1st pace visit

Hi, I had pm fitted 8 weeks ago, all has been well, until today. Had first pace check and they have turned it up from 60 to I don't know what. I feel like my heart is thudding and the same in my throat. Is this normal or do I need to go back? Tia jo xxx

3 Comments

Setting changes

by TBrous&Chip - 2017-06-21 06:51:02

I would go back.

At my last visit I requested and received copies of my interrogation reports so I can see for myself what the settings are. I will carry these records with me when traveling so if I end up in an ER the ER  doctor can review my records before a Medtronic rep arrives and sets up for an interrogation.. In the future hospitals will be able to interrogate and send information to a remote pm tech for quicker response.

If more than one setting gets changed during a siingle visit you will  not know what caused your discomfort. Demand that only one pm setting is changed per visit so that you can properly assess setting changes.

We are our own best care advocate.  We have to stay knowledgeable about our pm information.

 

Go Back

by Gotrhythm - 2017-06-22 16:59:17

It's neither neccessary nor advisable that you "put up" with bad feelings caused by the pacemaker. (Defibrillators are a different story, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about them to comment.)

Pacemaker settings are not one size fits all. Adjusting your settings so that they are optimal for you can take sereral visits, and the tech/doctor won't know how you are feeling unless you tell them.

It's not unusual that your base hr was changed and you don't know to what. In my experience, cardiac offices will volunteer next to nothing. I surmise it's because some people are made nervous by technical language they don't understand, and they don't wish to frighten people where there is no real problem.

Be that as it may, if you want to know something, you'll have to ask. A good place to start is with a printout of the interrogation summary. They can hand it to you right then.

Once you know what the letters stand for, most of it is not hard to understand, and you will be better able to communicate with them about what is going on with you. 

Learning to advocate for yourself is a steep learning curve for some pacemaker recipients. It was for me. But it will pay off in your continued well-being--and also in the respect you will garner from the professionals.

Thankyou

by Jojo - 2017-06-27 09:39:29

thankyou so much for your advice, I went back! Back to normal thankfully. I took my niece with me, she is a nurse! So understands the talk they talk lol.. as long as I have no issues, I go back in 12 months. Thankyou jo x

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