New Members: Me & Sparky

Hello everyone..My name is Christina. I'm a 31 year old registered nurse, work in intensive care. After having my first fainting spell at around 19 during the ER visit then a 5 second pause and a 7 second pause were caught on the monitor, tilt table test negative ,,, etc. So docs said " you've overloaded your autonomic nervous systerm with Elavil, Nicotine , caffiene, and Claritin, and it overreacted. So home I went. All was good until about 4 years later another "spell" , er visit, nothing.... panic attacks I was told .. no insurance so nothing further done. Then about 3 or 4 more years later another one in Nursing school, I kept my mouth shut ( only nurses would do this, in fear of messing up my program) . Then 3 more years or so... Just three months ago, a couple of " spells" at home, at least two resulting in blackouts. Er visit, off to see an EP. Then Sunday before last, it happend again, while I was at work, had been fighting off the "spells feeling" all day, but since I work in an ICU, figured best place to be would be at work. I blacked out, and when I came to , we hooked up the telemetry monitor and caught pauses of 2.3 second, 2.5 and then a 5 second pause, all within the same minute. So next morning, after another negative tilt table test, in went a dual chamber pacer.
So since " Sparky " and I have just found your website, 7 days post surgery at 3 am, we'll save some questions for tomorrow , going off to bed for now. Just wanted to introduce msyelf and tell you I'm glad I found this site as I'm sure I'm gonna love it before long.
OK, OK, just one question, what the heck all kind of data is this thing storing?? What all does it keep track of?
Should I feel it pacing??
Yeah, yeah, I know, I said no questions till tomorrow but can't stand it.
Thanks for being here and for welcoming me in advance!
CrystynaB

10 Comments

Christina and Sparky Welcome

by NH - 2008-03-11 02:03:02

Welcome to the PM club! You will find support and answers here. We are glad to have you. If this helps, I had a PM interrogation this past Friday. I asked for a print out of it and the tech. gave me one. It just showed remaining battery life, any episodes or irregularities that I had since last interr. and how much I was being paced. I have 6.25 years left on battery, no episodes and am paced 99 percent of the time.

Ask for a printout when the tech. does your check. It had some other numbers and stuff also. This is a simple version of it, and there are some of us on this site who can give very good technical answers also. I just give the simple version.

Again welcome,

NH

Data Stored

by hotform - 2008-03-11 02:03:50

It could help them diagnose why your heart pauses, but it may not either. It may show the irregularity, but not what causes it. The doctor may take any educated guess based on that, but there are some problems that they really do not know the answer to. They may give you two or three possible reasons and you may have to do a little guessing and figuring based on what you know about your own body to get the best answer. Rick

Hello

by Christmmpace - 2008-03-11 07:03:08

Welcome to the club, we're always excited to have new members as a part of our family of hearts. May all your needs of pacemaker questions and support be met here at the club. Take care, I wish you the best with your new sparky. God bless you and your family.

Christmmpace
James

welcome

by mandogrl - 2008-03-11 09:03:08

to the club you never wanted to join!
Really, tho, you will find many helpful people who are experienced pacers. I'm still less than 1yr post-PM, so I'm still full of more questions than answers.
In order to answer your questions more accurately, what kind of PM do you have? I think they store different things.
I think they all store things like how many times you have "used" it since your last reading, what percentage of the time you pace, and battery life expectancy.
With my little Medtronic Adapta, that's the information they usually tell me.
Some of us feel the pacing sometimes... some say they never feel it. they should set up a poll on that question!
Good Luck and stay in touch!

Hi Christina

by hotform - 2008-03-11 09:03:24

Welcome Christina.
Your pacer should be storing any irregularities that your heart experiences. If you feel something, make a note of the day and time and you will find out when they check your unit that they can track it down and tell you what was happening.
You should not be feeling the unit pacing. It is common though to have the settings turned up when you first have it put in. If you are feeling it or are feeling slightly out of breath then your voltage is probably too high and your diaphragm is pacing. Tell them you feel it pacing when you go in for your check and they will make the needed adjustments. Rick

Christina

by MHCHAMPION - 2008-03-11 10:03:52

Welcome, welcome! You have come to the right place! So many of these members are so wise and can help us with our questions! Don't hesitate to ask as they are very knowledgeable!
Happy pacing,
Margaret

Hello

by Suze - 2008-03-11 11:03:40

Hi Christina,

Welcome to this message board.. I'm sorry you need this forum but very glad you found us! (Hope that makes sense).

You will like it here, I promise. Don't be shy about asking any question or sharing any concerns.

The last question you asked I can answer that I have never personally felt my PM working. My heart beats just like it always did - only at a minimum of 60 bpm and without pauses. My occasional A Fib is gone also. My PM has given me a new lease on life.

Anyway, again welcome...

Suze

Data stored

by Crystyna - 2008-03-11 12:03:29

So if the PM is storing irregularities, it could potentially help to get a diagnose of why it's needed then? Is that correct to assume? Since no one has told me why my heart pauses... kinda like a little holter monitor in itself?
Christina

Repy from Christina

by Crystyna - 2008-03-11 12:03:56

My PM is listed on the info card as a
Medtronic , thats all it says since it's the temporary card still. There are two product registration numbers for what must be the leads as one says 42 cm, and one says 52 cm. The item info for the pacer says
ADDR01 and then has the big long number that starts with PWB and a bunch of numbers... does that help??
I'm happy to have found the site, as I've accepted the fact that now my teen age and twenty something immortality has been proven a delusion! ha ha!
Obviously I didn't want it, and cried like a baby at having to be a Patient instead of a nurse . Ha, I even tried to come back home and ignore it until the ER doc, whom I know from work looked at me with that look !
So I've accepted it, now I'm just trying to figure out what all it will be changing, positive and negative. My husband is an electrician. I told him I'm gonna get a tattoo over that scar ( not likely serious) that says "Certified electricians only beyond this point."
OR a little dog house that says "Sparky" on it.
Thanks guys,
Christina

Thanks For The Welcome

by Crystyna - 2008-03-14 12:03:10

Thanks for the welcomes and the help! I really do appreciate it!
Christina

You know you're wired when...

You take technology to heart.

Member Quotes

I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.