Post op normalcies

Feelings

by Theknotguy - 2020-06-24 07:30:01

It's really hard for me to say how you should feel.  I have a large lump in the pocket on my left shoulder and you have yours inside your heart.  So it's a hard for me to tell you what you'll feel.  However, during all the lead up to getting my pacemaker I did have a blood clot inside my heart and I can somewhat relate to what's going on for you.  

I got some really weird feelings with the blood clot in my heart.  First was a feeling of someone putting their thumb on the left side of the spine in the middle of my back.  I attribute it to what I could feel because of the blood clot.  You may have some similar feelings.  I'll outline below:

Blood pressure:  You've got a regular heartbeat now which you didn't have before and that may be pushing up your blood pressure.  It may stabilize over time as your body adjusts to the new normal.  I'd talk with your EP/cardiologist and see how they want to monitor it.  What you don't want to do is to take your blood pressure every 15 minutes, get stressed and scare yourself - then end up at the hospital in the ER.  I did that.  Felt pretty stupid, but no one dies from embarrassment. You just get really tired of telling people you were stupid enough to do what you did.  

Twitching:  After my tank sized pacemaker was implanted, they put the voltage high at first.  I'd sometimes feel the tickle then the hard thump of my heartbeat. It would wake me up at night.  At/about 30 days out they lowered the voltage and I don't feel it any more.  Ask your EP if they've done the same.  

Unusual funny feelings:  Yep, you get those too.  They've just put something inside your heart and you aren't accustomed to feeling anything but blood going through there.  Plus you now have this thing telling your heart what to do.  So you'll get ticks, twinges, and all sorts of bumps and thumps you haven't felt before.  You do get accustomed to it after a while.  I'm one of the rare individuals who can sometimes feel what my pacemaker is doing.  You'd occasionally hear me as I was walking down the hall....  "Would you just make up your mind!", would be my comment as I'd feel my pacemaker adjust to my level of activity.  

Oh, and for the first time in years I finally had a "normal" and regular heartbeat.  "So this is what it feels like!", was my response to that.  You may be feeling the same too.  

Hopefully you'll adjust soon to the new normal.  I went through a lot of physical trauma because they did CPR and broke ribs.  So it took me a lot longer than most people on this forum to adjust to life with a pacemaker.  It was a couple of years for me, but my case was the exception.  It probably won't be as much for you.  

I hope your adjustment to life with the pacemaker goes well.  Welcome to the club you didn't want to join.  Now get on with your life.  
 

:)

by Sydney.A95 - 2020-06-24 08:44:27

I definitely understand what you said about telling it to make you it's mind- I feel it EVERY time and it's quite annoying. I actually laughed out loud when I read that portion of your response. Thank you for replying, it is nice to talk it out with people who actually have them as well. Doctors can teach you everything about it but unless they have one I feel they can't fully sympathize. I do hope you're right about my blood pressure regulating after awhile. Have you had to do anything crazy like cutting out caffeine or anything like that?