Merlin side effects

I’m 100% paced and have a PM for 8 years and until recently had twice yearly PM check ups.  The query with the magnet placed over my PM made the area very achy for about an hour after the appointment.

with Covid I thought I’d switch to Merlin the St. Jude remote monitoring system.  Last night was the first night.  I had the typical achy pain at 4 in the morning, which I can handle.  What disturbed me however was that I had palpitations and shortness of breath most of the night which woke me up numerous times that was highly unusual for me. Could WiFi so close to me do that? 

is this a typical side effect?  Has anyone else experienced the same symptoms? 

Liz

2 Comments

give them a call

by Tracey_E - 2020-07-23 10:37:55

Mine uses cellular, not wifi. Neither should affect us, however I can feel it when I do a download. I usually sleep through them and only know about it when I get a follow up email from the ep's office. I don't think what you are feeling is the download. 

Feeling Merlin Uploads?

by Marybird - 2020-07-24 21:25:12

Ok, now I am really curious about this. I also have a St. Jude dual pacemaker with a Merlin@home remote monitor. As I understand it, the pacemaker uploads its data via Bluetooth at intervals ( don't know what intervals, ?nightly, maybe), and the monitor uploads this information ( in my case its via the cell adapter attached to the monitor) to the Merlin.netPCN site somewhere within the Abbott/St. Jude company location. This information is available to my doc and pacer clinic at any time. Or in the event uploaded reports show irregularities or other events the doc would like to be informed about, they send a notification to the doctor or provider on record-either by phone, email, or however the doc has indicated he/she wants to be informed. 

I've gotten this from reading the online manuals for this equipment. I was also informed that my pacing reports ( like those of all their patients) are reviewed quarterly, though I have no idea when they are done or who reviews them ( human or computer?), as I don't get any notification before or afterwards that a transmission was sent or that a report was reviewed.

I figure one of these days I will call either the people at Abbott, and/ or the pacing tech at the cardiologist's office to ask them about the specifics of my remote monitoring, but I'm doing very well, no problems and I know they are busy. So I hate to bother them just to satisfy my own curiosity. 

So Tracey, you mention you can feel it when your pacemaker uploads data to your monitor? I can't recall feeling anything at any time that I'd identify as feeling a transmission. So what does it feel like? 

I've also got atrial tachycardia so even though it's stomped down pretty well with medication, I feel palpitations sometimes that I figure are short runs of that tachycardia. They're pretty much random so I'd never have thought of them in relation to proximity to the monitor. 

Thanks, Mary

 

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I just want to share about the quality of life after my pacemaker, and hopefully increase awareness that lifestyles do not have to be drastically modified just because we are pacemaker recipients.