Twiddling

I had no clue what this was until reading so many horrific posts here so I asked the grand fellow who did the testing on my PM last week...for my thoughts twiddling your PM is just a bit insane...its one of those don't ask don't tell things in life....don't ask and don't tell someone who has intelligence enough NOT to do something as this or even joke about...sorry but life is precious and playing with something that keeps your heart paced is not something to play with...in my mind.

9 Comments

Frank is a wonderful Gentleman

by helen - 2010-11-23 02:11:16

I think you should get to know Frank before you make any remarks,He is a very well read gentleman.I enjoy is comments.Helen.

PM Response

by donb - 2010-11-23 05:11:18

Hi, I'm sorry to add to the misunderstanding of "Twiddling". One of the greatest features of most PM's is changing your heart rate to suit your body's need. As Frank mentioned by tapping slightly on his PM increases his heart rate, picking up blood circulation, and he's ready to get out of his chair without any dizzy effects, an excellant way of getting going rather than falling. I've been there and so have the bulk of PM patients. As my present PM is set at 60 for my low limit and my high is 120. I don't want to exceed my 120 upper limit as I could easily have a problem doing that.

I have had the best of Cardiologist care in the 18 years but my knowledge of proper PM settings and results have been next to zero from my Drs. Since being with the informative people in this group I have been helped so much both physical & Spiritually. Yes, I conferred with my pastor before getting my 1st PM in 1992 and he asssured me that my Faith is important just as my PM is supportive in keeping me alive. donb

Know The Full Story

by SMITTY - 2010-11-23 06:11:45


Hello New Me,

I was surprised to see you chastising Frank (of all people)about his twiddling comment so I looked at your bio to see how long you had been a member. I saw two things. One is you have been a member for 2 or 3 days, which means you don't know Frank which further says you do not know what a revered sage Frank is at the club He has helped an untold number of us with his vast knowledge about pacemakers. We all know he would never say anything to cause anyone to harm themselves or their pacemaker.

The second thing I saw was you were critical of the information a new member can tell about themselves. You will note that I didn't say a new member is required to tell about themselves. I have been a member for several years and have looked at the bio of several hundred old and new members and you are the first I ever saw criticize what a person can or can not tell about themselves. Some tell lots and some tell little, it is their option.

As you know membership is free to all and very little info is required to become a member. I have to say your comment reminded me of a person looking a gift horse in the mouth.

I take it your you are extremely serious about your pacemaker and my guess is that you are one of those people that benefits from their pacemaker but you do not really enjoy it because of concern you may do it harm. Unless you are one of an extremely few that must rely on their pacemaker to keep them alive, your pacemaker is not keeping you alive, it is nothing more than an aid for your heart. It helps out when your heart beat is a little slow or when it hits a bump in the road. All other times it is just along for the ride.

Now pacemaker twiddlers syndrome can be a serious problem for a few people. It refers to permanent malfunction of a pacemaker due to the patient's manipulation of the pacemaker. The sequence of symptoms begins with the patient's deliberate or subconscious spinning of the pacemaker's in a capacious pocket. The leads are dislodged, and pacing ceases. That is not what Frank was saying he was doing to his pacemaker.

I would venture a guess that most of us reach up and feel our pacemaker daily, or in my case scratch where it is located because it itches. Other than that I never give my pacemaker a moments thought because I know if it quit this second, my heart function would just revert back to what it was doing before I got the pacemaker and I would have to get a replacement. Sure I would feel bad until I got the new one, but nothing else.

As CABG said we all need to laugh a little once in a while. Above all I think we should never let our pacemaker be the cause of us not enjoying every minute of every day because we treat our pacemaker more gentle than we would a new born child. That pacemaker is tough and is going to sit there and do what it has been programmed to do day in and day out. It is not necessary to treat it as if it is as fragile as a snowflake. The best thing any of us can do is forget we have a pacemaker. Should we do something we shouldn't it will let us know and then we can take corrective action. In the meantime we all should just enjoy the life a pacemaker makes possible for us.

Above all we should not take issue with some comment a person makes here until we know the full story.

Smitty

I agree with Smitty

by ElectricFrank - 2010-11-23 11:11:32

There is one thing I haven't made clear in my postings that is very important. I treat my body with gentleness and respect. In this case there is no doubt that aggressively roughing up the pacer is not a good thing. Even if it does no serious harm you can sure wind up with a sore pocket.

On the other hand I feel the same way about some of the things the docs do. The example that comes to mind is the chemical stress test which is done with little respect for the body. Cardiologists have a cavalier attitude that if they create vfib or arrest they can just grab the paddles and apply a jolt. There are times that this is necessary and life saving, but to say "there is no risk to the chem test, we can handle anything that happens" is a lot worse than twiddling.

By the way I can't twiddle any more since my rate response is off.

And finally, anyone one who takes exception with some of my suggestions should feel free to take me to task. I have a very thin skin and can just cry a lot. LOL

frank

Thanks

by ElectricFrank - 2010-11-24 02:11:55

I really enjoy my interaction with the members on the site.

frank

Joking

by jhull413 - 2010-11-24 12:11:02

I did not read the original humorous comment that Frank made about twiddling so I can't respond to that. What I can say, is I don't mind a little humor in a comment to a post if it is clear that it is intended as humor. What does bother me, though is comments in the serious forums that stray from the original topic and continue with a multiple posting thread of jokes. There is a forum for that type of thing. Incidentally, I have been a member for about a month, but it shouldn't matter how long somebody has been active here. All should be entitled to express an opinion and if New Me was put off by Frank's comment, he/she has a right to express it.

Thank You Frank

by Heidiglassmeyer - 2010-11-24 12:11:18

I just want to thank Frank for his contributions to this site and the personal impact he made. It was Frank who responded to one of my posts shortly after implant. Frank provided me with valuable information regarding my settings that lead to requested adjustments. Those adjustments completely changed my quality of life....42 yr old mom with two young kids. At no time have any of his comments been reckless. Maybe you need to get to know Frank :)

Heidi

Forgot to say....

by Heidiglassmeyer - 2010-11-24 12:11:31

Thanks for your sense of humor!!!

OH MY GOD

by walkerd - 2010-11-25 07:11:54

thats all i can say

You know you're wired when...

You make store alarms beep.

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