Post surgery excercise

I'm new to the Pacemaker Club and figured who better to ask, then people who actually have one. What should I expect when I return to weight lifting and any advice? Prior to surgery, would lift 4 times a week plus 20 minutes cardio. Since surgery, been limited to 40-60 minutes cardio. I'm 57 years old and miss that part of excercising and have been counting down the days (12) till I can start. Thank you!

4 Comments

Start slow

by Theknotguy - 2018-07-08 21:31:05

Per Robin1 you'll want to start slow.  The skin heals over rather quickly but the underlying tissue takes a while to heal.  

I went back at three months but they had done CPR on me and I had broken ribs to deal with.  The most surprising thing for me was that I'd do the work and feel fine but I'd be in major pain for the next four days.  Tylenol, hot and colds packs were my friends.  At nine months the pocket scar would itch really badly.  That was a surprise too.  

Eventually everything does heal and you can go back to normal activities.  

Hope everything goes well for you.

Ask

by Jimmy Dinfla - 2018-07-09 19:41:44

I have an ICD, do cardio exercise classes, swimming, running, Pilates, gym machines and some weights.  I go to the gym 5 days a week and bike on weekends.  My EP does not want me to do heavy weights or chin-ups. I started slowly - so very important.  Recommend talking to your cardiologist about your specific lifting and rep ambitions to see if you need any restrictions.  It's great that you have such a positive attitude about your future.

better than before

by Tracey_E - 2018-07-09 21:14:08

Once you've fully healed, you can expect to do everything you did before. You may even find you have more energy, now that your heart is working the way it's supposed to! Ease into it. If something pulls or doesn't feel right, wait a week and try again. You may find you get sore as you get back to it. That's normal as we pull on fresh scar tissue, it takes some time for it to get numb. Ice will help.

It was about 3 months before i was back to my old routine, back to my old weights, not holding back or babying the area around the pacer. Now, I do whatever I want, including both cardio and weights.  

Weights

by xntriktq - 2018-07-18 19:45:55

hey BilBud.....I started treadmill and recumbent 10 days after implant, and one month in began regular weight routine very lightly, except for overhead presses and assisted pull-ups. Tried to start those at 6 weeks, but area around pacer was not happy. At 8 weeks, was able to add those two. As soon as doc allows going overhead, start doing those wall crawls with your hands to start to stretch your shoulder and tissues around pacer....it all comes back pretty fast once you start....good luck

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Good luck with your surgery. It will improve life amazingly.