Frustrated

Four weeks ago i got my pacemaker. I'm still having trouble getting out of bed, im very tired.I get winded very easily.I went to my cardio doctor last week, he said i needed to give my self time to heal. I had the pacemaker rep. do an integragation, and said everything was normal. At that point the doctor put a 24 hour moniter on and noticed i was having fast Arrythmia, so he sent me back to the E.P doctor, who had to make adjustments. Within 24 hours i was back at the E.P. doctor because i had more arrythmias, and they put me on a prescription for rythmal(due to the fact i did not do well on calcium blockers and bata blockers). After doing some research, from what i read, its very scary. Has anyone been on rythmal? And is it normal that im four weeks past and still this tired? Anybody have feed back please? Thank you, Sue

7 Comments

arrhythmias

by Tracey_E - 2009-12-26 10:12:22

The pm will add extra beats when you skip or go too slowly, but it can't do anything about it when your heart goes too fast on its own. Medications are the only way to slow us down and as you've learned they have a lot of side effects, and it takes some time to get the dosage right. If you only got the pm to speed up a slow hr and you don't have any other problems, then yes you should probably be feeling at least somewhat better by now, but you have more going on.

You didn't mention why you needed the pm. If you have an av block and are getting atrial tachycardia, it may be possible to adjust your settings to make you feel better. The pm has an upper limit for ventricular pacing and if your atria goes faster on its own than the pm is programmed to make the ventricle keep up, then you will feel tired and generally yucky. But that's only something to ask about if you pace ventricular and the tachycardia is coming from the atria.

I don't know anything about rythmal, but if you have concerns you should discuss it with your EP and see if there are other options. I've said no thanks to more than one prescrip my doctor recommended. I'd rather live with the problem than the side effects of the cure. So far I haven't run into a problem that's debilitating or dangerous left untreated so I've been able to get away with being cranky about taking meds. If your arrhythmia is dangerously fast or you're fibrillating, it needs to be treated and you probably can't talk your way out of it.

Good luck!

Hi

by annaelliott76 - 2009-12-26 10:12:32

I'm at 5 weeks and had trouble until about a week ago. I was tachycardic (high 90s - 130) after. Since I was already on a ton of beta blocker, I was put on Digoxin too. Seems to have helped some. At least I'm not popping above 100. Still feel like I'm tachy in my sleep - hot flashes, SOB, etc.. I saw the EP last week and we are waiting to get the rep in on my next appointment to see what's up before we change anything else. It did me wonders to get off pain meds too. I had other complications, so I had a longer recovery.

Rhythmol

by lenora - 2009-12-26 11:12:26

Before I got my first pacemaker 5 years ago I was on Rhythmol for a while. Don't recall that it did much for the afib or flutter but neither did any of the other antiarrhythmics for that matter even Amiodarone. I don't remember any major side effects except that everything I drank even water had a weird metallic taste. It's very expensive also.

Sorry

by sggkag - 2009-12-26 11:12:38

I'm sorry I didnt give all the facts when I posted. I am 43. I needed the PM because I was told I had Bradycardias( And I was Passing out with getting dizzy spells). I'm still not sure of all the terms. I was told It the fast arrythmia was not life threating but I keep on getting the dizzy spells. They said if I cant take the med they may need to have an Ablation done. I just wish I could start feeling better before I need to deal the other problem. Thanks

???

by pete - 2009-12-27 04:12:22

Problem, you have not told us what type of pacemaker you have and for what medical conditions. Calcium channel blockers may help some people but combined with other drugs they are extremely dangerous and can lead to death unfortunately. This happened to me and I only survived by a whisker. Cheers Peter

Reading about drugs

by ted - 2009-12-27 07:12:24

I am not here to advocate ignorance, but sometimes reading about or doing "research" on the drugs that our doctors want us to take, can lead us down the wrong path. Reading about aspirin could frighten someone who is already scared about their medical condition. Personally, I gave up psyching myself out many years ago. Having found doctors that I trust with my life, the only question I ask is: "If I were your child, would you prescribe this drug?
Now sometimes an allergic reaction might occur or some weird side effect, and then I tell my doctor and he makes the necessary changes.

The could happens

by walkerd - 2009-12-28 07:12:07

it is so sad that covering ones butt you must list everything THAT COULD HAPPEN. With that said I know there can be side effects from medication there could be side effects from being in the sun, and so on and so on. Discuss your concerns with your doctor, forcefully. Im not trying to be a smart but but you may need some meds, but like I said talk your fears and concerns over with your doctor. I quit reading all the 5 page warnings on my medication if I let all the could bees haunt my mind I probably wouldnt be here to type this to you.

Just my two and half cents worth
dave

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You run like the bionic woman.

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