Tiredness

David

by IAN MC - 2018-02-13 13:27:42

It is difficult to answer your question because you seem certain that the pacemaker is the cause of your problem and to make matters worse you don't seem to know why you had it fitted in the first place . I strongly suggest that you talk to your doctor and ask two questions :-

i)  Why do I have a pacemaker and

ii) what is likely to happen if I had it removed

Just some observations :-

- you never get a pacemaker * because you've got a  racing heart " . A pacemaker can ONLY make sure that your heart doesn't beat too slowly. Sometimes drugs taken for a racing heart can reduce the heart rate too far and then a PM is used, A pacemaker cannot turn your atrial fibrillation into a normal heart rhythmn.  A pacemaker cannot control a fast heart rhythm

- there are many causes of tiredness e.g. anaemia, underactive thyroid, diabetes, drug side-effects ,depression etc .Perhaps you need to find the real cause.   If your resting heart rate is too low that could cause tiredness and a simple adjustment to the PM would sort that out BUT your pacemaker cannot cause tiredness , only your underlying medical condition can ! 

You are taking bisatrol ,You are wrong to think that it is a heart tablet, it isn't !  You must be taking it for some sort of stomach complaint , could that be causing  tiredness ?

Are you on any other drugs , maybe a beta blocker for your fast heartbeat . If so, that could cause tiredness . Don't automatically blame the pacemaker.

Your statement that  " my GP has me on warfarin so I don't need a pacemaker "  makes no sense whatsoever . Warfarin may stop you from having a stroke because of your atrial fibrillation .. nothing to do with the pacemaker !!

Please get a better understanding of your health problems before you decide that you don't need a pacemaker.

Best of luck

Ian

Tiredness

by David4uok - 2018-02-13 16:19:39

Thankyou for your comment I've an appointment with my GP next week and the cardiologist in April. I've had blood tests no anemia,no under active thyroid, no diabetes no cancer thankfully but spinal stenosis ostiartheritis enlarged prostate and they say SSS which causes dizziness and tiredness. However the latter if it is didn't affect me as much as it is now. The tiredness is worse. I've asked what will happen if I have the pacemaker removed my GP shys away from this question yet he says they this is the hospital that for your age your heart and tubes are in very good condition,so a pacemaker doesn't make sense. As for my spine troubles I take the nerve tablet called gaberpentin and for my prostrate tamsulin for my heart one 1.25mg bistrol. So none of these make me cronically tired. As for warfrin im being kept on this to keep my blood thin because of my AF. Before I had the pacemaker fitted I had warfrin. Im now not dizzy but tired all the time,but my blood pressure does read low all the time so it can only be the heart although racing it's not pumping correctly causing SSS .but I had this way back in my 40s nothing was said or done, now im in my 70s they are saying I need a pacemaker but it's not working, so you see why do I need a pacemaker.

Your pacemaker doesn't make you tired.

by LondonAndy - 2018-02-13 17:49:39

I completely agree with Ian's comments.  A pacemaker is a "safety net", ensuring that your heart rate does not drop too low.  It cannot make you tired - just the opposite!  Do you know what is the minimum beats per minute that your pacemaker is set at?  It might be worth asking them to increase the minimum rate.

I am not sure that you are right about taking "bistrol" - do you mean Bisoprolol? That is well known for making people tired - and I am on it, so if this is the drug you mean (which would make sense, as it lowers the heart rate) I think this will be the cause of your tiredness, though I am not familiar with the other drugs you mention.

Tiredness

by David4uok - 2018-02-14 03:48:16

Firstly good morning to you all in answer to London Andy no I don't know what beats per minute my pacemaker is set at I,ll ask the cardiologist this in April when I see him,the card they gave me says nothing it doesn't describe the pacemaker,and my apologies for my spelling,yes it is bistopolol at the smallest amount 1.25mg  as my body cannot take extra dosage so a small amount like this shouldn't cause excessive tiredness in as much I am lelathalic for most of the day. And for Robin I will certainly ask about cardiac Rehab thankyou genrgentl for your sound advice.

You are on a beta blocker

by IAN MC - 2018-02-14 04:52:17

I suspect that you are still getting the name slightly wrong and that you are taking low-dose BISOPROLOL. Even at the lowest dose  you may get the side-effects of feeling dizzy and / or being permanently tired . Appparently more than 1 in 10 people do experience a lethargic feeling with bisoprolol.

Drug side-effects are not always related to dosage, you may be one of the unlucky ones !

Your tiredness may be caused by something else but the beta blocker is a likely suspect.

