Information , please

Hello. I been looking online for a support group.

A friend of mine has a son who recently had a pacemaker put in. He is in his earlier 20's, and he is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to some of this. He really needs someone to talk to, and I was hoping maybe someone knows of a group for young adults .
I would appreciate any feedback or information.
Also, feel free to send me an email with information at
"bearlymisbehavin06@yahoo.com"

Thank You in advance.

Onesassybear

3 Comments

Some suggestions.....

by auntiesamm - 2007-05-07 02:05:00

Hello SassyBear and welcome to the pacemaker club. It is a rather exclusive group of folks as we all run on little computers! I hope that your friend's young son will visit the website and join us. The club members range in age from babies whose mom's speak for them to way up in age - maybe 90 or 100. There are any number of young people in the club and I believe your friend will hook up with some terrific folks. Age doesn't really make a big difference - we all have pacemakers for the same or similar medical reasons. Please encourage your friend and her son to check it out. I am in the US so depending on where you are my suggestions may or may not be helpful. Here many hospitals have support groups they offer to "heart patients". The facility where the young man got his pacemaker should have some kind of support you would think. Anyway, that is a good place to start. The American Heart Association has all kinds of support available all over the USA and their website is full of info. Lastly, there is a website for Mended Hearts that might also offer some go info. This group started out originally to support and educate people who have open heart surgery but has grown to pretty much include all cardiac related diagnosis. I hope this can be so some help to you in trying to help your friend. She is fortunate to have you helping her find resources for her son. Keep us posted, or if the son does sign on maybe he can identify himself as the young man you wrote about. Take care, have a super day and God bless.
Sharon

support for friends son

by teen - 2007-05-07 07:05:32


to onesassybear

hello i'm teen
i saw your posting for support. my 18yr old son, scott, had a pm fitted 3 wks ago. he has adjusted well to this, in fact, his possitive attitude has got the family through the worry of it all. to cut a long story short, he had dizzy turns when lying flat on his back, he was sent for tests, and wore a 24hr monitor which showed his heart stopped for 7secs during that night. of course, we have never felt so scared in our lives but scott was amazing. he is determined he is not letting it get in the way of his plans. he was due to sit his 1st dan grading in ki aikido on 12th may and this has been postponed til 4th aug. he is at uni studying bio-medical sciences, he holds down a part time job and he plays bass guitar in a band.
so please tell your friends son that try to stay possitive. if he needs to talk to scott, he is willing to do this as its all so new to them both and probably still have a lot of questions to be answered.
of course from a parent's point of veiw we still worry so much, scott thinks we are over-reacting a bit but we can't help it. its early days yet. his first checkup is this friday. hope all goes well with them both.

teen

Me too!

by herbie - 2007-05-07 10:05:45

Hi, welcome to the site!

I am 23 and received my pacemaker in January this year - it was a complete shock to say the least!

I too found the whole experience difficult and I have had quite a few teething problems with the settings on my PM, which, believe me, can make you feel ten times worse. It's not just the physical side of things which can be tricky, it can be difficult to adjust mentally too after having such a shock.

Rest assured that in time it does get easier mentally. And I have a great technician who has made it her goal to make sure my PM settings are just right for me, which helps physically. After just 5 months I am feeling much better, and I'm even proud of my scar - it reminds me of the strength it has taken to get to this point!

No two people are the same - some people bounce back immediately, others have teething problems. There's no rule that says how we should be feeling but this site can offer many different views and experiences.

I do hope your friend's son can find encouragement from the Pacemaker Club - it and its members have helped me enormously and I now feel in a position where I want to be able to do the same. Please feel free to send me a private message and I will help in any way I can.

Take care,

Hannah

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I have an ICD which is both a pacer/defib. I have no problems with mine and it has saved my life.