I'm a little worried...

I'm 17 and have had my pacemaker for almost 6 years now and lately I've had these, what I call "dizzy spells" I get light headed and lose my breath and my heart flutters. They're short and go away quickly but I'm having a prolonged one and I'm worried about it. Is it sign that my battery life is ending? I'm worried and such, i have school tomorrow but I'm too scared to go to sleep.

4 Comments

My Story

by benmoulds - 2010-12-13 06:12:56

I had some similar problems to this. I had my pacemaker fitted when I was 15 (In 1999), and all was running smoothly until 2009. I went back to the hospital and they checked that my PM was fine, so it couldn't be related to that.

Eventually, after new tilt table tests and a few blood tests they found that I had low blood pressure as well as bradycardia. They have given me Fludrocortisone and now I don't have these problems.

That's my story, and I guess we are all different. It would be worth flagging it to make sure it's not your PM but I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it.

I haven't had a replacement PM yet and it's been almost 11 years - I'm getting my first replacement in the new year, so they do last a while!

Worried

by silverf350 - 2010-12-15 06:12:50

It is a possibility that its going bad but it could be an underlying condition. i had suffered from that not to long ago and they did a pacer replacement. i would contact your cardiologist if it presists.

Schedule a pacer check ASAP

by TSan1961 - 2010-12-15 07:12:24

Hi Snooks,
It sounds like the battery is at end of life. That's what happened to me each time my battery was low (I'm on my 3rd now). The first time around the pacer check said I had 19 months battery life left (pacer was 8 yrs, 8 mo), but the following month I was too weak to stand without blacking out. My husband took me to emergency and the EKG showed a lot of skips...each time it would skip more than 3 beats I'd get that light headed feeling. When the Medtronic rep showed up to do the pacer check, she said it was on single lead mode and needed immediate replacement. I didn't get regular checks with the last one (bad me) but after just under 6 years I started to feel exactly as you described, so I set up a check and sure enough, it was time for replacement again. It was replaced October 1st. Everyone's experience is different and battery life depends on how much pacing you need. Mine is 100%. PLEASE call to set up that pacer check ASAP explaining how you're feeling and that you think its on end of life (or single lead mode) so they'll get you in right away.
Best wishes sweetheart :)) (And don't worry, the replacement surgery is easier on you, than the initial implant, quicker recovery time because the leads should be fine.)
Teresa

dizziness and leads

by Vangie - 2011-01-20 03:01:36

HI, I recently had a 2 month period of increasingly bothersome "dizzy spells". I won't bore you with all the details, but the upshot was that the ventricular lead had broken. They theorize that the insulation was wearing off, perhaps due to it being rubbed by the underside of my clavicle (collar bone). Since it was the second broken lead I've had (first PM implanted Jan '05) there was no room to put any more leads in that vein. They put in a new PM on the right side of my chest, very close to my right shoulder (in Dec '10) and removed the old box but left the leads as removing them can be problematic. I'm having trouble with it not healing as fast as I'd like (almost 74 yrs old and on coumadin) but the biggest problem I'm having is pain in shoulders, etc. I too can feel the leads through my skin, that's evidently normal and not a worry. (don't "play" with them) However, the fact that you are experiencing the symptoms you are, could mean your leads are wearing down - or the insulation on them. I went through a rigorous exam 2 days before having an emergency replacement and was pronounced "OK". Fortunately, however, the doc put a Holter monitor on me and as soon as he saw the results, he called and told me to get to the hospital ASAP! I don't know about others experiences but with me every time I've been "in trouble" with it, it's been the leads rather than the pacemaker itself.

You know you're wired when...

Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going.

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