Day 2 with the pacer

Hi again,
I guess I'm an official member now. Surgery went well. They thought they were going to have to go back in and make the wire longer because when they took the xray standing up it looked like the wire was dislodging. They did a bunch of diagnostic testing in a bunch of different positions and decided it was fine. It is day 2 with my pacer. This has been the 2nd morning I have woken up with a hert rate of 50 rather than 30. What a relief. I have to admit I am pretty sore. How long does this pulling/tearing pain last when I turn my head or make certain facial expressions? It kind of feels like someone is hanging on my collar bone. Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome and I hope to hear from more of my new family members.
Thankfully,
Carolyn

8 Comments

Welcome...

by Swedeheart - 2008-04-11 06:04:55

Hello and welcome to the club and forum!

This site has been a tremendous help to me in finding answers, knowing I am not alone.... etc. I am on day 47 since implant. The whole pacemaker world is new to me too!

I have no Idea how long it will take you to feel better. The pulling/tearing pain is a new one to me. Maybe someone with more experience can respond!

I can tell you it took me at least 4 weeks before I felt any better... so if you feel relief that your heart rate has improved already ~ good for you! I am still a little sore where the implant is... but it is getting much better. I guess the best advice I can give you is to rest, rest, rest and take it easy! Be sure to follow the guidelines given and do not raise your arm above your shoulder on the side where your PM was implanted for 6 to 8 weeks! It is my understanding that action can be responsible for pulling your leads out of place. I also had restrictions for lifting, etc. on that side, but I was to use my arm so it wouldn't become "frozen".

Lots of good information here and lots of good folks. Glad you found this support forum so quickly! It will help.

Swedeheart

Welcome carolyn

by Janice - 2008-04-11 07:04:50

Hi Carolyn,

Glad your surgery went good. It will take about 2-4 weeks before you start to feel different. Everyone has their own pain tolerence, so it may vary. I have had mine for 6 months now. I have to admit, for me, it took a while. I had the same pain feelings as you. It felt like someone was tearing my body tissue out of me! I cried about 3 times a day for the first week. I thought, oh I'm "pretty tough", this shouldn't feel too bad. Boy did I get a surprise. But like I said everyone is different. I didn't get my PM for low heart rate. I got mine because my heart was "pausing and stopping" (which I didn't even know, until I was tested for something totally different), so thus the pacemaker. For me personally, it was way more emotional then physical. I am fine now though, and have excepted it, telling myself that I have a little extra helper, if I should ever need it! Good luck on your recovery, and just take it easy like Swedeheart said, and remember to keep that arm down !! Take care and let us know how you are doing; you'll soon feel like a million bucks !!!

Janice

Think of it this way

by ElectricFrank - 2008-04-11 08:04:37

Think back to the last time you cut your finger in the kitchen or got a paper cut. How long did it take to heal up to where it wasn't inflamed or tender. That is what happened under your skin when they implanted the pacer only the area of damaged tissue is greater with the pacer.
Just let the pain tell you how much to do. A little reminder now and then is a good sign you are keeping the area active. A big reminder can mean you are irritating it and should back off. It is interesting how each of our bodies have their own rate of healing.
I sure know the feeling of having a HR of 50 instead of 30. I chose to be awake during my implant and felt it when they turned the pacer on. Great feeling.

frank

give it a week or so!

by bowlrbob - 2008-04-11 09:04:13

I really felt pretty good after about 5 days. But after a week you will be much better. In fact it got hard for me to remeber to restrict my arm moovement. Watch for that. Bowlrbob

Pain After PM Implant

by MHCHAMPION - 2008-04-11 10:04:34

My worse pain after the implant was NOT the PM.
It was the irritation made by the self-adhering bandage.
I found I was allergic to it. The pain was horrid; much worse than the surgery to implant the PM.
My second day fell on the weekend and I was to return to the Dr. on Monday to get the bandage removed. I called the answering service early Saturday morning and was told by the nurse to purchase some sterile gauze and put it on the site after carefully removing the self-adhering "DEVIL". The irritation was from my shoulder over to my sternum and halfway down my chest. Whew!
It took me six weeks to heal.
Did anyone else have this problem?
Margaret

Thanks

by cqmccann - 2008-04-11 10:04:37

Thanks for all of the words of wisdom. I will do my best to keep my arm down. I have brace that keeps it immobilized that I wear when I leave the house so it reminds me. Tylenol will be my friend for a while I'm sure and I've heard from another internet friend that ice helps too so I'll try that. I appreciate and welcome the help.
Carolyn

How Are you doing

by LindaScarberry - 2008-04-20 04:04:14

Carolyn

I'm going in next week for a biventicular pacemaker/defib; I have a low EF of 30. Tried meds for a year but it didn't work. How are you feeling now? What should I expect? Were you awake during your surgery or did they use a local? That freaks me out! Any words of advice?

How Are you doing

by LindaScarberry - 2008-04-20 04:04:15

Carolyn

I'm going in next week for a biventicular pacemaker/defib; I have a low EF of 30. Tried meds for a year but it didn't work. How are you feeling now? What should I expect? Were you awake during your surgery or did they use a local? That freaks me out! Any words of advice?

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I finished 29th in London in 2 hours 20 minutes 30 seconds which is my fastest with or without a device so clearly it didn’t slow me down ! I had no problems apart from some slight chaffing on my scar - more Vaseline next time.