first time with pacemaker with hurricane approaching in florida

I hope you and others stay safe

by Gemita - 2022-09-26 16:26:30

Oh dear Mary, I do hope you and others who may be affected by Hurricane Ian will remain safe.  Have you been advised to evacuate or to stay at home and to take every precaution to protect your property before the storm hits?  A difficult decision I am sure.

I think once you have taken steps to protect your property and once you have made a decision to stay at home, it will be time to prepare some meals for the next few days in case you lose power.  Get plenty of supplies in.  

I believe you should try to stay calm as far as your heart rhythm disturbances are concerned because over the past months nothing worrisome has been detected or required treating and the more we worry about what might happen, the more likely we are to experience it.  You could ask your EP for advice in case your heart races during the height of the storm and you need help, although perhaps you will have your own  supplements you can draw on?  Your doctor might prescribe a low dose pill in the pocket, like a beta blocker or other safe pill for you just in case you need it Mary and cannot get to the hospital.

Alternatively, you could try to move away from hurricane Ian’s path although I appreciate it will cover a wide area and no one will really know where they can safely flee.

Compression stockings, make sure they are a good fit because if they are not they may reduce circulation to the leg instead of improving it.  Again I would ask your doctor.  Those without good arterial circulation or with vascular disease may not benefit from compression stockings.

staying safe

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-26 16:40:54

Thanks Gemita for you wonderful advice.  Am not in an evacuation zone.  Is why i moved to this location. 

I do have plenty of canned food and a non-electric can opener.

As to the stockings will  decide incase am not able to elevate my legs at night.  Hard to do if sitting in a chair, will look around and see if there is a way to keep them up.  It will only be for one night then the storm will move on.

Do not need to be any place with a car until Oct 6th. By then all will be back to normal.

new to pace

Flood?

by AgentX86 - 2022-09-26 18:01:29

Are you in a place that has any risk of flooding? If so, I'd be packing last Friday. Water is your primary concern.  You know better than I but I'd have enough for a week.  When I lived in Vermont, any time there was a major snow warning, we'd fill all of the bathtubs with water.  I don't suggest drinking it but it'll make the toilet go down. If things get really bad, remember that you have ~40gal of potable water in your water heater.

Other than that, if you must shelter in place, I'd eat the foods that make me sleepy and sleep through as much as possible. 😁  Hurricane parties aren't unheard of either.

We're supposed to get the tail end of Ian Friday and Saturday.

flood

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-26 18:57:40

AgentX86 you to be safe hope by the time IAN reaches Atlanta runs out of water/wind..

Thank goodness am not in a flood zone. I do have enough drinking water 316 bottles of 8oz. and a pool filled with water if needed.  

Should be out of my area in a day hopefully.  Have been checking  weather.com to see hourly how things are supposed to go.

new to pace

Hurricane

by Flo - 2022-09-26 20:12:33

New to pace, it sounds like you are well prepared.  I am in south Florida east coast in an evacuation zone and had to evacuate for a hurricane 3 months after getting a pacemaker.  The pacemaker was no problem but the afib was.  My EP told me to take an extra rate control pill and it did help.  Hoping the hurricane stays away from the coast line.  Be safe!  

Hurricane expert

by Lavender - 2022-09-26 21:19:10

You could teach us how to get through a hurricane! Lol you sound prepared. I don't think your pacemaker cares about the weather. 
Be safe all of you in the path! 

Hurricane

by Lurker (Doc DX) - 2022-09-26 23:58:47

My youngest daughter is a physiotherapist in a hospital in Sarasota about 60 miles from where the hurricane will make land fall. She has been told to pack a bag as she will be living at the hospital for the next few days. 
Me.  I live north of the 40th parallel. The only hurricane to come thru here was hurricane Hazel in 1954. I was high school then. 

storm

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-27 00:32:44

Thanks to all for your encouragement.  I have been through many of these since i moved to Fl in 1973.  The last one  in 2017 we lost power for a couple of days.  Was going to Rehab after fracturing my left ankle and sprained my right wrist.  Charged my cell phone there as they are part of  Sarasota Memorial Hospital.  Of course they had electricity .

Since i have many bottles of water should be able to stay hydrated.

One good thing if power is off the they will not know that i had any AFib episodes.  Until a couple of days later.

lets us hope that by the time it gets near the florida coast it changes and becomes less of a storm.

new to pace

good luck

by Tracey_E - 2022-09-27 14:28:46

I'm on the east coast so not impacted by this one but a storm veteran having lived here 30 years, paced 28 of those 30. You've been here longer than me so I'm sure you know what to do. If you have a generator, don't dally when you start it. Other than that, nothing to worry about heart-wise. The storm won't affect the pacer, though I can always feel when the barometric pressure drops. 

I start cooking and get out the good wine once we are locked in. Passes the time, uses up any fresh food that may go bad if the power is out for long. I hate that period between when we lock in and the storm finally hits! 

If you are concerned about being alone, consider going to a shelter.

I always prepare a safe room but have never waited out the storm in it. We have a bit of an advantage, impact glass so we can watch the storm. If the radio talks about tornados or it's a direct hit and we are in the eye wall, I'd go in. Though, we were in the eyes of Frances, Jeanne and Wilma and did not go in. We were prepared to go quickly, but never felt the need. Frances, the storm stalled with the eye wall on top of us for hours. That was our first storm with the impact windows rather than shutters. Fun times lol. I no longer worry about the integrity of my house for anything under a 4. My landscaping has never been the same, but the house didn't have even the tiniest issue. 

Good luck!!!! Let us know how you are when it passes. 

Ian

by AgentX86 - 2022-09-27 14:43:55

Yes, it looks like it's going further west than originally thought.  The west coast of Florida isn't hit as often as the east (they have to take a hook to get the west coast).  In this case it looks like not only is Ian likely to landfall in west Florida but it's going to rake the whole west coast with the worst part (leading edge). It was also supposed to settle down some after Cuba but that doesn't look like it's happeneing either. 

New to Pace, I wish you well and do let us know how you're doing.  If you have still have the Internet, let us know how it's going.  You can pass some time with us.  😉

Ian

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-27 17:10:56

At this moment Ian seems to be going to make landfall south of me and have noticed because of that the  wind gusts have come down from 97 to 67.  I expect over time will get less.  Am used to Tropical winds around 40mph.

  Thinking will loose the internet/electric for a couple of days  hopefully.

Do not use the  internet on my cell phone as i use a basic flip cell phone.

So might be off line for couple of days.  In times past would go to the public library and use theirs.

new to pace

ian

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-27 17:37:55

I tried using my safe room in 2017 the chair i put in tthat time was not comfortable so this time i  put in one with a high back.  having trouble finding something to elevate my legs on.

Shelter is out of the question. Worked as a volunteer with the Red Cross  since i had to be there anyway.  Did not like.  Esp. now with covid19 still around.

No generator as would not get much chance to use one in this Sarasota location.  

  Not much fresh food in refrig.  More in the freezer, did put a temperature guage incase just to be sure  how cold it is.   Do expect this will be a good time to clean out the freezer.

Every time i look the direction  keeps changing.  which  is good that means the gusts keep getting lower. 

new to pace

ian now south

by new to pace.... - 2022-09-27 20:34:16

Sorry about that Marybird, a friend just called and said that is where it is headed for now.  be safe.

 I plan to go into my safe room tomorrow when the winds start to pickup. Now have a box with a suitcase on top to put my legs up.  But not as much as before, guess you will have the heavier winds.  Electric keeps flicking on and off.

new to pace