Recent pacemaker recipient

You're ahead of me

by Aintgotrhythm - 2023-08-08 10:23:28

Hi Laurette,

You're farther along than I post-implant so I'm not sure how much value I can offer but I'll respond anyway.

I'm 12 days post implant. I've been doing a lot of walks (started the day after implant at 1 mile, worked up to 3-4 miles daily) and have done two rides on a stationary bike of about 1 hour in length at a fairly easy pace.

The implant site is still sore and the biggest issue I've been having is that I don't sleep very well. I'm a side sleeper and I've done a number of "bad" things to my right side (4th degree collar bone separation, AC reconstruction surgery, etc) so I can't sleep on it very long in the best of times. Now I have the PM on my left side and I can't sleep very long on that side either. The result is I've only been getting about 4 hours sleep a night. I've been supplementing this with a short nap (45 minutes to an hour) daily.

All things considered, I feel worse during the night than in the day. Although I can't see the numbers and don't know for sure, I suspect that I'm being paced 100% at night with little to no pacing during the day. So is my "feeling worse at night" due to the PM or due to the fact that I'm not getting much sleep? I don't know.

I doubt all this is helpful to you but wish you the best in your recovery.

Bak to normal

by AgentX86 - 2023-08-08 11:28:50

If a heart block was the only issue, I think you need to see your cardiologist. A heart block is the easiest thing for a pacemaker to fix.  It essentially wires around the block and you should be back on your feet in no time. IMO, there is something else going on here. It's certainly worth a visit.

Hugs🌷

by Lavender - 2023-08-08 12:43:13

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. I hope that you stopping wearing the sling a long time ago. Not using the arm enough makes more problems. Walking around the house shouldn't be any trouble at all even from the first couple days post surgery. 
 

Have you had your first pacemaker interrogation and adjustment yet? If not, hope it's soon. If so, time to report your symptoms. God bless you and speed your recovery!

oh, and I too have a Boston Sci CRT-P for complete heart block. Mine is two years old and followed a long spell of fainting episodes. 

Reply to Laurette

by Alexabkerr - 2023-08-08 13:30:11

Hi Laurette, I'm a newbie having only had my PM for three weeks.  From your description of your left arm/hand could you be suffering from frozen shoulder?  When entering that phrase into this site's search function several useful hits come back.  As well googling "pacemaker frozen shoulder" will provide hits from reputable sources like the Mayo Clinic and NHS.  

With all the precautions explained to me about using my left arm, my doctors said I could begin running again a week after my surgery. I'm not because my PM and it's leads are still settling in and there's still discomfort which will go away in time.  I mention this to indicate how soon after surgery we're meant to be back on our feet.  That said I may not fully appreciate your circumstances but I agree with Lavender, there should be no issues getting around the house shortly after surgery. 

Best of luck in your recovery.