Back to work?

Hello everyone

I am new here. Just got a pm on sunday and have been recovering quite well. My arm feels fine but the incision site feels stiff and hurts when i do alot of movement. I am an audio engineer by trade and do alot of reaching and constant moving during my job. a few doctors told me to wait 2 weeks others said I could go back to work immediatly(I havent) how long should I wait? I dont want to screw anything up with the leads, pm etc.

also does anyone have any information about speakers/ wireless microphones interferance with a pm? we use high end gear and the room we work out of is small and has a ton of electrical gear. should this be safe?

thanks everyone. trying to adjust to this new life its a little hard but hopefully it gets easier.

6 Comments

My Experience

by Jmiller - 2009-10-07 08:10:36

Hey, welcome. I have had my PM 7 weeks now. I had my surgery on a Thursday and was back to work on Monday. I'm a chemist but pretty much have a desk job. The main thing I was told to do was not raise my arm higher than my shoulder and not reach behind me. Basically keep my keeping my arm in front of me. I was told to move it so as not to get a frozen shoulder. A week ago I was told I could play golf and I hope to be playing hockey in a month. As far as what to watch out for, I was told to use the cell phone on the right ear and keep it 6" away from the PM. Probably the same advice for any transmitting device. After 7 weeks I can say I forget I have it, wasn't sure I would ever get to that point.
Good luck

I'm a producer/audio engineer...

by dward - 2009-10-07 09:10:41

I have also done many live shows with megawatt Sound Systems.
I have numerous amps - guitar, bass, sub-woffers, etc.
Carried them all (you're an audio eng. so you KNOW you're not going to be carrying a 500 Watt cabinet close to your PM.
I also have wireless systems, near-field monitors, etc. in the studio...
NONE of this equipment has bothered my PM.

I was told by numerous Docs and PM Techs that the magnets in speakers (even high wattage) aren'y strong enough to be a problem.... Three years since my PM and I've had no problems at live shows or in the studio.

Watch the reaching with your arms, but you shouldn't have any problems in a studio or live shows for that matter (however you SHOULD use the PM as an excuse not to have to carry heavy gear... for as long as you can get away with!!)

Cheers!!
D. Ward

thanks

by tatertodd - 2009-10-07 10:10:13

thanks dward now I am not worried about going back to work being around all that audio gear! I am a broadcast audio engineer so I do alot of reaching for the intercom and mixing is very quick and I also have to do alot of reaching to reach faders and patchbays etc

saw my doctor she has told me I should wait a couple weeks to go back especially since my shoulder is still very painful and I am still very tired and run down easily trying to adjust to this new pacemaker. I also have to drive an hour to work everyday which for now is impossible because driving is really painful.

I had to have my pm put on my right side even though I am right handed because I had tetrology of fallot repaired when i was a toddler so the veins on my left side are a bit wonky. Its hard doing simple tasks seeing as I am right handed..

thanks for all your help everyone I feel if I need to get anything off my chest or ask questions I can feel comfortable doing so here.

returning to work

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-07 12:10:16

Everyone is different when they're up to/allowed to go back to work. As long as you are careful not to lift more than a few pounds with the left arm (assuming your pm is on the left) and don't raise the left arm above shoulder level, you should be fine. Regular movement won't dislodge your leads. If you don't think you can avoid raising the arm at work, it's best to wait to go back.

Most everyday electrical equipment shouldn't bother your pm but I'm not sure about the things you work with. New pm's are well shielded and magnets are the main thing we have to avoid. Large speakers, such as for concerts, have magnets so be careful around them.

If you find yourself in a situation where the pm is getting interference, you'll still be safe but you may not feel so good until you get away from it. The pm has a back up mode with minimal function that it goes into near a magnet, as soon as you step away from the magnet it will go back to full function with no harm done.

Back to work

by Irishone - 2009-10-07 12:10:40

Welcome to the group! I can only give you advice from my own experience. I had a problem with my leads becoming disconnected and having to have the surgery repeated after 2 weeks, so my advice is to don't raise your arm above your waist and do no heavy lifting. My surgeon told be 6 weeks for the lifting and arm over shoulder but also said that I could go back to work whenever I felt up to it. I am a writer so I was back to work in two weeks.
I am 8 weeks into the second surgery and still have that stiff and pulling feeling that tends to ease up with tylenol but I have had two back to back surgeries and I am told that makes healing through the scar tissue a longer process. You should be feeling better much sooner but do try to take it easy!
Irish

you be ok

by cadaverock - 2009-11-23 02:11:01

welcome i know your feeling ,it takes time for you to get used to it at first your going to be real carefull then you forget ;) just stay away from big magnetic fields or energy thats all regular electronics wont bother you it depends if you start thinking about it you might get nervous and get anxiety attack wich makes you feel like if your pacemaker is not ok dont worry the less you worry the better just go to your check ups ok hope this helps

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