Update

As you know from my previous postings, I received a St Jude's Atlas CRT-D on June 22. Everything went well, surgery was a breeze, recuperation was going very well. Then last Monday at midnight, had some unusual sensations in my chest, which felt like huge hiccups or finger thumps. Not really a zap....but was feeling kind of off center. Then....BUZZZZZ BUZZZZZZ the patient notifier started in. My husband told me I was very pale and shakey so he called 911. I checked out just fine and finally got some sleep around 4 am. Called my doc and he said if I was feeling ok, vitals were normal, BP ok, to not worry. Then ...BUZZ BUZZZZZ again...and again a few hours later. Called in again and will have an interrogation on Monday. I feel fine...just have a bit of SOB and lots of job related stress. The St. Judes rep was good to answer my questions about if the buzzz would stop...he said no...every 8-10 hours it will again notify me that something is going on. Well, the BUZZZZ quit on Thursday morning and it has been silent since. Things that make you go " humm" (Or BUZZ in my case lol) Ahhh the life of a pacer!

3 Comments

Hiccups

by Rattle Box - 2009-07-11 02:07:05

I had hiccups right after surgery. It was a lead on a nerve and they went back in on Monday to move it. I didn't get to leave the hospital. I had the first surgery on a Friday.

If you are not commfortable with it then talk to your doc. If they say it is nothing and you are still bothered...then get another doc.

I go in on Monday to get a new pacer because of a chest alarm going off (low battery). I chose to let it continue to go off untill surgery so that I know it is working. It just happens once a day at the same time. My doc's were going to send someone 2 hours one way to check my readings, but we did it thorough a cardio here and a phone line to save on travel time. I would want to know why I was buzzing not just that I am o.k..

Huge hiccups

by pupu - 2009-07-11 02:07:22

I do not have any experience about the pm buzzing, but I have experienced several incidents of 'huge hiccups'. The first ones went on for days, before my doctor finally realized what was going on. He said the pm, or more specifically the atrial lead was irritating the diaphragm, hence the hiccup-type sensation. The lead was turned off for a couple of weeks, then turned on again, and with some changes to the settings, they were able to fix the problem without second surgery. I have had some of these 'hiccups' since, but nothing like in the beginning... Your problem may of course be something else...

Are you sure it wasn't your cell ph

by ElectricFrank - 2009-07-11 12:07:45

Sounds like a cell phone to me.

Seriously, I didn't know they buzzed. That would draw quite a lot of power from the battery and reduce its life. Since the St Jude's Atlas CRT-D is designed to suppress afib, I wonder if it buzzes to indicate a run of it.

Since the St Jude rep said it would go off every 8 -10 hours I would call him back and tell him it stopped. Tell him you are worried that this is a bad sign.

frank

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My pacemaker was installed in 1998 and I have not felt better. The mental part is the toughest.