New to the site

Hi! I am new to the site. I just found you guys today! :) I am a 33 year old mother of 3 with a pacemaker. I had it implanted in 2001 and have not been feeling well at all. I called the doctor and went in for a PM check today and I am about 6 weeks into VVI mode and have about 40 days left on this battery. I am nervous about having a replacement done. I would love any advice, stories, ect. on how it works, and the true recovery time (not the one the doctor always seems to give :) ).
Like I said earlier I am not feeling well, very tired. Almost too tired to do anything at all. Is this normal? I would love any feedback you have.
I want to thank you for having this website. I have always felt somewhat alone in regards to this pm thing, I have always acted like it was no big deal, but truth is I am worried now, and a bit scared.
Thanks for listening! And for any comments.
Thanks,
Angela

6 Comments

40 days left

by ElectricFrank - 2009-10-29 10:10:01

The thing to worry about is the 40 days left. This is getting serious and needs to be replaced very soon. Battery life is only an estimate and could probably run anywhere from 14 days to 60 days. Under these conditions if the battery quits you have no pacing.

frank

For Tracey

by SMITTY - 2009-10-29 10:10:17


Hi Tracey,

I had never heard of VVI mode until it happened to my Medtronic on 10-10-09. When in this mode it paces the ventricle at 65 BPM and does not pace the atrial any. That was a problem for me as my PM was pacing the atrial more than 90% of the time and the ventricle about 3%. I am surprised that VVI had never come up before. At least I had never seen it. Actually I learned about VVI a couple of days after my PM went into that mode from a message James (ChristMMPace) posted on the PM Club. Until I saw his message I just new something had happened but didn't know what. His message really helped me with some questions that I would have not known to ask.

Smitty

New PM

by SMITTY - 2009-10-29 10:10:46

Hello Angela,

Welcome to the PM Club.

My pacemaker went into VVI mode on 10-10-09. That was not fun. Also, it was totally unexpected as I had a checkup on 8-29 and the report showed I had 7 to 12 months left on the battery. I got my replacement PM on 10-22-09. Like you I was quite concerned about getting the replacement. Turns out it was a lot easier than getting the original. They simply removed my old PM and put the new one in the same place. The procedure took about 30 minutes. I was awake during the entire procedure, although they had deadened the surgery site so that I felt no pain what so ever.

After the surgery I was returned to my room and told to wait about an hour to see if I was going to have a reaction to any of the meds they had given me. After that I went home. I was home less than three hours (I live about 25 minutes from the hospital) after they started the surgery.

I was a little sore and did not sleep as well as I normally do the first night because when I moved my arm too much or rolled over on my left side I would awaken. By the third day the most of the soreness was gone. It has been a week today since I got the new PM and except for tenderness on the implant site, I have no pain. In fact the worst pain I have had would not have been a 3 on the 1 to 10 pain scale. Pain meds have consisted of three Advil three times a day.

I can understand your apprehension, but please take my word for it, it is not bad. Yes, you will be limited in your activity for a few days, but again not as much as when you got the original. I notice you got your's in '01. I got mine in '00 and I'm 80 yrs. old and yes I have to admit I have been a little grumpy at times, but so bad that my family has refused to talk to me.

I wish you the best.

Smitty

easy!

by Tracey_E - 2009-10-29 10:10:51

Welcome to our club! It really IS no big deal, don't change your mind now ;o) It's normal to be a bit scared when facing any surgery, but this is much easier than your first one. Definitely easier than having a baby! Or 3, lol

I got my first pm at 27 and am a mom of two, had both babies with the pm. I have had 3 replacements now. It's super easy! When I get an early appointment, I'm home again in time to be fixing my own lunch. When I got my first replacement the kids were babies so my mom kept them for the weekend so I could chill and not try to lift them right away. Now they're older so I just try to do it on school breaks so I have a few days where I don't have to run them every direction. I haven't taken anything but Tylenol for the pain with any of the replacements. The surgeon always gives me a prescription but I've never bothered filling it.

Mine is buried behind the breast so my recovery is a bit longer than usual, but it doesn't slow me down for long. Three days after my last replacement, I went to Key West and a week after that I was out west at high altitude hiking. I took it easy, but I didn't exactly sit still either! Within a month I'm back to my full workouts at the gym and sleeping in whatever position I want.

I never heard the term VVI but assume it's the end of life mode where it cuts way back on the function to the bare minimum, all of them call it something different. It'll keep you safe but you lose all the extra features that kept you feeling great. What you're feeling is perfectly normal! Don't waste any time getting the new one, 40 days is an estimate. And don't overdo it until you get the replacement, take it easy because your heart is no longer keeping up with you when you work out, etc.

They go in the same place as before and use the same pocket so it's all scar tissue. As long as your leads are good, they'll leave them alone. If the first was a 10, I'd say replacements are a 5 for the first day then a 2 or 3, and you'll heal up at least twice as fast if not faster than the first time.

If you read through the posts here, you'll find a lot of people posting first like you, asking about replacements, then they post again after they've had it done saying they're pleasantly surprised how easy it is.

hi angela

by Hot Heart - 2009-10-30 04:10:45

i recently had lunch with an old guy in my hospital who had just had his replacement, he was sooooooooo matter of fact about it, went in, half an hour or so on the table, no pain, no worries, and now imgetting my lunch and going home

HH

Thank you

by AngelaHolt - 2009-10-30 08:10:39

I want to thank you all so much! The comments were so wonderful, and they make me feel better! It is so nice to hear true facts from people that know, and not the ones from the nurses and doctors. I will let you all know. They should call me today with a surgery date. We shall see! :) Have a blessed day!
Thanks,
Angela

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I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.