I am healthy and my freind is dying. Can I get a pacemaker and give her my heart?

 

Hello friends with pace, I just recently joined the club maybe I thought that if I didn't face it maybe it wasn't a problem however I am little older and I am very grateful that i had a chance to find this web site I have read alot of stories in the last couple of days that have helped me i wish I would have done it sooner.
About me I am a female 34 years I got my pacemaker when I was 15 it was life changing but i did not understand that at the time I got my 1st pacemaker on September 29 1992. That one got changed in May 2002. And on November 30, 2006 during my 4th pregnancy I had to have surgery because the battery was losing it charge pretty rapidly I was awake the whole time but it was ok, anxiety for like 2days then It was cool. W...

 

On Jan 17, 2012 I had a bi-ventricular pacemaker,defibulator installed. At first I felt AWESOME!!! but within days I was tired again, coughing and really sore where my pacemaker sits. I feel its large and I can see the buldge where it sits.
My question is--when does it start to get better? How long does it take to feel like you can walk around the block without stopping every few minutes to breathe.
Just picking up my 13 yr old from school drains me----and all I do is walk up to the truck and drive to pick her up (5 min away)drive home and walk into the house. Seriously --10-15 min round trip.
Any feedback out there, help if you can,please

 

Hi Everyone,
So happy to have found this. I'm crying right now, I guess bc I know I'm (we are) not alone. I do not have a PM, but there might be a chance that my husband does. We are going to the doctor tomorrow. He was already on a 24hr monitor. He supposedly has an AV block. He has been anxious and depressed ever since Friday when they said he needed to come in ASAP. We are both turning 30 this year. We have considered ourselves athletic bc we go the gym and have both been playing basketball since high school. (and we are high school sweethearts). I love him so so much. If I could, I would trade hearts with him. I just don't understand why a healthy young person would need this? Thanks for reading. And so thankful for Pacemaker Club.

 

I had a pacemaker put in a month ago, because well I have been feeling awful for years went through every cardio test. The LAST one tilt table test was the one that got me. Fainted in 3mins. I have NCS, but also have high blood pressure and high pulse rate. So meds are hard because I have such a fine line between it going down to low, or going to high. I've tried Norvasc but did nothing. Topral..Awful dizzy, dazed out, slept all day. Then took Verapamil...retained fluid. On both of these meds my BP and heart rate didn't come down much. What other meds can I try, what have worked for you?

 

I"m new here and have had a PM for 2 years. I have been recently turned down for scuba lessons because of the PM. I've been told that St. Jude has one that is rated to go the depths that is acceptable for diving. Can anyone give me the right page to print out to give my heart Dr. so that she can research the right one to install when I'm ready for it?

 

Let me tell you the basics:
I have had a PM for 11 years for 3rd degree heart block and thought everything was going great until this August when I ended up in hospital for what I thought was a doosey of a flu. Ended up my PM battery had reached EOL suddenly and was replaced. When they investigated what had happened they diagnosed me with cardimyopathy and have since done meds, exercise diet, and anything else they can think of to control it without any luck and have been told that it has not progressed to heart failure. Needless to say I have felt not so good since! They are putting in an ICD very shortly here and I am scared spitless. All the horror stories have got me sppoked bad and just need some encouragemnt to help me cop...

 

I just got my ICD Sept, 22, 201. I had the previous June sustained a fall and could not pull myself back up. I laid on the ground for 37 hrs. When I finally got help I went into to the hospital with 77 % dehydration, Mrsa and pneumonia and congestive heart failure. I was in and out of the hospital for the next two months, and most of it in isolation. It was hell. The morning after my ICD was put in I drove everyone crazy. Lordy be I was bouncing off walls wanting to know when will I get out, can I shower now? can i go for a walk? I had not felt that good in years and we thiink from my Dr, calculations I may have had the congestive heart failure and the mrsa for over a year. But nothing was in my test over time so that had us con...

 

I do not feel tired any more after the pacemaker. I used to sleep for days on end and then when I had enough energy I would try to do something. Now I feel 50 again and I trying to get used to being young again, with energy and time to do things. I can walk longer without fatigue, my brain has more blood so I think sharper, and my libido has increased in size and duration. What a miracle this has been. Reading some of the logs here I see some are depressed or feeling empty but I think it is because they didn't feel anything before. Now there is a lot more time to fill. I have made an effort not to force it and let if grow slowly.

 

I thought I had a handle on everything and was coping really well with everything... but I'm starting to lose that grip.. I found out I have a severe vitamin d deficiency instead of thyroid disease, which is good.. just another med.. Ive been on oral diabetes meds for a few years, they just started me on injections last week.. a side effect is nasuea, which i now have. Im trying to get used to giving myself shots everyday. My pacer site was fine but now if I sit or lay a certain way I feel this tugging sensation through my chest. Its not a good feeling. I'm still fatigued all of the time.. all of my docs say its a combo of illnesses but it'll get better... they released me to work part time. I'm allowed 5hrs a day no more than 20hrs a wee...

