i just got my pacemaker on June 11th for chronotropic incompetence and i am currently in the military but have been on convalescent leave since i went the emergency room in march. i talk to my on base doctor on the 1st of Sept and im sure they will start working my medical discharge since the pacemaker only keeps me from passing out but i still have to get the weak knees, dizziness, and lightheaded feelings when i exert myself. last week it did it again and they said my heart had only got up to 170 bpm b4 it dropped instantly back off and required pacing. they also said i am pacing near 100% of the day because when the pacemaker is turned off my heart rate goes all over the place, so it seems that my body is unable to regulate a safe heart rate anymore. this is a very difficult change that i am having to deal with considering i cant do the type of work i have been doing for the last 10 years anymore, and even most of my hobbies are now things i cant really do safely anymore. no one can really say y i have had this since a young age (went to state in high school track several times and tied my school record in the open 400 meter run) but yet starting having lots of problems in the past few years. the only notable thing that has happened to me is that i have been electrocuted alot in my current job in air craft maintenance. anyways i just basically wanted to say hi since i am new here and give a rundown of the situation, and say thank you for the information when i was googleing all this stuff b4 the operation.

i will add an update after my appointment on the 1st and give info on what is going on with my discharge (or not).

 

 

I'm wondering why they can't adjust your programming and get you feeling better? If your hr is getting up but suddenly dropping, the pm can be programmed to prevent that. Ask about rate drop response, at least that's what it's called on my St Judes (I have CI also in addition to av block). I know it can be fun dealing with military drs, lol, but try to stay on them! If your heart is generally healthy but just beats irregularly, the pm should be able to get you feeling good again and doing what you want to do once it's tweaked properly. It often takes a few tries to get it just right, and you need someone who knows what they're doing (pm's are often checked by a nurse who just knows how to look for red flags but does not get the nuances), but it can be done.

Good luck! If you have questions about living with a pm, please ask away, we've all been there. I hope you're able to get back to your hobbies and the transition back to civilian is smooth.

 

i just had my check up on the 20th and the pacemaker guy said this is whats going to happen every time, he said that the pacemaker kicks in like it supposed to but at 85 bpm it isnt enough to give me body the amount of blood flow it needs to simulate the rest phase of exercise a normal heart would be doing. he sad the 85 is about the best they can do because it will give me a warning so i can sit down or lay down, but the 85 will keep me from actually going unconscious like what happens without the pacemaker. i dono if that means anything but thats just what he told me while looking at all the info from the event that was recorded on the pacemaker earlier that week.

 

Can you talk to someone else?? That's just bull, in my not-a-doctor opinion. :o) Most pm patients are old and not active so they don't really challenge what the pm can do, so some people who check it never learn how to fine tune it.

One, if your heart won't get faster on its own when it needs to, there is a feature called rate response which senses movement and raises your hr for you. It can take some time to get it adjusted properly but the feature is there and that's what it's for- to get your rate higher with activity. It has an accelerometer which senses movement and raises your rate.

Two, there is an other feature called rate drop response which won't let your heart drop suddenly if you get going fast on your own but have sudden plummets. It can be programmed to kick in and maintain the faster rate. I know this because my heart was doing the same thing but now my pm prevents it and I can work out again.

I'm not a dr and I don't know your whole history, but I have been paced for a lot of years and been around the block a time or two and it really sounds to me like someone who really knows what they're doing would be able to help you.

 

i would love to talk to another doctor but im at the mercy of the military, if they say i can then cool and if not then im stuck where im at

 

My heart rate drops with exercise and I recently had the PM adjusted so that I can get my heart rate up. They also adjusted the settings so that it didn't just stop pacing. The PM slows so that my heart rate will drop at a slower rate - like a 'normal' heart. It made a huge difference! I went armed with posts from here and other research on what my heart rate needed to be for 'fat burning'.

Good luck in getting someone to listen and reprogram. Be persistant and if they can't/won't do it try to get a detailed explaination. Perhaps there is another medical reason that they don't want to make that adjustment at this time....

 

Good luck getting someone new! They're not exactly flexible, I'm sure. You might consider finding a good private EP and paying for a visit next time you're on leave. It would be a good investment if it got you feeling good again.

Good luck!

 

I am an military wife and I am not a fan of military doctors. I know marathon runner with PM that are still running strong. I know of a teenager that plays school sports. Lastly I know a karate instructor (60's) he can still kick some butt. You need to advocate for yourself with the military medical system.

 

i had a stress test today which went horrible, i basically had a 16 minute long heart attack after which my heart started to do what it was supposed to and i felt instantly better. the doc says one of my leads either went bad or dislodged so i have to go back in for surgery. my blood pressure during the event was at 63/42 i believe so my legs hurt sooooo bad since there was really no blood getting to them after all that running