Too young for this...but NOT complaining!

I wish I had found Pacemaker Club several years ago.  It might have acclerated my jump to my best cure--the Pacer itself.  I started with an AFib diagnosis at age 39...and from there, things spiraled; AFib, A-Flutter, Junctional Rhythm, Tachycardia, Bradycardia, surgeries large and small...and ultimately a Pacemaker.  That was to have been my last resort, but it has proven to be the most effective (especially after years and years of misery-inducing drug combinations).  

I'm now mid-forties, and in-rhythm. Preparing for two hours of 90-degree tennis this afternoon, in fact.   

The polls and member quotes are especially fun.  Regarging today's poll: I wear my seatbelt over my shoulder...but on the car's lowest setting.  seems counterintuitive, as I am tall, but it keeps the belt comfortably below my Pacer.  

3 Comments

Too young? Really?

by Protimenow - 2020-07-02 20:36:16

I'm assuming that this was more of a joke, but I'm not sure. 

Yes, it could be argued that, whatever our age,we're all 'too young' for a pacemaker. 

If not, you can easily find people who've had PMs since they were children. 

Is there a right age for a PM? Yes - it's the age where you need it. 

Who cares about your age, as long as you get the PM when you need it -- whenever that is.

Arrhythmia and PM

by AgentX86 - 2020-07-02 22:06:17

Curious, how did a pacemaker solve your arrhythmias and how are you now "in rhythm"?  Did you have an AV ablation?  Reading your bio, I see you're on tikosyn, so is that what's keeping you in NSR?  The PM is just for Bradycardia, then?

I've been down most of that road, including the Maze, ablations (3), drugs out the ear (needed the PM because of sotalol, before I got to tickosyn). Nothing worked, so I had the AV/His ablation when I had the PM implanted.  I'm not really in NSR but I don't sense the atria fluttering at 240-300bpm.

Yes--"too young" was intended as a joke

by EhlertACE - 2020-07-03 14:35:19

The time was right for me to join the club in my mid-forties.   It was mostly to be a last resort, and then became necessary after all of the above failed over several years.  The bradycardia was the prime reason, and then that grew into Junctional Rhythm (which was the worst--I had about a six-week moratorium on all physical activity, and I could barely keep my eyes open during the days, starting the moment I woke).

I did not have AV node ablation.  That, I believe is sitll in reserve for the future, once the current plan runs its course.  Yes, Tikosyn is my "rhythm" medication, and the PM keeps me properly upright at 60 BPM, and it also has a "rhythm control" feature that can tamp down brief episodes of AFib.  I hardly notice it, which is miraculous, as I was highly symptomatic through all the versions of atrial arrhythmia I suffered.  Past tense is nice to write.  

It is neat to see different and similar experiences, and get good questions in this forum.  Take care.

 

 

You know you're wired when...

Your device makes you win at the slot machines.

Member Quotes

My pacemaker was installed in 1998 and I have not felt better. The mental part is the toughest.