Hi all
I have had my PM since March of this year for Bradycardia. I just want to know if any of you can feel your PM when it does it's thing? MIne paces about 1% apparently and even though the Docs and clinics told me I wouldn't know when it was working, I swear I can. About once or twice a day for about 30 seconds at random times I feel this hard to describe thumping in my heart. It kind of takes my breath away. I just wait it out and sure enough it quits. I am assuming this is the PM. Anyone else with similar experiences?
Thanks
Howard

 

 

Funny that you wrote this today. I also posted about feeling my heart beating. I had this happen a few months ago and during my checkup they did some tweaking and it was better. I was pacing at about 40% of the time at that appointment, actually 10% less than before.

Now I have had this happening for the past week, much more frequently. I am going to try to get in to check mine checked, but I also think it is when it is pacing I get the hard beats and can feel it.

Let us know if you find out about yours.

Marcia

 

If you write down the day and time it happens, they should be able to tell you if the pm kicked in at that time when they do your check.

They start the voltage higher than it needs to be until the leads settle into place, then they turn it down, wondering if they left it higher than it needs to be. No idea, just thinking out loud. I got a new lead in Jan and I know it was turned up extra high until April but it felt the same to me when they turned it down. The only time I've ever felt the pacing was when they changed it to unipolar for a stress test. It was awful, every beat felt like a jack hammer in there.

 

Tracey suggested an excellent idea...write it down when it happens and for how long.

The first thing that came to my mind was the self-test, which the pacemaker does automatically at a specific time usually set by the PM Tech. But since you say you get this feeling sometimes twice a day, it might not be the self-test...but next time you go in to get "interrogated" (I just love that word) ask them what time the self-test is programmed for just to see if it coincides with the time you feel that feeling. Perhaps they have your device to self-test twice per day...anything is possible.!!!!!!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Pookie

 

Most EPs and Cardiologists will tell you that you should NOT be able to feel when your pacemaker kicks in...with that being said, there are numerous members here that actually do feel theirs....the docs usually then label you as "sensitive" :)

But the more I think about what Tracey said - she's probably right about the voltage, it may need to be turned down a notch or two...which might even save battery life = bonus!!!

Pookie

 

To Howard & Marcia,

A pacemaker that does not have the best settings for a person can be felt, but if you can feel it you will feel it every time it paces the heart. Now, let's look at the numbers you mention and see if you think you feel your pacemaker this many minutes each day.

Howard you said you think yours helps out about 1% of the time. Since there are 1,440 minutes in a day, multiply that by 1% and that means your pacemaker would help out a total of 14 minutes each day. If it skipped one day, it would need to help out 28 min. the next day to keep from getting too for behind to give you 1% in between checkups.

Marcia you said you think yours helps out about 10% of the time. Since there are 1,440 minutes in a day, multiply that by 10% and that means your pacemaker would help out a total of 144 minutes (2.4 hrs.) each day. If it skipped one day, it would need to help out 288 min. (4.8 hrs.) the next day to keep from getting too for behind to give you the 10% in between checkups.

I'm not saying that neither of you are not feeling your pacemaker at work. If you think you are you should check with your doctor because this is something that will not get better with time.

My guess is you are more likely to be feeling palpations (like I'm having right now) as some of these can be doozies and easily felt each time the heart beats.

Smitty

 

Sounds very much like the self test. It can be set to a number of schedules. With my Medtronic it can actually be set to run every 15 minutes, but that would be very rare. Mine is set to run around 3:00AM once a day which is a lot more common.

The suggestions to keep a log of when you feel it is a good one. Then ask to have it set to a better time for you.

By the way the self test feels a lot like an office checkup.

frank

 

My ICD went in on 7/27/10. At my first check-up I told them that I thought I could feel it pacing me because of some hard beats. They told me that I shouldn't be able to feel the pacing. So, what I've done some in the evenings is sit real still and feel my pulse in my neck for several minutes to wait to see what I'm feeling. What I've found is the hard beat comes after a PVC, which I have a history of having. My hard beats seem to be related to PVC's. I never notice the hard beats unless I'm sitting very still or in bed. Take Care

Jeff

 

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I am going to keep a log of when this happens for my next interrogation. You guys and gals are the best!
Howard

 

During checkups they play with your rhythm and stuff and I can definitely feel that. Other than that, the only thing I have notices is once after a workout while I still had my HRM on my rate plummeted and seemed to stabilize right around my bottom number for a minute or so, then started coming back up. I felt like crap when it happened and for much of the rest of the day but I can't say that I felt the pacer do anything. I think the reason you feel it during checkups is they play with your hr so much in a controlled setting, racing it up much higher than it would be at rest and then bringing it down just as quickly.

 

my mom just got her PM and they said if you are feeling anything then something might be going wrong with your PM...

 

I am not aware of when my pm kicks in, but I am paced 99.6% in the ventricles.

At times, usually when I am sitting up in bed in a certain position I can feel my heartbeating. Once I change positions I don't feel a thing.

I know when I am having pvc's. I get this weird feeling in my chest (sometimes like a thumping). They go away in a little while and I don't get them very often.

Last Wednesday, I could feel my heart racing for just a few seconds. I knew something was not right. EP was able to see what I felt via an interrogation and now I am having additional testing done this week.

I keep a detailed log of what I am feeling when things don't seem right. The date, the time, what I was doing when I felt it, how long it lasted, and when it went away. I record my pulse , note if there were any skipped beats and the sequence, take my BP if possible. Then I give this info to the doctor if necessary. The more info you have/write down the easier it is for the doctor to figure out what is going on.

 

Most definitely I can feel mine. It is felt most often when I am very still for a long time or in an awkward position at that moment. It can occur at any time of day or night, however nights are most common and it is usually associated with my body position at that moment. My pm site bulges out more than any I have seen posted on here I might add, and I'm sure that contributes to the problem. I don't like feeling it when it occurs but I have learned to live with it. I don't want the settings messed with either because other than that it seems to be doing very well.... I don't want it places under the muscle either!
Best of luck,
Dwight

 

I also have an ADDR01. It is a replacement for an earlier Kappa version. After the change in Jan this year mine was a lot more noticeable and I just accepted it as the result of the ADDR01 being slightly larger. I just realized a couple of weeks ago that I hardly notice it even with some of the positions that were a problem earlier. Apparently the pocket and our bodies adapt.

You mentioned not wanting any change in settings because you are concerned they will mess things up. While this is always a possibility, some changes could make things even better. My approach to this has been to insist at each checkup that I get a copy of the pre and post programming report. That gives you documentation of the settings so that you can have them restored if they cause problems. It also keeps the tech honest as you would know about it if they slip in a change on you. On the Medtronic reports there is a page that summarizes the settings and uses a > symbol to show where a change has been made.

In my case I found after the replacement that in spite of an agreement that they would give me the same settings that they had lower my Upper Pacing Limit from 150 to 130. It wasn't a devious thing on there part, but rather the computer used my age to set the limit. With the report in hand I called the office and scheduled correcting the error. Made a big difference in my exercise tolerance.

best,

frank

 

I do appreciate the recommendations and I have taken note of them. I have gotten the printout after adjustments in the past but I just wish they would send an informational book with it to help me understand them all.
I always enjoy reading your posts by the way. You seem so knowledgeable and such an inspiration for us all.
Thank You!
Dwight