Anybody actually speak up to their doctor??

It's been a couple of months since I was last on this site. I didn't find too many answers to my questions or comfort for my fears. I guess I just needed to come to terms with how my life had suddenly been changed overnight. Of course, I told my doctor a couple of weeks ago that "My pacemaker and I have not become friends yet." My friend suggested I should take it out for a stiff drink, talk to it and get to know it better.

I had my 3 month check-up a couple of weeks ago and I had been back at 7 weeks to dial back my voltage. When I talked to my doctor about the inability to sleep through the night since the surgery, because the pacemaker wakes me up when it kicks on, he claimed he had never heard of such a thing. I see here on the blog that I am not alone in this and yet the doctor acts like I am odd.

I had posted here previously about the electrical shocks I receive at times and those who replied told me to get back to the doctor because something could be wrong with the leads. Hence the reason for the 7 week check-up. Well, the doctor said I was fine and again he had never heard of such a thing. He told me I was simply feeling the pacemaker kick on. I explained that this was not the case because I know the difference between the thud of the pacemaker causing my heart to beat and an electrical shock as though I put my finger into a light socket. The doctor thinks it is all in my head. My husband inquired if there was anyone working in the office that had a pacemaker and of course there wasn't. So my husband asked how it was then that they could "know" what I was or wasn't feeling.

Since dialing back the voltage at least those electrical shocks don't hurt as much. They are more of an annoyance than anything now. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me a booklet on EMF which actually states that at times you may feel an "electrical shock" and to simply move away from the item emitting the EMF. The worst was when my Aunt came to visit and I walked past the bathroom as she was blow drying her hair. I nearly was knocked to the floor by the zap. Needless to say no one is allowed to use anything other than my CHI low EMF hairdryer now.

Solution: I spent $120 on an EMF blocking t-shirt that is silver and cotton woven together. Not even the magnet from my phone kit will pace my heart through that thing. I puchased low EMF cordless phones from Siemens and threw out the old ones. I told my teenage children they had to keep all cellphones, laptops, nooks, i-phones, i-pads, etc. in their bedrooms and not allowed anywhere else in the house. So, little bit by little bit, I am eliminating the electrical zapping.

4 Comments

New DR.

by ratsyp - 2011-01-18 06:01:59

You need to get a new Doctor One that will listen to you. They are out there he's getting paid enough he should listen to your concerns

Get a 2nd opinion

by AmyS - 2011-01-19 01:01:25

Your PM should not be affected by EMF at all. PM's these days are supposed to be shielded better than ever from that type of interference. It's possible that you're having a lead problem. If your current doc won't look into it, then you should find someone else.

Let me tell you how I know about EMF. My husband is an engineer at Texas Instruments. He does a lot of research level testing on electronics and was concerned about high EMF after he had his PM implanted 6 years ago. Since most normal folks aren't subjected to EMF levels similar to being close to an MRI like he is (not direct like an MRI, but close proximity), he asked his doc to wear a Holter monitor into the lab area so his PM could be recorded while he was near the equipment. It did not budge one bit. His PM was pacing him at the time and it just kept doing what it was supposed to be doing. After that experience, he no longer worries one bit either about going through metal detectors at airports or scanners etc.(except MRI of course) He just walks right through and if he sets it off (as he has at the very sensitive one in Frankfurt, Germany for some reason), he tells them he has a PM and they search him.

If you don't want to change docs and you think he will be agreeable, ask him if you can wear a Holter monitor while you do something as simple as going near a computer or similar. If your PM is affected, it should show up on the Holter once they download the data. Be sure and record times when you know you are near the EMF and make sure you record the time that is set on the Holter too. Mine was set about 1 1/2 hours off of the actual time of day.

Good luck!

EMF

by LS - 2011-01-19 03:01:18

In the doctors office, were you close to their computer? Most Dr.'s have them in the office or examining room.
I'd switch doctors. Maybe someone else in the practice?
I really don't see how those simple things are affecting your PM though.
Liz

EMF

by LS - 2011-01-19 03:01:19

In the doctors office, were you close to their computer? Most Dr.'s have them in the office or examining room.
I'd switch doctors. Maybe someone else in the practice?
I really don't see how those simple things are affecting your PM though.
Liz

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