 

Just went to see my heart doctor and he was telling me that because I have no insurance for my procedure that I should go back to Tennessee and attempt to get my former job position until the insurance kicks in. Can anyone tell me if I should knock his block off or find another Doctor.

 

hello there. my name is nicole and i'm 17 years old. this past december I was diagnosed with third degree heart block and now i am waiting to get my surgery which will be on february 15th. i'm pretty nervous about this since i've never had surgery before. i'm getting pretty depressed thinking about the pacemaker and about the scar and bump that will be on my chest the rest of my life.. i love my smooth skin and now i feel like i only have a couple more weeks of having pretty skin on my chest.. i'm also worried because summer is coming up and i don't want to be embarrassed when i were strapless dresses and my swimsuit.. and i spend most of my summer at the shore since i live in new jersey. another thing is that i hear i wont really be able...

 

Hi All:

I have been reading some of the comments from you all and I just want to add some of my observations. I have used a small baby pillow to sleep with where my pacemaker is and it has always helped so that I do not wake up with discomfort or pain which can happen whenever, no reason, not weather, I also bought two items to put between my bra and my pacemaker. It keep it from cutting into my upper chest which is where my pacemaker is. I also ordered today the Genie Bra from what someone said on this site. Got two for $19.00....Wish they were white and skin color. Will probably never use the black. Thanks for all of you for being there. These things keep us alive. My Mom died at 58 from the heart disease that I had which star...

 

My heart was slowing way down and causing me to feel like I was going to pass out. I had an EP study and ended up with a pacemaker a year and a half ago. It has made a real difference in how I feel.

The problem is, I can feel the pacemaker kick in and the whole time it is working. It really is not a good feeling at all in my chest. My pacemaker checks are fine. The Boston Scientific techs say they have never heard of this before.

My cardio says he has never heard of this. I guess it is very rare.

Anyway, I am atenolol to see if that helps. It hasn't.

Anyone out there feel their pacemaker while it is working? Should I go back to my EP and complain? It really is more than annoying. ...

 

Hi,
I'm 42 yo and had my PM surgery 6 days ago and the pain shooting down my arm is unbearable but getting better. The only thing is now maybe I may have frozen shoulde due to the arm lifting restrictions. I have my 1st f/u the end of the month so can anyone tell me how long this restriction may last I read 4-6 weeks.
This is all so new for me but feeling so so much better no more dizziness, fatigue or SOB. Yessss finally no more worries going out alone!!!!

 

I have my second pacemaker for the last 4 years and before that I had my first one for 6 years, I am completely dependent on the pacemaker for "LIFE" They had to cut my AV node because I was always in AFibs so this is what I live with. I am a senior citizen, my husband passed away 14 years ago and I live alone.....I have my pacemaker checked twice a year on the phone and twice a year I go and see the surgeon. Works out well that way so I am checked every three months. This last one I got is double the size of the first one because it has 3 leads instead of 2 and is the size of a pack or cards......It is up high so it can be seen. I no longer wear bathing suits. Would love to correspond with other people in the club. Thanks and have a good ...

 

My husband who had a Guidant pacemaker/defibrillator implanted some years ago and a wireless monitor, passed away last summer. In the 3 months prior to his death he had "events" once a month which showed up on his pm interrogation. Two weeks prior to his death his defibrillator activated once. We had notified his cardiologist who told us not to go to the emergency room as the medical personnel there could mess up his settings. After death the paramedics who arrived at our home put leads on his chest and told me that the pm was still operating even though he had been gone for several hours. My question is with the wireless system sending info to the Guidant company and to the cardiologist's office, why would there be no communication or act...

 

Hello,

WOW !!! is all I have to say to this forum.  I have had my first pm implanted since the age of 14, now I’m 29 and still am finding it extremely difficult to cope.  I have felt very alone,  didn’t realise there are a lot of people living with this condition!  I accidentally came across this site, wow .... I am so moved .... thank you for whoever made this site!!

 

.......4 weeks in.........feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest..........tough to get a deep breath......normal??????

 

I thought I should celebrate my pacemaker's one-year anniversary somehow (got mine in 11/29/2010). Considered getting a heart Christmas ornament or some kind of heart charm, but really, there's only so many of that kind of thing you can get, and since I'm only 26, that would be a lot if I decided to do that every year.

And then I remembered a radio segment I heard about Gabby Giffords (actually about the other people who were killed or injured in the incident). One woman made a comment about gardening, saying that it felt good to be in the sun and be around things that were alive and growing.

So I decided to commemorate my anniversary by getting a cute little plant, and, ever the pragmatist, I wanted something edib...