Hey to all;

I am a newbie! so new that this time last week I was just beginning to have mild chest pains...that got progressively worse until 5:00am last Tuesday morning when I finally got smart and went to my doc as a walk-in. That didn't go real well...he gave me two nitros and called an ambulance and put me in the hospital. The next day I was transferred to another hosp where they did a heart cath (I had had an angioplasty w/2 stents in 2002) All of that was fine...good stents;no blockages, but I DID have Bradycardia...3rd degree heart block...and the doc put in a temporary PM; attached to my groin. Thursday, I was given my permanent St Jude Medical, Dual Wire Pacemaker. Friday 4th, I got to come home...yea!! So now I'...

 

Well my fellow Pacers, I'm officially 1week and 2 days post implant. I had the Chest Pains, and the Skin Break Down, PVC's and Runs of PAC's, and I can actually say things are setteling down, for the next two weeks that is.lol.. The chest pain was inflammation, and Motrin and more rest helped that alot. Then I started having the Pvc's and PAC's that my lovely pacemaker recorded. I have an appt on monday to go over all that. Well I'm paing at 10% right now lol... I don't have the ablation till the 16 of this month, then I will be totally dependent. But Doc is suprise I'm even pacing, because I'm getting the pacemaker for SVT vs AT w/A-Fib. So Why would my heart rate be so slow at night? hmmm... Well I went back to work on my 1wk post inpl...

 

It was a week ago today that I had a dual chamber ICD implanted. I would like to tell those who are approaching this procedure, that it was not as worrisome as I had envisioned.

I have had very little pain or stiffness. I was able to get around after a day or two with no problem. I even stained my girlfriends deck this past week, with my right arm. I had a sore tooth the other day and was starting to stress about the complications with the heart and dentist, but it has passed after a day or so.

The nastiest part of the whole thing was the IV potassium they gave me before the procedure, as it had dropped. That stuff burned as soon as it hit my arm. They stopped it and added lydocain to the mix.

But overall...

 

I just had an ICD put in on Thursday afternoon. So far, I have had no problems with recovery. The pain was minimal, and I even went out to eat with friends Friday night. I have even been able to sleep on my right side with a pillow under my arm.

My girlfriend is very concerned about me lifting my left arm. I am trying to be careful with this, but as you know you can sometimes forget. I know all the restrictions that are issued after implantation. Has anyone had one of the leads come out after surgery? How much movement caused this to happen?

Bill

 

Well hello my fellow pacers.
Surgery went as expected, the first 24hrs was horrible. Pain was so bad. I came home and had to go back to ER due to Allergic reaction to the Dressing, caused me to have blisters on the outline of the dressing. Now I'm back home and now when i take a deep breath or laugh, i have a pain in the middle of my chest like I was intubated or something. It hurts kinda bad, They did a Xray before I left, could it be possible to have my EP doc told me today that if any thing happens to call her directly, SO should i call her for this or wait till my first pacemaker meeting on tuesday... Whatcha think.?
Love Charly

 

Hello my fellow Pacers,
Well tomorrow, I get my pacemaker, @ 11 in the morning. The funny thing is I am going to work tonight for 12hrs, I'm a tech at the same hsopital i'm having surgery at.lol.. I will be NPO at work tonight.lol... I will update you guys tomorrow right before surgery and hope i fell like writing afterwards. I thank you all for helping me and getting me more comfortable with me receiving my pacemaker.. Thanks you and I'll talk soon.
Charleene

 

Saw the GP today about the suspected stitch. It turns out that it is a stitch, and he thinks it is probably attached to more beneath the skin.

He went out of the room and came back with 2 pairs of scissors and a bunch of gauze (the stitch is well covered by skin and he was going to pry it out). He casually said, "it will probably come out on its own if you leave it". So I must admit I chickened out, and told him I'd rather wait for them to come out by themselves. I thought I'd had enough pain in that area without somebody poking around with more metal implements..

Here's hoping they come out soon!

Happy Monday...

Helen

 

I just received my 1st PM 3 days ago. Since then, I periodically have quick sharp pains in my heart (4 one a scale of 1-10). Usually it is when I get up and increase my activity, but not always. The doctors and nurses each said that it is not a common complaint, but they can understand that my heart is adjusting to the leads and to call if it gets worse. Did any of you experience anything this? It would just give me peace of mind to know it is to be expected, but it seems not to be the case.

 

Hi everyone,

It's been almost 6 weeks since my ICD implantation and I am doing great. I don't mind the ICD at all and am getting used to the look and feel of it there. I am gradually getting my strength back and becoming more active.

I just realized today, though, that there is one of my supposedly dissolvable stitches still in the incision. All this time I had thought it was a very stubborn scab, but I looked at it with a mirror today and then had my Mom look at it, and we're pretty sure it's a stitch (it's straight, thin and black, and hard to the touch). It's kind of grown into the skin now.

