Safe to Ski

skiing

by Tracey_E - 2018-12-18 13:11:34

It'll be fine! You should be well healed by then. A direct hit would hurt but the pacer will be buried under plenty of padding. If we get bruised up skiing, it's not our chests that take the hits. 

p.s.

by Tracey_E - 2018-12-18 13:18:29

My first time ever skiing was a few months after getting my first pacer. My whole family is avid skiers and my parents' second home is in a ski town. Until my heart was fixed, I was never able to do it with them so I'd drop them off then go explore. My Christmas present that year (1994) was gear, a plane ticket and a week of lessons. 

p.p.s.

by Suzypoozy - 2018-12-18 13:37:08

I just started skiing again (hadn't gone since the 70's) about 8 years ago (I'm 56). I love my kids and all, but ski season is really what I look forward to every year:) When I found out last week that I was in complete block the first thing I asked was when I could ski. I'm not as worried about taking a hit to the pm but more of the lead pulling out I guess. Luckily our season is just getting going (late this year in Oregon) so hopefully I will break even on my season pass.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

leads

by Tracey_E - 2018-12-18 14:29:59

After the first few days, the restrictions on the leads are just precautions. After a year, they are in so tight that it takes a special laser to get them out. You won't pull out a lead. They don't put them in tight, either, there is often enough slack between the box and where the lead comes out of the vein that they coil it up behind the box. So, even if you tried you could not put enough force on it to move it all the way down in the heart. They aren't going anywhere.

I hope you get lots of snow! 

Energy

by Suzypoozy - 2018-12-18 17:29:54

Thank you both. Skiing at Whistler was one of the best times I've had! I'm sure I will do fine and have a great time. I'm anxious to see if I have more stamina. Although I think I was only in complete block for a week or two, Maybe if was happening off and on for a while. I really am unclear about that at this point.

Have a great week!

stamina

by Tracey_E - 2018-12-18 17:55:33

You will probably find that you have much better stamina! Most are in block a long time before they know it, and our energy drops so gradually that we don't realize how bad it is until it's good again. Let us know how it goes!

HR drop

by Suzypoozy - 2018-12-18 19:27:39

Two weeks ago my hr 80. Then I went to dr not feeling right and it was 38-40. I am still figuring all this out. Can you start in first degree block and gradually move to third degree? I have so many questions...I’ll let you know how my epic ski vacation goes! Have you been this season yet?

block

by Tracey_E - 2018-12-18 21:48:24

You can go in and out of block, sometimes 1st degree, sometimes 2nd or 3rd, sometimes beat normally. It tends to get worse over time so you could have been going in and out of first and second degree for years and not noticed, and if you weren't on an ekg when it happened, the doctors would have missed it also. 

I have not been yet this year! I live in Florida. My parents have a condo in UT and my youngest goes to college out there, works at one of the resorts on the weekends. I like to wait until after the holidays, let the holiday crowds go home and the base build up good, tho my daughter said they already have more lifts open and a better base than they had mid-January last year.  

Skiing with PM

by Lonestar - 2019-01-05 00:09:36

If you have a sensor, it might not recognize that you are skiing since your legs absorb most of the vertical movement the sensor is designed to detect. You might therefore struggle somewhat from lower-than-desired HR.