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Update on Me & Love to All of You

Hi everybody. All went well on Tuesday and I now have a St. Jude 5386 upgrade in my chest, supposedly the top of the line. We were surprised to find that I have no underlying rhythm on my own, so No. 5386 had better be taking care of business. I had to stay overnight due to "complications." Not to be too graphic, but this involved supper not staying where supper belongs. My daughter in law should be nominated for sainthood! Abbey refused to eat while I was gone, so her first order of busin...

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Wake up call; again

Well it has been one week since my PM was installed. So far no problems. I head in for my first check up today and looking forward to a clean bill of heath with it.
You know this has been quite a ride. It all started with a TIA in 87. That was brought on by a stupid activity of helping my son and his friend carry a deer up a ravine while in the second stages of a real bad cold. My second episode occurred in 95; after ignoring dozens of warning signs I ended up with an angina attack, which...

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Polygraph Testing??

Does anyone know if the pacemaker will interfere with taking a polygraph test??

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Rapid Beats

Hi,
My first post. I have a Medtronic ICD because of several episodes of fast VT starting in 2002. I had a second ablation in May last year which made a huge improvement. However since January I have had about eight episodes of slow VT (105 bpm) which have lasted 1 1/2 hours on average and rectified themselves. The strange thing is all these episodes have occurred between 15:00 and 20:00 hours. Some before a meal some after food.
Any comments or similar experiences would be appreciated...

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MY KIDS AND I

Hello to all my friends! I'm going to share something my kids and I did this weekend. The other day I saw a Beaver going under the house. I told my kids about it and sure enough they wanted to catch it. I was a little skeptical but went on with the mission. We made a trap with some old fencing. We made it with a trap door.................WOW, the kids said. It was raining that evening and after I made the trap we sat down to figure out what kind of food beavers eat. My daughter said l...

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6 weeks does that do it

I am heavy into tennis and weigth lifting i spend lot of time on the bench with free weights My Doc set me at 60 beats but for physcial stuff kick in a 70 and tops out at 130. With the pace maker its not like turning a switch as far as energy, i guess that will come back with time I hope. My Doc says 6 weeks stay off of the left arm and then i can go for it. I notice that i am not hungry at dinner time big breakfest and small lunch but almost not hungry at dinner time a bit of a change. No weig...

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Defibs and Hashimoto's

Hey people! I have two questions for y'all out there. With all the PM's, who has a defibrillator and what are your parameters? Second - Heart disease a primary issue for most. Mine was a dilated cardiomyopathy and becoming more of an issue these days is hypothyroidism (and last week they gave it a name - Hashimoto's) Last year my TSH was 16.5 and seemed to come under control within 8 - 9 months. Not quite so the endocrinologist raised the medication dosage and with that the TSH went up; T...

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Fitness update from Peter

Hi Guys,
if you remember a few weeks ago I asked you guys for ideas to get me from zero fitness to being able to ge to the airport to pick up Pacergirl (Susan) and her husband who are coming to the uk to see me. not too long to go now just a little over six weeks!!
Well thank you all for your idea's and support, and as I said in my last posting I could then hardly make it to my front gate.
The good news is that I can now get almost a hundred yards down the road and back, I have al...

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pain after 14 years??

I have had my PM for 14 years, and I feel very lucky that I've never had an ounce of complications with it. I never have had any pain around the site...until last week. I started feeling very weird pressure and pain around my PM. It subsided, but on the outer side it is still tender to the touch. No swelling or anything. Im sure that Im over-reacting, but Im a bit concerned. Could this just be muscle pain, should I be worried?? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!! -Patti

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Television Towers.


Hi!

I am currently looking into getting a job with a local PBS TV station, but I am suppose to get a pacemaker on Monday. Does anyone know if the pacemaker would interfere with me having this job, or do I need to just stay away from the transmitting equipment? I know it's a bit of a random question, but I'm curious.

Amy

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Lenora

Hi Lenora.
I along with a great many people in this club I feel.... wish you a speedy recovery form your latest setback, and hope that you are now ticking away and getting stronger by the day.
Keep us up to speed on how you are doing...Peter

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Another question!

I was hoping that some of you could tell me how long did it take you to start getting energy back. I had energy right after my surgery and now it has been two weeks from getting my pacemaker and it has started to be painful and sore. I have been getting spasms from the site that goes into my left arm is that normal? I have only been wearing the sling when I go out b/c I don't want my shoulder to start hurting. I also walked a little yesterday (just like a block) and that took like all the energy...

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Need advice, quick!

My 73 year old father was diagnosed with a 3rd degree blcok and had a pacemaker put in 4 days ago. He's now complaining the he feels "funny" - especially in his head. About a year ago, the doctors found an aneurysm in his frontal lobe. I was looking on the internet for information on how one feels - physically - after receiving a pacemaker and I am not finding anything that outlines his symptoms. I did, however, find an article outlining that there may be an increased risk of stroke after rec...

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Climbing Elevations with PM

Hi everyone,

This is my first post because of some password issues I have had. I got my PM in August, 2006 and have been feeling great since. Reading this site has been very helful as it made me comfortable before the surgery.

I am now getting ready to go on my honeymoon in May and hope to do some activities that include taking a ride up a Mountain to see the sunset. My question is whether I will have any problems being at high elevations (approx 13,000 feet). I am a 32...

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Tools and other machines - update

Thanks for the responses that were given me on the use of tools and other machines. I called Guidant, now Boston Scientific and spoke to a tech who is forwarding some recent reports done by independents and their findings regarding the use of this equipment. Seems I might want to check things out if I'm around more of a mill type of shop with larger and more multiple tools running which is an environment I do sometimes find myself in. That may cause an interference. The other thing about th...

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april 3

hello everyone.april 3 my pacer is 4 yrs and going strong.
i had heart block and had a dual pacer put in april 3 -2003.
its my first pacer.
how long does a pacer normally last?

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Anyone with depression before pm?

I've suffered from depression most of my life, and have been on antidepressants for many years, but have never had a complete remission. I guess I was hoping that getting a pm would help, since my physical health would improve, and maybe alleviate some of the depression. (I've been sick for nearly 3 years, dx with fibromyalgia, and fatigue that had been increasing in intensity over the past year. So my depression had really been getting worse.)
It's been 3 weeks since getting my pm, Medt...

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coincidental need for pacemaker

My wife and I are physical therapists. We have practiced for forty years. In 2005 my wife developed a decreasing heart rate, I brought her to the ER and it was determined that she needed a dual demand PM. A ST Jude was placed and she's doing well. Almost a year latter to the day, I developed shortness of breath and a decreasing heart rate. A medtronic dual chamber demand PM was placed and I'm doing fine. My quandry is how could this coinsidence happen? Could it have something to do with ou...

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Working around Electrical Substations & Power Plants

I have a storm restoration function where I work that if their is an emergency due to a bad storm I have to report to an electrical substation, located night next to a power generating plant and coordinate electrical restoration in that area. This means that I work right next to large electric distribution feeders and right under high voltage power lines. I may have to manually operate the station breakers at times. I mentioned this to my EP doctor and he feels it shouldn't be an issue once my P...

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~HI~ *wave* i'm new here!

So hi im christina. i am a 26yr old mother of one with one on the way. i have an abdominal implanted pacer as well as an artificial valve. i am due for a battery change and was wondering if any one else has had one done. i dont know what to expect as it is in my abdominal area instead of the usual placement.

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You know you're wired when...

You invested in the Energizer battery company.

Member Quotes

My pacemaker is intact and working great.