Hope you get it resolved

Ian

Tiredness

by David4uok - 2018-02-14 05:13:39

Thankyou Ian for correcting me further yes I only take 1.25mg of it and it does make me more tired than ever, I am going to contact Papworth hospital later to ask the consultant who put this pacemaker into me what it is supposed to be doing as the small amount of this tablet isn't I feel doing much except making me tired. Before I had this I slept yes in the afternoon but nothing like I am now, I honestly believe since being told I had this SSS I've got worse,before I never knew what I had it never affected me in such a manner and the only reason I thought I was being kept on warfrin was because I had suffered in the past a DV clot where I slipped near my garage,it's now understood im on warfrin for AF. I wouldn't had known I had this it only came to light because my left leg had swollen and I got sent up the hospital to do a treadmill test and it never took part because my heart was beating at 176 a minute but I drove to the hospital band drove home with no affects.How it all derived I should have a pacemaker I don't know but I had to and I don't feel it's doing anything. Before I had a racing heart no pacemaker no problem now a pacemaker same racing heart a problem! And being made to take a tablet with devistating  side affects doesn't make sense.

What's the pacemaker for?

by Gotrhythm - 2018-02-14 14:26:32

I hear your frustration with never feeling well. You obviously have a complex condition, way beyond my ability to comment on. But like Ian, I sense that some of the frustration is being caused by a faulty understanding of what a pacemaker is and what it's designed to do.

Back to basics. As you know, your heart is fundamentally a pump. Like any pump, it has two systems, the part that does the physical work, and the electrical system that turns the pump off and on. Like any pump, something can go wrong with the part that is doing the pumping, or the electrical part. Or you can have problems with both.

But for now, let's talk about the switch.

You say you have SSS, or Sick Sinus Syndrome. I have that too. The simus node is the electrical "switch" part of the heart. If you have SSS it means your heart's switch is faulty. It doesn't always make your heart beat (pump) when it should. Sometimes it makes your heart beat too fast. Sometimes it makes it too slow. People with SSS do not feel well, particularly when their heart is going too slow.

A pacemaker is like an auxilluary switch for your heart. It helps when your heart is beating too slow.  Anytime the sinus node doesn't send a signal to beat, the pacemaker is ready to supply a beat so that your heartbeat or pulse stays as fast as it should be.

If your heartbeat is too fast, the pacemaker doesn't do anything. It only works when your heart is not going fast enough on it's own.

Ask your doctor how your pacemaker and the drugs you are being given are supposed to work together to stabilize your heart rate and keep it from being too fast or too slow.

Hope this helps.

Tiredness

by David4uok - 2018-02-15 03:16:38

Thankyou for your reply whilst I appreciate all these replies before this pacemaker was fitted I had no real problems so when I see this cardiologist in April I want to know why I had this pacemaker fitted. This tiredness only came about after I had the pacemaker fitted in 2015. Prior to this I had slight afternoon tiredness but with this in my chest their is no imptimprove so it's not the heart and it's still only I firmly believe it's all associated with the settings of my pacemaker. Before all of this I was driving I was going out ok I was dizzy but my GP said it was hypertension so again no problems gentleman before 2015 then suddenly the doctor's decided I needed a pacemaker and well suddenly im being told I need a pacemaker, why! If my heart was supposed to be racing and it didn't affect me before 2015 except with a little tiredness, to suddenly wham bam thankyou mam im having to have a pacemaker fitted in 2015 im either being told lies or not being told everything ...something just doesn't add up,. 

Hypertension or hypotension?

by LondonAndy - 2018-02-15 06:23:36

Are you sure that your doctor said HYPER, and not HYPOtension?  Hyper is when blood pressure is too high, and hypo is when it is too low.  Feeling dizzy is mostly associated with low blood pressure, which would then make more sense for your pacemaker to be inserted.  So I repeat Ian's comment: your pacemaker is part of the solution, not the problem.  If you are falling out of an aircraft and suddenly handed a parachute, but still hit the ground too hard, is it the fault of the parachute or of the fact you were already falling?  Your pacemaker is your parachute.

And even in small doses, Bisoprolol can cause tiredness.  There are other beta-blockers that might be worth trying: I am now on Nebivolol, for example, though this still causes me to feel tired.

Tiredness/cardiologist

by David4uok - 2018-02-15 07:17:41

Hello again London Andy, I don't know what's happening here now,another letter from a Dr at kings Lyn to attend on sat 24 th I can't go at their beck and call like this. No warning just turn up, I will say for NN they give you warning,now being in contact with papworth over my pacemaker proves the worm is amongst the pidgeons they are suddenly interested I wonder why! I still say that before the pacemaker my life was for 68 pretty good no problems at all, a little tiredness yes, as my arthritis was hurting, then one morning woke up with a swollenl leg and next minute up the hospital for a test but they found out my heart was racing and the lady who looked at my leg said it wasn't to do with the heart, I even had a heart doctor look at it and he agreed it wasn't my heart. I came home but they wanted me to have a strong dose of bisatrol I didn't know why they told me I said no as their was nothing wrong with my heart,he said it's racing and this will slow it down, I had to take it and that's how it's been and I told my own GP I wasn't having it there's nothing wrong with my heart you are keeping me on warfrin, and next minute they want me in king's Lyn and im being wired up and to this day I fought it and I know now I've had heart scans my tubes are clear my heart is in excellent condition ok a bit of AF so why do I need a pacemaker? And this is my answer to the specialists.

