New pacemaker

I had a pacemaker put in 2 days ago.

I find when I go from and lying to a sitting position I am in pain. If I just lie I'm fine. I just wanted to know whether it's normal.

Also I feel so old with a pacemaker I wish they would change the name of it.

5 Comments

Welcome

by Sue H. - 2012-04-22 09:04:51

Some pain is very normal so soon after receiving a pacemaker. It will get better with time. But if it gets red and is very painful and feels warm, call your doctor.

Don't feel old because you have a pacemaker. Infants,
teenagers, all ages of people have pacemakers.

You are only as old as you allow your brain to think you are and don't let happen. Don't believe everything you think. (-:

Good luck to you and you'll find the people on here are a great supportive group.

Sue

Hmmmmm, A New Name for A PM...

by donr - 2012-04-22 10:04:58

How about Cardiac Rejuvenating Arrhythmia Preventer? Make you feel younger?

Sorry, but from one retired Old Coot to another, I like PM for a name - short, sweet, explicit & real.

As to the pain - we are all different in how we respond to a 4" slash across the upper chest which includes some surgeon grubbing around under the sub-cutaneous fat to bore a hole in a vein & thread a couple wires into our hearts then plant the harpoons on the ends of those wires into the inner wall of our hearts like Capt Ahab doing in Moby Dick. It seems like a simple procedure, & in some respects, it is; but - it is NOT trivial.

Expect some pain, but look out for infectiion. For some reason, pocket infections seem to run an unacceptably high rate & are tough to cure - I'd guess because there is a foreign object in there that can cause irritation all the while the infection is raging. Sue's advice is Spot On for the moment. If there is no evidence of infection & the pain does not ameliorate in a few more days, it's time to make a business call on your surgeon for an explanation.

Don

Left arm move

by Jax - 2012-04-23 02:04:21

Even though I am a lefty the EP planted the PM on my left side. He thought it would work better that way. He said that I should try to use my right hand and not to move my left hand too much.

This is making me crazy. I do try and use my right hand more but with certain things both hands have to work together. It is ok to move my left hand. I know that I can't lift it over my head but with like washing dishes it's tough. This is my third day with a pm. The pain is better but there's still alot to get used to. Help!!

Left arm move

by Jax - 2012-04-23 02:04:32

Even though I am a lefty the EP planted the PM on my left side. He thought it would work better that way. He said that I should try to use my right hand and not to move my left hand too much.

This is making me crazy. I do try and use my right hand more but with certain things both hands have to work together. It is ok to move my left hand. I know that I can't lift it over my head but with like washing dishes it's tough. This is my third day with a pm. The pain is better but there's still alot to get used to. Help!!

Name Change

by Grateful Heart - 2012-04-23 12:04:06

A rose by any other name...

A little hard to get used to but you have this wonderful site and all the knowledgeable fellow pacers now. I wish I knew about this site when I first had my ICD. The sooner you embrace and accept you PM the better you will feel about it.

Welcome to the club.

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I'm 35 and got my pacemaker a little over a year ago. It definitely is not a burden to me. In fact, I have more energy (which my husband enjoys), can do more things with my kids and have weight because of having the energy.