Please keep posting. You never know who is reading!

• by CherylLJ
• 2022-03-13 21:01:15
• General Posting
• 683 views
• 4 comments

I have stayed quietly in the background for the last few weeks reading all of your stories, questions, answers, triumphs and difficulties.  The positive difference that you have all made to my personal journey toward receiving a pacemaker 3 days ago can not be under estimated.  I have decided to come out from hiding now to say thank you to you all.

People who are faced with making a decision to get a pacemaker sit in a cold clinical world full of tests and results, maybes and no guarantees - rightly so I guess to a point.   But knowing what it will actually feel like, the opportunities the might change for you, the recovery, the mental gymnastics around putting a piece of metal in your chest and hoping that having a pacemaker will actually make the difference you want, the pain in recovery … is not addressed in the clinical setting.  It is addressed in forums like this.  Thank you for being online.

I had an SVT ablation in October 2021 it was successful but we discovered that I’d been in a state of tachycardia my entire life.  It was a miracle I made it to 56 apparently.  All those years damaged the sinus node and fixing my tachycardia revealed to true extent of the damage and I was diagnosed with Sick Sinus node Dysfunction.  From about 4 weeks after the ablation my symptoms progressively became worse.  The fatigue was palpable, I was cold in my hands and feet and I was light headed all the time but never fully fainted (the complication between needing a pacemaker and not as people on this forum know!).  My heart rate was between 30 and 48 with a resting rate of 44 on average.  I went to emergency 4 times in 3 months but never completely fainted but I decided enough is enough and elected to have a pacemaker.

So now, here I sit recovering.  Sore but hopeful.  My heart will never go below 60bpm again and it is astounding to me that this is even possible.  When my pain in controlled I am excited because I can feel what it might be like when I’m fully recovered.  I have big plans for my future.  I have never been able to swim further than 25m without stopping because I’m out of breath, I’ve never been able to get to the top of a small mountain at the back of my home without feeling like I’m going to pass out and I’ve never been able to go on a walking tour in Europe.  

Thank you for your stories and advice.  Keep posting.  You never know who might be reading and who you are helping - people like me.