Question about checkup time

My PM had its first anniversary in Feb, and its first 6 month checkup was last October. OK so i procrastinated a bit, it's a long trip to the nearest PM clinic. Now I'm due again, but I'm having scheduling problems i.e. one clinic is only the first Thu of each month; it's a 60 mile drive (each way) & I'm already scheduled for fun things the first Thu of the next 2 months. The clinic I used before is a 110 mile drive (each way) & it's out of net payment, but I can get an appointment later this month. I guess the problem is that I just want to forget the whole thing. Never had any symptoms before the PM or after it either, so maybe I'm just floating on that river "denial".

Suggestions and/or advice please.

3 Comments

Checkup Frequency

by SMITTY - 2011-04-19 05:04:26

Hi Zia,

I have PM checkups every three months, alternating between phone checkups and office visits. But I see people talk about having them every month, four months, six months and yearly. Then there was one person that had none scheduled period. So this leads me to think that the checkup frequency depends on the doctor and the patient and if they are, or are not having any problems. If I were you and not having any problems I would call the doctor and ask them and see if they can give me a real good reason for a checkup, other than it has ben six months.

Now that I have said all that, I will tell you something about me and my PM. I've had it for 11 years. There have been times I could have easily gone for more than a year without a checkup. I know of one 18 month period nothing was changed. Then there was the last one, I didn't feel a need for a checkup. I had been feeling about as good as I ever do and at age 81 that is not always saying much. But, as you know the PM keeps a record of our heart activity and on my last checkup that record showed I had three episodes (I think that is all the memory can record) of A-fib, one lasting for a number of hours.

I never felt anything abnormal and would therefore have not known about the A-fib. Or more important, my Dr would not have known about the A-fib. So even when we are feeling good, out heart can be playing games that our Dr should know about and there is no better way that to see what our PM has recorded.

Good luck,

Smitty

checkups

by Zia - 2011-04-19 07:04:54

Thank you, Smitty. I bow to your experience and advanced age, since I'm only 76. You always make sense even when nobody else does. Actually I'm pretty much alone out here. When I left the hospital where the PM was implanted there were no instructions from the EP guy who planted it (I'm shopping for another one, since he's 250 miles away and not at all helpful or even available). The 6 months time came from the BoSci rep who probably knows as much about it as anybody else. I think I'll just procrastinate at little more and go in June or July or ....?

Just be reasonable

by ElectricFrank - 2011-04-20 03:04:30

I agree with all that Smitty said.

If all is going fine with you it should be OK to put it off for a bit. Just don't use this as an excuse to avoid getting it checked. You might talk to them about getting a telephone device so you could do checkups from home.

I'm coming up on 81 in June and have had my pacer since 2004. I am now on a schedule of an office check once per year and phone checks every 3 months. The phone check is great for me as I travel a lot and can just take it with me if I will be out of town.

frank

You know you're wired when...

You run like the bionic woman.

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I had a pacemaker when I was 11. I never once thought I wasn't a 'normal kid' nor was I ever treated differently because of it. I could do everything all my friends were doing; I just happened to have a battery attached to my heart to help it work.