Does any youngster out there remember Vaughn Monroe crooning the above? Guess that should be our theme song.

.....Had Medtronic implant Jan. 11th and have not been interrogated yet. Over thr weekend, my BP was 90/60 and HR 135, crazy, huh? Today, had INR (1.9) going to see surgeon next Mon., who did implant & I have many questions for him.

Leaving tomorrow a.m. For 5 day cruise with daughter to the Bahamas.

GER

 

Does anyone wear a medical ID bracelet or alert tag. My husband says I need to get one just in case I was in a accident, since I have the dual pacemaker and also take warfarin.

 

Can you request the placement of the pacemaker? My daughter is getting a pacemaker and I feel like it would be far better to have it behind the muscle so it is not as visible. Just wondering if it is the doctor's preference or the patient's??

 

Hello all.

I had a PM implanted in me on Jan 30. My question; can the PM block or stop over time the normal SA node activity of the heart?

I have no disease of my heart, no blockage, only a slow rate and my SA node only works 40 % of the time. Per my primary it can take up to six months for the SA node to fully come back after flutter. So I need to know if the PM will prevent my SA node from returning to normal. (2 days before PM had an ablation for flutter, I was, via group think, over a weekend in the hospital convinced I needed a PM. However, my primary doc did not agree. no consults were done between the attending and primary doc.)

 

Marty, I am new to this site, and your strength in your posting touched me. I did say strength. You are weary I know, but you have come so far dealing with so much. It is ok to feel weary, but please keep talking with your doctor and family about your feelings. Lots of people fall apart when they don't get the green light and could never do what you are doing. I take Coreg (2004), also, large dose + other. I want to throw that bottle across the room , and say no more, also, sometime. Then, I remember one of my favorite wisdoms for my journey - - - - We don't always get to choose what happens to us, but we do get to choose how we respond. Please talk to family and professionals about your feelings and needs. Then, hold...

 

I just bought one and the instruction book said to ask Dr. if okay to use electric foot spa. so if anyone knows, please let me know. Thank you very much

 

From time to time I post this (for the last 5 yrs at least) and I've always received positive feedback. Just trying to help the new members get over the hump. Remember - you are not alone, now you have all of us to help you get through whatever it is, but please discuss everything with your doctor as well:) I've simply copied & pasted my post AND the comments from last month:

Hi & Welcome.

I've noticed a lot of new members recently and when I first received my pacemaker 7 yrs ago I had a zillion questions. I found this article and I post it from time to time as I found it helped me a lot. It's a long read, but full of really good information.

If I remember correctly, I got it either from WebMD or the May...

 

Hi Everyone,

First, thanks for all of the support.

Today we found out that Lloyd will be going for his cardiac echo on Feb 20th & will see the Cardiologist on Feb 27th.

I have my PM interrogation this Friday to see if the lead is still draining the pacer. Who wants to place bets that it's still draining the pacemaker???? LOL

On Monday I have my cardiac echo to determine my Ejection Fraction for my Left Ventricle Noncompaction.

And I don't get to see my Cardiologist until March 5th. And God only knows what EP I will see on Friday at the PM Clinic cuz they all take turns.

All we can do is hope for the best, but expect the worst. I'm not being negative, but just trying to ...

 

I'm 30, and my life long dream job is to be a tattoo artist. I have a pacemaker...is it possible?

 

I have sinus node dysfunction, history of passing out, have a loop monitor which shows that I actually flatline.  I see my EP in two weeks to discuss his recommendation pacemaker.  After being on here I am coming to terms with it, so....this is where you come in.  I need all the questions that I need to ask him.  I have no clue what to ask and I tend to freeze up with him.  (I am bringing the love of my life with me) and want as many questions that I can have.

Thank you all for your assistance!

Lee

 

Have recently been having periods of shortness of breath and a feeling of not being able to swallow. Doesn't last long but weird. Also head feeling heavy when this happens. Any ideas x

 

There have been a few postings recently about the removal of perfectly good PMs from patients who shouldn't have had them installed in the first place. What does the Dr do with them when he removes them ? Are they thrown in the bin or given to the patient as a memento to impress their friends ?