There is nothing wrong with your heart ????????

by IAN MC - 2018-02-15 07:33:50

David    You seem to be in complete denial . You have atrial fibrillation . You had tachycardia ( racing heart ) so there IS something wrong with your heart.  Forget the tubes , forget the plumbing , YOU HAVE  AN ELECTRICAL HEART PROBLEM !!

Cardiologists don't install pacemakers for the fun of it .They must have  detected or had a concern about you developing bradycardia ( too slow a heart beat )

 I'm not sure why you need a warning before you attend a Dr appointment . Do you want to resolve your health problem or not ?

Ian

Tiredness

by David4uok - 2018-02-15 07:55:24

Ian mc im not in denial, before all this started I had no problems I had no heart attacks no angina nothing except ostiartheritis and later spinal stenosis and an enlargedp prostrate. I had sadly through a small fall near my garage door a blood clot in my right leg,and I had to have an injection to clear it and was put on warfrin ever since,there was no tests for heart problems. Dec 2015 I had to have a pacemaker no one explained to me Why! I was kept in hospital for three days and eventually sent to papworth where this thing was put in me and since it has been in me I have felt bloody ill,no one has told me why, I've had to endure scans, hospital stays injections and yet my heart is ok im told working ok im told no one though has yet told me why im so tired and all I take inmedication is 1 25mgof this drug to slow my heart down which it's not so again why do I need a pacemaker if it's not doing what it should do,the tablet isn't slowing my heart down and the pacemaker isn't kicking in,I can't increase my tablet because it makes me feel ill I can't take the tablet associated with foxgloves as that knocks me out. So back to my heart racing,before the pacemaker my heart must have had a electrical problem as you put it,it didn't affect me at all,now my answer to you is if tablets are not working my heart is still racing it isn't causing a problem I don't feel any in difference except as j say tiredness why do I need a pacemaker.

?????

by IAN MC - 2018-02-15 08:22:10

David    During your 3 day stay at Papworth Hospital ( which is incidentally one of the leading heart units in the UK )  did you not once talk to the doctors ?   Were you in a coma ?  Did they at no time say to you , we are fitting a pacemaker because .............

Perhaps I am naturally nosey but if someone attacks my  chest with  a scalpel and then installs a  metal object, I would ask them WHY ???

If you carefully re-read some of the above replies you will find possible reasons why you might need a pacemaker

Ian

Papworth

by David4uok - 2018-02-15 08:37:05

Hello Ian no your not nosey at all no I wasn't at papworth for three days I was at kings Lyn they had me hooked up to the bleeper I had to stay as before I threatened to leave this ward they had locked my tablets in this cabinet I tried to get them and two gorillas stood in my way but I was still adamant I wanted to go home but they said I was ill I said I wasn't but then big wigs appeared and calmed me down and I then questioned them they said your heart is weak I said it wasn't but I asked why and they said yes electrical faults I still said why! No one told me anything except it will be good for you .I tried to come home they wouldn't let me I laid their and didn't respond only went to the toilet and then the ambulance crew arrived and carted me off to papworth where even then I said to the staff nurse why! No reply except again electrical, the rest is history and now 2018 and still no answer. All I feel is tired, I've had no chest pain nothing I keep asking Why and still no decent answer so my answer to these professionals are I don't want this thing in me. Simple.

I believe you--but WHY? isn't the right question

by Gotrhythm - 2018-02-15 14:49:40

OK. I think I finally see the disconnect. 

You say you know about the electrical problem, but no one can tell you why. I know how you feel. I too was frustrated that no one could tell me why my perfectly healthy heart needed a pacemaker. It didn't compute.

Here's what I learned. Nobody knows exactly why. The older we get the more likely we are to develop electrical problems, but why older people get electrical problems isn't understood. You can ask why over and over, but nobody can give you an answer because nobody knows.

Now I have a question for you. If you did know why, what would change? 

However, since you do have an electrical problem, then an electrical solution, like a pacemaker, sort of makes sense, don't you agree?

As for feeling tired since you got the pacemaker. I believe you. You know how you feel and you know when it started. I'm not a doctor, but there are problems, like a hidden infection, or drug side effects, that could have started at the same time. Or your pacemaker might not be properly adjusted so that it works well for you.

Changing the settings on my pacemaker helped my tiredness a lot. It's shocking how often pacemakers are left on the factory settings and never adjusted, and also how often rate response isn't turned on. That will make you feel very tired.

Rather than asking why, a more useful question would be, What could have happened at the same time I got the pacemaker to cause this tiredness? And you should also ask, How can my pacemaker settings be adjusted so that I can feel better?

Hope this helps.

pacemaker

by David4uok - 2018-02-15 15:27:52

Thankyou so much for your reply you have answered my questions and I will take this answer to the cardiologist and perhaps just perhaps you have given me encouragement thankyou. I can't remember at papworth the pacemaker being set properly. As for drugs before the pacemaker I only had paracetamol for my back since then 2015 I have had tamsulin for my prostrate and gabapentin for my back I think, but since the pacemaker has been fitted my tiredness is diabolical. So yes you've given me the answers I've sought and their is no escape by the cardiologist. Thankyou and if your right I have my answer the electrical problem that isn't affecting as such may be now answered.