A year on, still having nerve pain

Hi everyone, I've had pain in my pec, collar bone area and down my left shoulder and arm since my ICD device was implanted in Feb. 2015. I am fairly fit and tried to go back to yoga and weightlifting but the nerve pain keeps stopping me. Does anyone have any suggestions about what could be going on?

The only suggestion my EP specialist (who implanted my device) said was to see a neurologist or just learn to deal with it. Unfortunately it is affecting my workouts, daily work (since I work on a computer more often than not) and my sleep (it's hard to sleep on my sides). I thought it would eventually go away but there has been no change nearly a year later.

Thanks for any ideas or recommendations for how I can improve/get rid of my pain.

3 Comments

Neurologist

by BillH - 2016-01-13 02:01:07

Have you tried the neurologist?

The have a number of thinks that they can try such as a nerve block.

One other suggestion

by Theknotguy - 2016-01-13 11:01:59

I had nerve pain right after I got my pacemaker. The pain would go up the left side of my neck (same side as pacemaker) and up into my jaw. Some days better, some days worse. It went down as the swelling went down. I was having problems with a muscle spasm on the left side of my neck too.

I had worked with a licensed massage therapist before I got my pacemaker and went back to her after. She did some research and took some instruction as to what to do or what not to do in doing massage on a person with a pacemaker.

The massage therapy helped me quite a lot. My therapist would find trigger points that were causing me pain. I didn't even know I had them but she could sure find them. Her therapy got rid of a lot of pain for me.

Obviously if you have nerve damage there may not be too much a therapist could do. But it's something to consider.

Key words are licensed and therapy. You want someone who knows anatomy and knows what not to do concerning a pacemaker.

Maybe it won't help, but it's an idea for you.

Same here- pain after one year

by HeartBlockBaby - 2016-01-15 05:01:26

I have just passed my one year since my pacemaker implant. Pains and awareness of the device had lessened gradually after surgery but then as I approached and just passed one year I started being more bothered by pinching, burning achey pains and sensations around the pacemaker site and left pec and arm area. I am active and exercise regularly and see no connection to any change in my workouts or activity. But I have thought about whether increasing muscle use in my upper body aggravated this. My device is quite superficial as I am small and there is not much space in my chest wall for the implant. It is annoying (but not debilitating)and I find myself rubbing the site so I think it is nerves. Sometimes I get worried if something is wrong but I have begun to think it is just something I have to live with. After all one is never quite the same after a surgical incision, there is a hunk of metal stuffed in my chest where it does not belong and where there is not much room. Maybe it's no wonder due to the pressure of the device on the underlying tissues!?

You know you're wired when...

You have a dymo-powered bike.

Member Quotes

It made a HUGE difference in my life. Once I got it, I was finally able to run, and ride my bike long distances.