First Check Up-Adjusted settings..

I had pm surgery almost 2 wks ago. They checked my pm and printed out the history and told me it only worked 1% of the time...the pm is just "watching".
The NP adjusted the setting to lower the voltage to save battery life by 3 yrs.
Since the appt, my upper chest every once in a while feels kinda heavy or tight. Could it just be from the "testing" today when the spead up my heart and checked things out?

Hope I sleep tonight...I've been anxious since surgery, knowing I have a pm is really wierd.

7 Comments

Recovery

by cease_not - 2009-02-09 11:02:03

You know that you're just recovering from the surgery. Sometimes you feel the recovery immediately, and sometimes it's belated. But, it sounds like you're just recovering.

I AGREE

by pete - 2009-02-10 02:02:59

You are doing well. Time will improve matters. I dont think you have any cause to be anxious. Just relax. Cheers Peter

PM Checkups

by SMITTY - 2009-02-10 03:02:32

Hello Mikey,

The frequency of checkups depends on your doctor. In my case I get an in office checkup every six months (that is unless I call in with a question or problem in which case I am usually told to come in the next day) and get a telephone checkup every three months. I read here from time to time where some people go a year and some go every month so like I said it depends your doctor.

As for what they will do, I can tell you exactly what they do when I have an in office check up, which I can only guess is about the same for everyone. When I go in they seat me in a recliner and put me in what I call my nap time position. They then put on 4 electrode pads (some may get more or less of these). When they get every thing hooked up they then start pressing keys on a computer keyboard. On the monitor (when I can see it) is a display that looks very much like and electrocardiogram strip. After pressing keys and changing what is displayed for a few minutes they stop and place a magnet over my pacemaker and put it in the magnet mode. What this does is change the mode of operation of the pacemaker and you may feel this. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. When I do it may be slightly uncomfortable for a few seconds. I understand what is actually going on here is my PM is changed from an on demand device (one that helps my heart only when needed) to a fixed output device. In other words the PM in the magnet mode takes over making your heart beat.

Because this was kind of disturbing to me the first time or tow, I want to tell a little more about this. In normal operation your PM monitors your hearts natural pacemaker function. Only when the PM detects or determines that your heart’s natural PM is not going to make your heart beat as it should, will it send and impulse. When the PM is in magnet mode it ignores your hearts natural PM function and sends impulses at predetermined intervals to maintain whatever heart beat the PM is set to maintain. This overriding of the hearts natural PM may cause a conflict of signals going to the heart chambers and that is what may feel strange or in come cases be uncomfortable. However, it is nothing to be concerned about as the PM is in magnet mode only for few a minutes and while in this mode changes in your PM setting can be made, if needed. The good part is when the magnet is removed things return to normal and you can go on your merry way. My in office checkups take about 15 minutes.

Last but not least on an in office checkup, ASK FOR A COPY OF PRINT OUT. I get these so I can look at them later and see what changes were made in the various settings.

When I have a telephone checkup I attach two electrode pads, lie on a bed and when they tell me to I put the phone in the modem cradle and they do something for about 30 seconds. They beep me and then instruct me to place the magnet over the PM (I feel the same thing here as I do in the office checkup) and leave it there for about another 30 seconds. The beep me again and that is it.

To sum this up I find pacemaker checkups to be, at best, boring. That is because I don't know what is going on and the bunch at the clinic I go to will not volunteer anything and I'm not ever real sure about the answers they give me.

Good luck,

Smitty

testing

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-10 05:02:09

It's normal to feel a little off when they're testing it but you should feel fine again as soon as they're done. As the others said, heaviness and odd pains are a normal part of healing. If, however, you have an odd feeling that started immediately after your settings have been changed, I'd ask to be checked again.

PM Settings

by SMITTY - 2009-02-10 11:02:37



For what its worth, I too think Tracey gave some very good advice in her statements "If, however, you have an odd feeling that started immediately after your settings have been changed, I'd ask to be checked again." Now I would like to add a few words to that. If you request a recheck ask that the doctor, or even better, that a manufacturers representative do the recheck.

If you think about it, when asking for a recheck shortly after having a checkup you are in effect saying I think you may have missed something, or made a mistake. Asking the person that could have committed the error to confirm or deny that an error has been made is not likely to be of much benefit, especially when it comes to pacemakers. Pacemakers are very complex electronic devices and the doctors and nurses that have a complete understanding of them are few and far between. That is not to say that those same doctors and nurses do not have a good understanding of the heart and how it works, but the only similarity between the heart and a pacemaker is that each sends an impulse to cause the heart chamber(s) to contract. Mother Nature makes the decision for the heart natural pacemaker or a man made device makes the decision and therein is where discrepancies can arise. I'm not saying the person who did your checkup was remiss in what they did. Those exact same settings could have been given to any number of pacemaker recipients and those settings worked just fine. However because humans can be different is the very reason pacemakers have adjustable settings.

I recall that when I was very young and in the presence of adults that were talking I would be admonished to be quite because kids should be seen but not heard. Well, in my opinion the same applies to a pacemaker. It should sit in its little pocket helping our heart maintain a steady rhythm, but it should never be felt doing its job. So when we think we have a pacemaker that is not performing as it should, we need to contact our doctor because otherwise that doctor will never know we may have a problem.

I guess I had better stop this before I get chastised again for being too long winded, but your message strikes a sore spot with me. For several years I had nothing short of hell with my PM and I was told countless times that my pacemaker was just fine and it was not causing my pain. As I look back I realize that I was getting that message from the person that had done my checkup. I don't say that person was lying to me because after getting to know these people over the 8+ years I've had this thing, I think they do their best, but for any one of several reason their best is not always good enough.

Good luck,

Smitty

How often

by Mikey likes everything - 2009-02-10 11:02:56

I haven't had my ICD too long. How often will I have to go into get it checked?
What will they do? I've got alot to learn I see.

Thanks Still a "Newbie"

by rozybud - 2009-02-13 12:02:27

I felt much better the following day. Have some days I'm tired.
I have to stop reading the other medical blogs that scare us regarding pm's.

You know you're wired when...

You have a little piece of high-tech in your chest.

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