Two Questions

Post op discomfort

by Gemita - 2022-08-16 02:58:35

Hello Eda,

I am sorry to hear about your discomfort.  Yes I am confident it will get better as you heal.  I can remember when I had my pacemaker implant, I was swollen around the device, with inflammation and bruising too.  Of course the wound itself may still be sensitive so padding over the device until you heal will help.

It has only been 4 weeks.  Any swelling and discomfort should improve from now on and the device should then be less prominent as the swelling reduces.   I too could feel the device initially as I changed position.  I felt a heavy, pulling sensation which was not pleasant and I was afraid to stretch, but this all improved as I healed.  Healing time will be different for each one of us depending on our other health conditions and whether healing is uncomplicated.  I felt more comfortable at around 2 months.  Getting plenty of rest, eating nutritiously and keeping well hydrated will of course all help you to recover.  Short periods of Icing may help reduce any swelling, but follow any wound healing instructions given by your doctors.

If you are in any way concerned about your wound area, please speak to your team.  Any oozing coming from the wound, or increased signs of swelling or inflammation could be a sign of an infection, and this would be serious and require immediate treatment, but otherwise please try not to worry Eda.

Looking at this site, I see some folks use a small port pillow or a sponge as padding over their device while out driving until healing has fully taken place.  This should prevent their seat belt from irritating their wound. 

Continue to make good progress. 

Hmmm

by Lavender - 2022-08-16 08:53:02

I wonder if someone has worn a pacemaker for a long time that perhaps they've forgotten about the initial period of adjustment. My neighbor is on his second device. He says he never had any problems and forgets it is there.  I know folks adapt quickly in most cases, but having a pocket cut in and a foreign object inserted would be noticeable for at least a few weeks I would think.🤔

At your stage, I was very aware of the tug of the device when moving around. Give it time, that pocket is still healing in there.

I thought I would never forget my pacemaker but each day there are more hours where I am totally unaware of it. When I am out trimming bushes, I remember it because I don't want a branch to bump it. 😉

I am just a shade over five feet tall, so seat beats tend to hit me in the neck under the chin no matter how high my seat is or how low I put the belt. I'm wearing it under my driving arm so it avoids the pacemaker altogether. I know this isn't ideal but it works for me to have it land lower, across a breast instead of across a shoulder. 

You're right where you should be at this stage and I love your upbeat attitude!

Seatbelt

by AgentX86 - 2022-08-16 23:33:52

The I had my surgery I bought one of the (faux?) sheepskin, "fuzzy",  seatbelt covers. I didn't put it directly over the pacemaker, rather in the middle of my chest so the seatbelt bridged over the pacemaker.

<https://www.amazon.com/Amooca-Shoulder-Comfortable-Cushion-Mitsubishi/dp/B00R2KGL9U/ref=sr_1_3>

Pacemaker Awareness

by Marybird - 2022-08-17 17:24:59

It's been a little over three years (June 2019) since my pacemaker was implanted, and at this point I am not aware of it most of the time, and don't even think much about it most days. The scar has faded to fhe point it's hardly noticeable, and there's the slightest little mound over the location of the pacemaker. I can feel fhe pacemaker easily when I touch it, but otherwise, it isn't noticeable either. 

But I do remember those first days/weeks after the implant. I was very aware of it all the time, I thought it felt like someone had pinned a corsage to my chest- directly to the skin. So it was akin to the slight weight of a corsage I was aware of on my chest,,along with the stinging from the healing incision. 

The site looked pretty bad to me for the first few weeks, though. There was quite a bit of swelling over the site ( this gradually went down) and I thought the scar looked messy,,with a couple ends of the stitches sticking out the ends- those absorbed inside and fell out after a couple weeks. It stung, itched and I felt those "bee stings" that others have mentioned- as nerves cut or insulted during the surgery heal over the months. But gradually it all improved, though I think it probably took the better part of 8-9 moths or so till that pacemaker didn't feel like a foreign invader that made its presence known to me every minute. 

I also bought a couple sheepskin protectors for our vehicle seatbelts, but really only needed it for our van. The seatbelts in our car ( sedan) didn't hit me where the pacemaker was located. And my bra straps don't either, for that I have to thank the excellent placement of my pacemaker by my EP. I have learned subsequently the pacemaker is placed in such a location it doesn't cause issues with mammograms either.

Eda, you will get there. It's such a new thing and it's entirely natural, I think, to feel the weight of your pacemaker as you change positions, the stings, aches and itches from your surgical scar as it heals. But it will get better.

Seatbelt pad

by Persephone - 2022-08-17 18:13:49

Hi Eda - I hope you continue to feel better each day. For your second question, I still embrace my seatbelt pad as I approach my 5th anniversary with PM, and if I just happen to have to drive another car where I don't have a pad, I may rig something up. The discomfort has no doubt diminished greatly since right after surgery, but still something that I find a bit irritating.

normal

by dwelch - 2022-09-03 22:11:44

You will forget some day, you are stil pretty new to this, so give it more time.

I have had pacemakers for 34 years now, and I big percentage of that time dealt with the seatbelt.  I just use a big fuzzy fake sheepskin one now and it is fine.  But as Agentx86 points out you may want to use it to make a bridge.  certainly when I have a new pacer i either take my winter gloves that I keep the car, and I put that between the belt and my chest to bridge over so that it doesnt touch at all, or fold up a facecloth or something that you can use to keep it off the device.  

I had a 1960s car for a while so no shoulder strap, then I had one from the 80s that had this plastic slide thing on it and you could adjust that to keep the belt slack.   then after that I spent years trying to recreate that plastic slide thing with marginal success, before just going with a big fuzzy one.

and it is not just right after getting a new one there will be days where it is sensitive and you need to bridge it rather than pad it.

give the getting use to the device thing like a year or more, but it will eventually be like a middle toe or belly button, a part of you body you just dont think about unless you bump it.