how long?

hi experienced ones,
what is a "reasonable" time to go back to your EP and ask if he can change your HR from 80 to maybe 70? I find the HR of 80 too fast and I feel like I am in a state of "being propelled" for most of the time, especially at night. It's only a few days but my BP has "shot up" and he wants me to be on a beta blocker. Even if my BP comes down, would 80 still be o.k. or should it be lowered?. I am so tired of "bugging" the doc and wonder if he gets sick of me. but i need to get this straightened out to start living.
thanks everyone
veronika

7 Comments

I would call

by walkerd - 2011-01-23 06:01:12

its not complaing its trying to make yourself feel better that is why they put the pm in. Tell them what is happening they should be able to adjust it took 3 or 4 times on mine before it was adjusted right. Make sure you tell them all that is happening, lightheaded, dizzy, unable to sleep, make sure you explain clearly what is happening. Write it down so you dont forget.
good luck
dave

How Soon?

by donr - 2011-01-23 08:01:33

When I had mine implanted in Feb 2003, & went back after 3 days because I felt terrible!

When was your PM implanted?

Basic question - what was your natural rate before the implant? Mine was 72; had been all my adult life since I first heard what my pulse was at age 18. They set me at 80, also. That was AFTER they asked me where I wanted to be & I told them 72. They didn't bother to tell me that they could only adjust in increments of 5. So, here I am, running at 80!

You call it "Propelled." I called it "Hyper alert," a feeling like the Viet Cong were coming through the wire all the time. (I'm a retired career soldier & that's the best way I could describe the feeling.) Probably the exact same feeling.

They dropped me to 75 & the feeling went away in about ten minutes.

You just went through a life-altering change that is permanent. You deserve the attention & treatment. Especially in the early stages of your new life. You will have a slug of questions early on while figuring out what is happening to you.

If your Dr. is any good, he is not sick of you - yet. That should take about three months of asking questions every other day. Does he have a nurse or PA you can call to ask these things?

I had about a question a week for a month as I learned what my PM did to & for me. Lemme give you a couple examples: 1) "Hyper-alert"; 2) PM shut down momentarily when I got too close to a BIG electric cable; 3) Wife dropped a can of soda in a parking lot & it started rolling away down hill. I chased it & darned near passed out. ADL (Activities of Daily Living) keep the PM from picking up its rate for XX seconds after it senses a quickened pulse rate. You can no longer run 100 yd dashes - but you can run a marathon. You will have your own set of weird questions about things that can scare the daylights out of you. You deserve answers, especially as you get used to being bionic.

Good luck.

Don

Whenever You Want To

by SMITTY - 2011-01-23 10:01:33

Hello Veronika,

To me a reasonable wait is until you decide you do not want to live anymore with the discomfort caused by the 80 setting. Now let me qualify that a little. The next day would not be too soon to ask why you got the 80 setting. If there is no good medical reason for the 80 then ask for it to be lowered right then. Or if you wanted to wait and see if the new setting will make you feel better, then wait until whenever you would like to have it lowered. The decision is yours from day one.

When you said "I am so tired of "bugging" the doc and wonder if he gets sick of me" that brought home to me those days when I was reluctant to question what a doctor thought was best for me. Well now, maybe it is because I'm old, cranky or just a horse's behind, I'm no longer reluctant to question my Dr and give my opinion and expect answers from my Dr that I understand. My feeling is that I am a customer of the Dr. Without customers like me and others like me he will not be in business very long. So I expect the same consideration from my Dr that I expect from any merchant with which I did business. So I don't think anyone is"bugging" a Dr when they have a request even if it has been less than 24 hrs since they were in the Dr office.

Good luck,

Smitty

pm setting

by aldeer - 2011-01-23 11:01:00

Hi Veronika...I would ask soon. When they set mine, I was asked what I wanted, and I replied, "Oh, about 65" and was told that setting was saved for when it started to need a new battery, so I chose 60 and feel fine with that. It often goes into the upper 80s when I am just walking around or doing housework, and that is fine. As soon as I sit down, within a few minutes, it goes back to 60. Hey, Smitty, one advantage of getting older is that we are no longer "afraid" of our doctors. I often think my cardiologist gets annoyed with my asking questions. Tough:)
Good luck, Veronica...aldeer

Who pays the Doc

by lanew - 2011-01-23 12:01:16

Hi guys, I seen this and had to put my 2 cents in, I just went to a Doctor Friday, I was having this stabbing leg pain in my left leg, I took her copys of every thing I had done in the past few months Notes, Meds, est, she comes in the room after about 1 1/2 hrs, pulls my feet up and gives me a Nerve pain Med, Gabapentin, and says I don't have time to read the Notes. I say I am paying you for your service, I pay my coe pay and my Insurance pays the rest. so I am paying for this time and If I have a question or a problem for you to try and help me with then I expect you to spend what ever time It takes to do so, if you don't know then I expect you to send me to someone who does. that is her Job, and I'm paying for that service. Oh I will be changing Doctors. when the Doctor tells me she has no time for my question, it time for change.

About 10 minutes.

by ElectricFrank - 2011-01-24 01:01:47

On one of my early checkups I left the office, did a brisk walk around the outside of the building, came back in and asked to have some settings changed. What I like about having the checkups done by the Medtronics rep is that he was very pleasant about it and all came out well.

frank

Every day if you have to

by DybHen - 2011-03-14 09:03:58

I have my doctor's Physician Assistant's cell phone number and I bug him all the time :-) Don't feel bad, it's their job. I had them change my rate 4 times in one month. Don't suffer when you don't need to.

My resting rate while I was hospitalized before my PM was low 40s. They originally set it for 40, then raised it to 50, then raised it to 60 and I was severely jacked up. Thought I was having a nervous breakdown, now it's at 55 and that seems to be my happy place.

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