When does it get better?

Hi everyone,
I am 4 weeks post op now. I have no feeling on the surface of the pm. Think the nerves were traumatized....or something! But around the edges are still really sore. The seat belt in the car, bra strap etc... all seem to hit the edges just the wrong way.

Is this what it will be like? I "get" that it will always be in the way...but will the edges always be so sensitive?

Wenditt

9 Comments

It does get better!

by Gonnie - 2009-10-13 09:10:06

I had the same frustrations you have but it does get better! It took a good 6 months before I could cross my chest with the seat belt or wear a bra comfortably. Now, I'm 15 months out from implant & I don't really give it a thought. Laying in bed on my left side isn't something I can do for any length of time but that's no biggie. Hang in there because it does improve & you'll reach the point eventually where all your waking thoughts aren't about the device.

yes wnditt

by walkerd - 2009-10-14 04:10:29

it will get better, I know its hard to but give it and your body time to heal. Face it your body says hey that dont belong here, lol. I think its more your mind after awhile than the actual site, the mind is always thinking about it sooner or later you will accept it and forget about it most of the time, I have no idea how you can ever forget you have it, but hey its there for a reason and it keeps you here to enjoy what life throws at you. Like frank said it depends on the surgeon that put it in and skill level how and where it shows, mine isnt deep at all and can plainly be seen and felt, I try and get my wife to feel what feels like bolts at the top of unit, i think its cool my wife thinks im sick, lol.
give it time wenditt it will get better. oh yea my seat belt irritaites my site i just bought this pad from walmart in the automotive section that just velcros around the belt for a couple of bucks no more than five dollars. it helps. but im not a fan of the seat belt, i know they could save your life but not a fan of them.
dave

I am glad you brought this up

by Allie1 - 2009-10-14 07:10:16

I am 5 weeks today after the implant sx. Yes, I agree very much with you and the tenderness. The bra strap is the hardess because what are you going to do? I finally found I had an old, not too puffy, shoulder pad left over from the past. It is nice because it had velcro to cling to my bra strap and the pad to help protect it some from the rubbing.

I haven't done anything yet with the seat belt but I need to as I keep tucking the upper strap under my arm. I need to use it properly I know.

Take care. The men have it easier in this area as they are not dealing with those daily bra straps rubbings.

healing

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-14 07:10:39

You should see improvement over the next month, most heal fully and the last of the soreness goes away by 6 mos.

I found the numbness went away over the first year but came back again after the first replacement. Healed that time, too, but has stayed numb since the third replacement.

Lucky about the seatbelts..

by turboz24 - 2009-10-14 09:10:57

I'm pretty lucky on the seatbelts. I only have one vehicle that irritates my ICD, simply because the seatbelt sits in a position where it rubs the edge of my implant, so I tend to tug on the seatbelt a lot if I drive that car more than 20 minutes (I've had my ICD for 2+ years now). All my other cars arn't a problem.

As for the bra issue, I've never tried on one. I always thought that the "extra" tissue that women tend to have up there would help, but I guess that depends on where the device is places.

Yep

by ppt - 2009-10-14 11:10:00

It will get better.

Seat Belt: What I did what use a hand towel under the set belt (folded for lots of padding) for when I was driving

Bra Strap: I cut off a piece of foam (memory foam) from an extra pillow and put it under the bra strap.

These 2 things seemed to help A LOT and the site was no longer being constantly irritated. They helped the healing process and the soreness issue.

Hope this helps

It varies a lot

by ElectricFrank - 2009-10-14 12:10:43

We all heal differently and there are differences in the skill of the doc who did the transplant. The area around the edges are where the body of the pacemaker presses on the edges of the margins of the pocket.

It's been 5 years now since I got mine and hard to remember exactly. I'm sure that within a 2-3 weeks I was out in my 4WD truck running around the desert. For a while I tucked a folded towel or t-shirt under the seat belt just to protect it.

frank

yes it gets better

by coketbone - 2009-10-15 05:10:27

after 22 mths i can say now that it does get better. the seatbelt for me is still a bit of a pain but i move it around and things are fine. for me at first everthing i did and thought about doing was a problem. as for me i'm back to doing the same things i was doing before my PM. running, lifting weights ect. the worst thing for me is i liked to lay on my left side with my arm above my head. if i do that now i wake up and the area around my PM is sore. most of all i can say that i feel much better now and i have not passed any or even felt dizzy since my PM was inserted. you may hear this a lot but hange in there and with time my hopes for is what happened to me and that is i came to realize that life is not over because of my PM it just got different!!!! good luck

The Bra

by wenditt - 2009-10-15 06:10:11

LOL turbo....I would love some extra tissue up there but not sure if I would want it all the way up near my collarbone!

My device is literally 2 inches below my collarbone but a football field away from the little lady...not sure how else to say that on here!

I can actually feel the wires coming out of the pm as I have no fat or meat. And now I am feeling something going in my armpit. The pm doesn't look like it shifted...so I am wondering if anyone else feels the same thing. Is it just from laying on my left side to sleep...and I pushing it over maybe?

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