Recovery expectations

Hi, I'm a newly wired body. I have found this site to be a real comfort and source of information as I go through this experience. It's nice to be able to read practical and real life experiences rather than just the medical side of things. It gave me a better handle on the panic that set in when the idea of a pacemaker was first suggested to me.

I was hoping someone could help me with understanding what I should expect now that I'm wired. I had my PPM installed on 23/3/17 and my GP has told me to start exercising gently again. I'm 52 and although I never considered myself particularly fit I was pretty active before developing bradycardia and AV block. I normally briskly walked my dogs daily for 1 hour before racing off and riding my 2 horses for about 2 hours. I began having strange symptoms about 6 months ago but about 3 weeks before my operation the breathlessness, lightheaded and muscle fatigue really set in and I couldn't function as before. 

Now as I resume my exercise even walking at my half pace still leaves me feeling as I did before my op. I know I am only set for a low level of pacing(45) because I didn't respond well when they had it set higher upon installation, so could this be an issue? I have been monitoring my heart rate and it is still getting down to 40-50 when resting but not getting up to much more than 80-90 when exercising, unless I go up flights of stairs then we get to 110 but I feel breathless and lightheaded then.I go back for my first follow up with the cardiologist in 1 week where I assume they will increase my base rate to maybe 60???? Will this help to make me feel better or am I likely to have to live with a considerable lower level of physical exertion?

Any advice hugely appreciated.

6 Comments

New to Pacemaker

by TBrous&Chip - 2017-04-12 08:36:25

Follow docs advice and get moving again.  Trust your PM.  It may need a few adjustments but it is a dependable device.

I am 65 yrs old and just had my 1 yr anniversary since getting the PM.  Physically I had no problems after implant and the normal healing process.  My 2 son-in-laws jokingly call me a cyborg since I now depend on an electrical device in my body.

For me the mental was the problem.  After dizziness and passing out for 6 months before getting a definitive diagnosis I did not believe the PM would really help.  I now know that it does get me back to a normal life.

Hope you are also one of the many lucky people who can get back to your normal activities

recovery

by Tracey_E - 2017-04-12 11:52:49

You should feel better than before, not worse. If you are feeling symptoms at 40-50 then I would ask them to turn it up higher. Minimal pacing is ideal, but a typical resting rate is in the 60's, not the 40's or 50's. Don't go overboard trying to minimize pacing, the whole point of having it is to get your rate up to a normal rate.

It's normal to take a  few tries to get the settings right. Note the date/time when you have episodes, that can help them pinpoint what you need. Don't accept not being able to do what you want to do, always ask to be seen again so they can fine tune the settings. If they don't get it in a few tries, sometimes a treadmill is helpful. They can watch as you exert, see what your heart and the pacer are doing, and adjust accordingly. 

Recovery

by Wired28 - 2017-04-12 21:08:37

Thank you for the advice. I will continue with the exercise and note any issues with time and date. I will also continue to monitor my diet to ensure I get all the good fuel I need to keep healthy. Relieved to know that I should expect to get back to my old self, or should I say a supercharged version of the new me! The information you have passed on now gives me more confidence to push myself and my doctors a little more to help me get on with my life. After all that is the whole purpose of the pacemaker is it not? Anyway I'm off to walk the dogs, slow and steady for the short term. Thanks again, your support is received with much gratitude❤️❤️❤️

thirty years in

by dwelch - 2017-04-13 01:44:15

I am right around 30 years with pacemakers.  switching from 2 lead number four to 3 lead number one in two weeks.  (something you dont need to worry about for another 25+ years of pacemaker pacing)

I used to be resting in the 40s, sleeping in the 30s and could always hear my heart beating in my ear, and could see it between my ribs.  The two major things for me was the empty feeling not having that heavy heart beat and rushing in the ears, and it took a bit to sleep with a faster pace at night, I hear some new ones they can change the night time lower limit from the daytime.

But overally this thing makes you better not worse.  It doesnt make you an athlete overnight, but it should be smoothing out/fixing your problem. 

Other than high emi fields like hugging a transformer (which will confuse the pacer and turn it off temporarily), it makes you normal.

Again on number four almost number five.  Recovery was mostly about me not moving my shoulder and keeping it stiff to keep the incision from hurting, but after a week or few and you start to loosen up those muscles again it keeps getting better every day/week until you forget you even have it (and bang something on it and that hurts and certainly reminds you).

They are so much smaller now than my first one so the recovery was that much easier.  Long term other than climbing power poles and hugging transformers, you can go go back to doing everything you were doing before and maybe more. 

 

 

 

Add on to dwelch

by TBrous&Chip - 2017-04-16 16:21:25

Also no welding.  I never wanted to weld or be a lineman so no problem for me

suggestion

by JeffreyMorgan - 2017-04-18 08:01:44

Follow doctor's advice and it go ahead.

You know you're wired when...

Your device acts like a police scanner.

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