New to Site

Hello everyone,
This is my 1st posting...I am due for my 10 day pm check tomorrow and I am a little nervous. Do you ever get use to having this THING in your chest? I have constant "pulling" and it hasn't been very comfortable. My dr. told me he could put this in on a Friday and I could be back to work on Monday. Good thing I waited until school was over. I am a teacher and I could not have gone back that soon. Anyone else have problems with their pm hurting alot? How long did it take to fully recover from the surgery?
Thanks for your help.
Pana 397

4 Comments

HURT YES

by pete - 2009-06-11 02:06:44

The pain / discomfort will ease off over the next few weeks. It took me 2 years to get use to my pacemaker. In fact I am so used to it that I am a bit annoyed with myself for not being less used to it. Thats how used to it you can become. Of course no day goes buy without me thinking about it now and again. Peter

Welcome Bionic Friend!

by ela-girl - 2009-06-11 12:06:14

Hi, Pana.

What is making you nervous about your check tomorrow? Pacer checks are usually no big deal and are not painful or anything. You sit in a chair, electrodes are placed on your wrists/legs, and something that looks like a comupter mouse is placed over your pacer area. The tech or nurse or doc then interrogates the pm and should let you know if/when they speed things up for capture etc. You may ask questions and for a printout of your interrogation. You can ask questions like: How often (percentage) am I pacing? What is the battery life? etc.

Did you have your pm implanted beaneath the muscle? There are lots of different reasons for that 'pulling' sensation.

I was hyper-aware of my pm for awhile after getting it. This awareness does not help sometimes in the recovery process because nothing may be wrong but it's all so new that you don't know what to expect. This goes away with time. I was feeling much better between the 6-8 week mark. I was sleeping better and more comfortably after 3 weeks. Within three months, I was doing pretty great. Of course, we are all different. We heal at different rates, have different attitudes about our titanium friends, etc.

I, too, am a teacher. I actually 'dropped dead' in my classroom before school started one morning and was rushed to the ER. I had my pm implanted via emergency surgery. It just happened to be that the following week was fall break for a week. I still had to take an additional two weeks off after that. Most doctors will tell you that the surgery is no big deal because it is considered minor in the realm of heart surgeries. This does not mean that it is minor to us! I wonder how many doctors that implant pm's actually have one themselves?! Another reason why I think the docs think that it's no big deal and they can open you up, slap one in, close you up, and you should be able to go about your daily life.

Is your pm incision looking good? It's not red or hot is it? This would indicate an infection. Icing the area helps a lot with the pain/uncomfortableness.

I wish you the best tomorrow...let us know how it goes!
ela-girl

Hi

by ElectricFrank - 2009-06-11 12:06:19

One thing that can be helpful is to ask for a copy of the pre and post programming report. It gives valuable information on how the pacer and your heart are getting along together. If you have any problems or strange feelings as you get back to full activities, there are several of us here that can help you understand the report.

As for the pacemaker and its pulling on your chest, keep in mind that it has only been 10 days since they made a pocket under your skin for it. This involves something like tearing the skin off a turkey breast and takes a while to heal.

Time to recover depends on a lot of things. For a young female they often implant the pacer under a breast which disturbs more sensitive tissue that what most of us males have. Mine is just under my skin below my left clavicle. I'm one of those like your doc was talking about. I was out walking several miles the next day after implant. I supported my arm with a sling to take the pressure off and felt great.

Welcome to the site,

frank

Yes you will!

by RaggedyKat - 2009-06-12 12:06:24

I got my pacer in November of 2008 and just the other day I realized that I forget I even have it. I was so upset at first - with the pain and discomfort and the thought that somehow my life was going to be so different. That I was going to be an invalid. Well it is different, I do more than I did before because I feel so much better!Sure, I have to go for checks and someday a new battery but it is sure better than the alternative. And the members here helped so much. Anytime I was feeling low I would get online and someone was right there to cheer me on. So, hang in there. It will get better and we are all here for you. RaggedyKat

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