and paid for it. Always happy to hear a good story. Hang in there. Life gets better!

73 YR. old lady does Power Half Hour

by Artist - 2014-11-30 09:11:08

I really identify with the above comments and have had to laugh at the naivety of the Doctors instructions. I received written guidance that said as soon as I feel like it I can resume my normal activities, but to limit lifting to no more than 10 lbs. during the first two post surgical weeks and 20 lbs. the third and fourth weeks. I guess they just assume that I did virtually nothing since I am a 73 year old woman. I participated in a fitness class called the "Power Half Hour" with people who were between 11 through 40 years younger than I am. The class included weigh assisted chin ups, push ups, kettle bell lifting and many other strenuous exercises. Common sense tells me that it will be a long time before I attempt to do such things again and at the rate that moving my left arm across my chest, toward the right side of my body seems to crowd the PM and make it pop up, there will probably be some activities that I just will not be able to do again. I have always lived on acreage and used heavy chain saws to clear downed trees etc.
My post op instructions were so misleading. Not only did they say I could resume normal activities as soon as I felt like it, they gave examples saying that I would just have to modify my golf and tennis swings. Really I can't imagine the twisting motion of a golf swing for some time. So, I guess the bottom line is using common sense and being conservative so that you do not pull a lead of damage the implant site. I am 24 days post op and still limit some things that you would not normally consider. Bending over and touching my toes seems to create an unnatural sensation in my heart area so I don't do that even though I am very limber and have had no trouble doing that in the past. Morris gave some really good advice. I hate feeling so limited and restricted, but am so thankful for the medical technology that is probably extending and saving my life.

Be cautious

by TJ319 - 2014-12-01 09:12:28

As a former triathlete, I expected it to be easy to return to old exercise routines. Wrong! My doctor emphasized being cautious as I returned to exercise. In particular, he emphasized a mindset of "toning" when it comes to weight training (versus building muscle mass). He told me it would take over 6 months to return to previous cardio fitness levels. This has proven to be true. It will take time for your body to adjust to the PM, for your left side to recover from the rest and incision site intrusion. I am 66 and one year post implant. In reality I am not back to my old levels of weight training or cardio fitness yet. I have adopted an approach of "taking what the body will give" and "searching for new normals".

working out

by Tracey_E - 2014-12-02 12:12:13

I would wait 3 months before going back to heavy weights. As for cardio, ease back into it as you feel up to it.

Long term limitations will depend on your dr and your placement. Some drs are very conservative and want us to hold back. My dr said I can do whatever I want, and I do. If your device is close to the surface and it or the leads would be pinched by a barbell, then you'll need to be careful. Mine is placed lower and deeper so the bar never gets near it, so I don't hold back. I'm on my 4th and have never had a problem.

Artist, give it more time! They settle in a lot over the first few months. It takes time for the residual swelling to go down and for scar tissue to build up around and insulate it. It should not affect your golf or tennis or anything else you want to do long term. Good for you staying active! It's sad that they automatically assume all pm recipients are couch potatoes. I got similar instructions, and I was 27 when I got my first one. Fortunately my dr is young and athletic himself so he gets it and gave me different instructions. The best thing we can do for our hearts is keep them strong.

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