I am posting an excerpt from a paper describing how PMs can be re-implanted into people who can't afford them. The article goes on to say that they only re-use PMs with at least 3 years of battery life. Here in the UK it is common to carry things like kidney donor cards where you can make sure your organs are put to good use after you leave earth (to follow that tunnel of light) perhaps we can make similar pledges for the use of our PM...

 

I just read an article about dangers of Coumadin: INCREASED CALCIUM BUILD-UP in the arteries -- and the aortic valve leading to hardening of the arteries. This buildup of calcium is considered to be more dangerous than high blood pressure or high cholesterol!
German researchers found out in 2005 that long term use of Coumadin produced increased calcium in the aortic valve and coronary arteries when compared to patients not taking Coumadin.
"Hardening of the arteries" is therefore one of main Coumadin side effects, and this is more dangerous than other known "risk factors."
Source: Koos R et al: Relation of oral anticoagulation to cardiac valvular and coronary calcium assessed by multiple spiral computer tomography. Amer J...

 

Hi everyone, I'm a new member and was so happy to find this place. I had a pm fitted in 2004 and I have just had the battery changed last week. I was wondering are pacemakers a device I will need for life or can they be removed,what I mean is could my condition repair itself.I don't know much about them really and I'm not one for asking questions when I go for check ups.Will the checks that they do at pacemaker clinic show any improvement in me and tell them that I no longer need a pacemaker or will they just keep on changing it.I had bradycardia (sorry about the spelling) or heart block (I heard mentioned) but they gave me betablockers also.Sorry for going on so much I appreciate any answers if you have any.Thanks

 

I posted before on this site about some frustrations returning to work after my pacemaker was installed but wanted to "tell the rest my story" about how I had to get a pacemaker.

I've had a slow heart rate my whole life as far as I know, and so does my father. While in my 30's and running with a group runners my brand new Polar heart rate monitor was registering 90-100 while the other people I was running with were registering 150 or more on their monitors. They said that I must have a defective monitor, so I switched my monitor with someone else and discovered it wasn't the monitor. It was me. I went to a family practice Dr, and he had me do a treadmill, echo cardiogram, chest x-ray, and EKG. Dr said I was fine - goo...

 

I have rested long enough. My site is sore but there is not even a bruise.

We are adjusting my beta blockers to try to stop the heart pounding (slow).

Today I went light on food, drank half-caf and did my two mile walk. Felt great. Also took a shower minus the Saran wrap!

Being able to adjust the beta blockers (increase dosage from 12.5 mg a day to 50mg) has made this pacemaker worth it.

Hope I continue to improve & get my life back!

Thanks for all the support folks.

 

Well I found out my Pm is only working at 35%. Its suppose to be 100 pacing. It went in to default a few months earlier then they thought. I got it. by doing my BP and heart rate. I have 2 BP Blood pressure devices and a application on my Smart Phone. It said 65 which the nurse said is the base line. I feel YUCK just like I did beofore I got my Pm. So I have to have a new one less then 30 days. Im on rest orders I laught at this one, the nurse said NO stress on the heart My heart is severly hard due to very serious high BPs usually 140-201 on top and 99-150 on the bottom. I have Diastolic Congestive Heart rare Angina's
( Varient's) so Im going through a lot. Hope to go to Anchorage in 3-4 weeks. It...

 

These are clips from weathermans description for forcast:

blocking pattern over the western U.S.
Confidence in the above scenario is not particularly good

Sound like part of your cardiologist or EP's diagnosis?
LOL

frank

 

My PM has been in for 3 weeks and I have had two severe episodes of AF very debilitating and lasting 18hrs eventually under control with 300ml Flecanaide 100 every 6 hrs. Makes me very washed out. Anyone else had this does it settle down?

 

Hi Everyone:) For those of you who know me & for those of you who notice I comment & post on this site quite frequently - I just wanted to let you know why I haven't been around lately. (One of these days - and I'm thinking of you Patch - LOL - I'll learn how to tell a story that's not so dam lengthy.)

I was due to have MY cardiac echo on January 31st, however, approximately 4:45am that morning my husband, Lloyd, awoke me very suddenly. I thought I had overslept and was going to miss my appointment but that was NOT the case. I was still half asleep, of course, and all I remember was him passing me the stethoscope saying "listen to this, I don't feel right". (We just happen to have a stethoscope in the house.) His heart wa...