It isn't painful or infected looking (the incision in general looks very clean and is healing well). Do I just k...

 

I had my implant surgery on December 5, 2007. I finally received my hospital bill on June 13, 2008. Seven months seems like quite a delay. No details, just a one page bill for just under $2k (representing the balance of my annual deductible and a copay). They will be sending details in response to my request. From correspondence with my insurance company - the billed list price from the hospital was about $114k. Insurance only paid $27k. $84k was the negotiated price reduction achieved by the insurance company. I was in the hospital for a total of 7 days - all of the time in the coronary care unit. This price does not include insurance negotiated bills for Doctors and some diagnostics (multiple chest x-ray, CAT scan and MRI) but i...

 

I had my PM put in on June 4 2008. The morning are good, then some days I experience being very tried, like I could take a nap. Will this pass? I am walking in the mornings everyday. Started at 10 minutes not up to 45 minutes. I still work, but off on leave now, not sure how long to ask the doctor to keep me out of work.

 

If there are any members in the Memphis area this November here is some info that I found on the St Jude website about an implant workshop.

I think that it would be informative, to say the least, to be able to attend this.

I love the 'hands-on practice' portion. Maybe some members could get a PM installed or replaced for free as part of a demo.

Man would I like to be a fly on the wall at this event.

Pacemaker Implant Workshop Event Title
Pacemaker Implant Workshop for Cardiology Fellows
Date and Time
November 13 - 15, 2008
Location
Memphis, TN
Program Overview
Objectives
Provide attendees with cardiac pacing system implant techniques through le...

 

I am 72 years old and had a pacemaker inserted 5 days ago...the pain is getting better but at times I feel lightheaded and somewhat fuzzy....anyone have any feedback on that...I am going to see the cardiologist on Wednesday...so glad that I found this site...thanks

 

Hi All,

Wow, I can't believe there's a MB for people w/ ICD's/PM's, that's great! I even see there are a lot of young people on here (i'm 29, female). Well, my story is that I was out jogging on 5/29 (wasn't really going fast, just kindof warming up) and I got extremely dizzy and passed out in the grass (still face planted and ended up w/ a nasty bruise on my chin). A neighbor saw it and ran over and roused me and we headed to the ER. I got the regular workup of tests (blood, EKG, echocardiogram, etc) and it showed that my troponin levels had spiked a bit and my EKG looked very "brugatta-ish" which made them all think "hmmmm?". To make a long story shorter I spent a week in the hospital going thru a battery of tests meanwhi...

 

I have had a Medtronic pacemaker since September 1999, and it's being replaced in 1 1/2 weeks. My doctor said the leads are good, so it's just the pacer being replaced. I've been told this is an easier recovery than the original surgery, which is good since the first one was LONG and painful. (I was a skinny 21 year old, and they had to do some serious digging to carve out a spot for it.)

At the pre-op consult with my surgeon (same one as last time), I only thought to ask about lifting my baby (12 1/2 pound, 8 month old) and he said not for a few days. But that's all the info I got, and the appt. was too rushed for me to remember everything else.

When the leads aren't being done, do we still have to follow the "no ar...

 

Hi everyone. I had my ICD implant on May 28. Things are going well. But my discharge instructions from my doctor say not to raise my left arm above my shoulder for 2 weeks. After that time, normal activities except no golf or tennis for one month. These instructions appear to be a much faster recovery time than what I am reading on this site. I plan on golfing in a tournament on June 26. Have any of you pursued such a rapid recovery priod without adverse consequences? I'm 57 and in good shape. Thanks, Rick.

 

Hello,
I would like to know if anyone was given information to exercise their arm and/or shoulder when they were dismissed from getting the pacemaker?
I understand the doctor or at dismissal tells a person to excercise so you don't have a frozen shoulder. Is this true for most of you?
Thanks for any input.
Don

 

Wondering if it is an insurance "thing" or what.

I am about to have my 4th pacemaker put in with leads removed at the same time. I was told I would need a couple days off work. I was totally shocked by this as my last PM was put in 6 years ago with one lead replaced and I was back to work 3 weeks later.

I just don't understand the big change in time over the years. Can a few of you reply letting me know how long your recovery was after having a new PM put in. One day, two or maybe a week or two?

Thanks Much!

 

I had my implantation on Friday May 16th. Recovery has gone well. I returned to work last wednesday and have not had any problems, but I have been taking it easy. Yesterday I jumped right back in to normal work which means a lot of arm movements and some lifting. Last night I noticed alot of pain in my shoulder area. This morning I woke up with pain and the incision site stings almost like the stitches are being pulled apart on the inside. There is no blood or anything like that. I am wondering if this is normal or if I have messed something up. Please help so I can know if I should leave work and go visit my doc.

 

When's a good time to remove the steri-strips after surgery? I'm a week and a half post op and these darn strips are driving me crazy! Should I wait until they fall off or would it be ok to remove them early?