About to have a dual lead pacemaker

I will be have a Pacemaker fitted within the next 6 weeks :( I am a bit afraid of the injections into the chest as I have been told they can be painful. Is this the only pain that is felt during the procedure?

Any advice regarding questions to ask and what to expect would be gratefully acknowledged.
Tessy

13 Comments

tessy

by jessie - 2007-11-28 02:11:22

i don't remember having any pain during the procedure. i had an i.v. and i think they gave me something and i slept. no pain wahtsoever. just soreness after and i took tylenol and iced it jessie

About to have a dual lead pacemaker

by SMITTY - 2007-11-28 03:11:01

Hi Tessy,

It is a crying shame that you have been told that getting a pacemaker is painful. From my experience and that of others I have heard comment about the surgery, it is one of, if not the most, painless surgery you will ever have. I found it to be ten times easier than any dental surgery I ever had and I woke up before they got through closing the incision. Below is a brief description of a pacemaker implanting procedure.

Generally, the insertion or "implantation" of a pacemaker is considered minor surgery. In most cases, only sedation (and not general anesthesia) is utilized. Local anesthetic is used to numb the area over where the pulse generator will be placed. An incision is made and a "pocket" is formed in the area overlying the muscle on the outside of the chest wall. The pocket needs to be big enough to house the pulse generator, most of which nowadays are about 3 inches by 2 inches in size, and are less than one-half of an inch in thickness.

If you find the above of interest, I have a long article on getting and having a pacemaker that I can send you as a private message. I say as a private message because it is about 3 pages long and I don't want to post it here as it's length may keep others from posting their comments for you.. So just let me know if you would like the entire article.

Good luck,

Smitty

Hi Tessy

by Shelly - 2007-11-28 03:11:06

Welcome to this great club.

I had my first pacemaker fiited on Monday so I've just sent you a private message with all the details while it's still fresh in my head!

If you haven't found your private messages yet (It took me a month to notice mine) they're on the right of the screen under 'Member Menu'.

Shelly (UK)

No pain at all.

by boatman50 - 2007-11-28 05:11:30

Hi Tessy, I have to say that I had my pm put in twice in 4 days (second time was to fix a problem) and I was out both times. I awoke in ICU and had no pain at all. I think the key is to relax, and whatever you do don't lift your arm over your shoulder for 6 weeks or as long as the doc says and don't over do it for 3 months. I had mine in June of 06 and you can hardly tell. Best of luck to you.
Boatman

Hello

by SusanBrookhouse - 2007-11-28 06:11:39

No pain at all. Do not worry.
Everybody will be there talking to you throughout the procedure.

Just had a dual lead PM two weeks ago

by VIOLIN - 2007-11-28 07:11:39

Tessy,
I had conscious sedation and do not remember any needles or pain at all. the level of sedation is a wonderful twilight sleep and you wake up and cannot believe it is over. the pain of it healing is slight and you may need tylenol extrastrength after the numbing meds wear off. Don't be afraid...we have all been through this and speak from experience....you will do just fine. Keep us informed on your progress.

violim

Its all good!

by petemanning - 2007-11-28 08:11:51

Hi tessy,

I had a similar experience to Violin,as in a Wonderful twilight sleep is a good way to describe it.Mine was slighty more wonderful than others because they needed to give me a little extra meds as i was way too chatty and awake heading in to the op room.I distincly remember the doc saying "oh look at you sitting up like jacky" just before they gave me another dose.

Make sure that you scratch your nose thoroughly before the op.I had to scratch mine mid op,and the medical team growled at me.Somthing about a sterile area,blah..blah..blah :-) at least thats what it sounded like in my extremely relaxed state.they could have told me that they were about to take my brain out and i would have given them the ok...rambling now..

The point of saying all this is that YOU WILL BE FINE :-)

all the best
Pete

No worries !

by phendo - 2007-11-28 11:11:48

Tessie
I have just had my PM replaced , alls well.You'll be in the hands of the experts who'll do all they can to make the experience as painless as they can for you, we're all different when It comes to pain so don't worry to much about these things except to know that when the operation is over and you have recovered you'll feel well again and that is what is important .I have just posted a comment about my experiences earlier this week which you might be interested to read
best wishes
Paul

no pain

by janetinak - 2007-11-29 02:11:38

I have had 2 PM's put in over last few yrs with lead replacement both times & no pain, just some pressure. I got an IV & enough sedation that I didn't feel or remember anything. Just speak up if it hurts & they'll give you a little more. Good luck & welcome. Janet

ABOUT TO HAVE DUAL LEAD PACEMAKER

by Tessy - 2007-11-29 09:11:07

Thank you so much everyone that has replied to my posting. I feel a lot better now, still a bit nervous, but not quite as before. I will try to relax (and might ask for more sedation!). I have read articles on the web but it is not the same as liaising with people that have actual experience of the surgery. I will take petermanning's advice and make sure I have no 'itches' to scratch before I go in :). I also picked up from this site that it is a good idea to wear a sling afterwards for a while to stop me raising my arm, and will wear one for at least 6 weeks.

I will let everyone know when I have had the PM inserted.

ps. Smitty if you think the article you have would give me more information and not too much trouble to post, I would be grateful.

Kind regards everyone and thanks again
Teresa

Welcome Teresa

by NH - 2007-11-29 11:11:59

I have had 2 PMs implanted. The first one in 2002 and the second one 2 weeks ago.

The first time was "twilight sleep", I could hear and was aware (sort of) but absolutely no pain during the procedure. Then I remember they gave me a pain perscription to take home and I only had to take it 2 times. Then just Tylenol extra-strength.

The second time I was all the way out and woke up after in the op room and asked, "Well, when are you going to do it?" They laughed and said, "You are done". Again, no pain during procedure slight pain after and same with perscription and then Tylenol.

I TOTALLY AGREE THAT I HAVE FELT MUCH MORE PAIN HAVING WISDOM TEETH REMOVED THAN THIS! YOU WILL BE FINE!!

Take care,

NH

No Problem

by ecurb13 - 2007-11-29 12:11:57

I remember leaving my room at the beginning of the Steeler's game and being back in the room by the 3rd quarter. I don't remember anything in between and had no pain what so ever. You'll do great, have faith.

THANKS

by Tessy - 2007-11-30 06:11:17

Thank you NH, I like having these positive feedbacks. Makes life easier at the moment. I hope, like you, I wake up not knowing that it had already been done, Great.

Hope you continue to do well

Kind regards
Tessy

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