Shoulder/rib injury yesterday

pacers are tough

by Tracey_E - 2018-03-23 20:40:54

Sounds like you jostled it good. The scar tissue might still be a little tender if knocked hard enough. Pacers are made of titanium and more or less indestructable. Us, not so much. My newest one sticks out a little. I ran a Spartan last month and caught the edge of it when scaling a wall. It's still sore if I poke at it, but it's fine. My dog ran into the back of my knee once and I fell into the door, put my fist out to break the fall and ended up with a fist sized bruise over it. All was fine. And my favorite story, there used to be a video on Heartbeat International's website of a boy who was shot in the chest. The pacer stopped the bullet, saved his life, and kept on pacing.

If you feel good and your heart rate is normal, that means it's pacing. If in doubt, you can always call and ask for an interrogation and xray to confirm, but odds are pretty high it's all ok. 

Accident

by Geri - 2018-03-23 20:52:36

Thanks so much, Tracy!  I often forget I have a pacer---Your reply made me feel really good and less anxious!

Pacers are tough (2)

by Theknotguy - 2018-03-24 00:26:41

I went back to working at a charity woodshop about a year after my pacemaker implant.  Turns out I had a lot of trauma I didn't know about as they had done CPR.  Multiple broken ribs, re-separation of my right shoulder, and a small separation of the left shoulder in addition to the pacemaker implant.  So while I felt good enough to go back there was still a lot of tissue damage I didn't know about. Why no one told me I'll never know.  I do know they were concerned at first that I would wake up, find out I was beaten up, then just give up and die.  But why there wasn't a follow-up afterwards is still a question for me. 

Consequently I'd start to do something, find out that I wasn't in as good shape as I thought.  I'd lift several pounds of wood in multiple repeat operations,  would start to hurt, then have to quit.  I'd spend one day working at the woodshop, then spend four days lying around taking Tylenol and aspirin to kill the pain.  

Point I'm trying to make for you is that throughout all the pain and sore muscles, there was no damage to the pacemaker and it kept working just fine.  I feel pacemakers are like the old Timex watch commercials.  "They take a lickin' and keep on tickin'."  So even though it sounds like you had a pretty good hit, your pacemaker should do just fine.  

Follow-up should be to find out what damage to yourself you may have done and possibly even a pacemaker check to calm your worries.  But on the surface and since you don't say you're having problems with your heartbeat it sounds like you're OK.  

Hope everything else goes well for you.  
 

A lot of useful data right there...

by ePaul2018 - 2018-03-24 00:27:52

Great conversation you guys, there is a lot of re-assuring data right there that will benefit others, especially new comers like myself that are likely to get similar reactions to a "woops" moment like that.

Thanks The Knot and Paul!

by Geri - 2018-03-24 06:59:16

Are the leads as strong as the pacemaker itself?  I have 2 silicone ones, and not too sure where they're placed...Thank you!...

leads

by Tracey_E - 2018-03-24 09:35:00

Leads are thin and flexible and intended to move with us, but no, they are not as tough as the pacer itself. Leads will run from the pacer into the vein then down into the heart. After the first year, scar tissue grows and they are in so tight it takes a special laser to get them out. Average lead life is 15 years however they can last 20 or even 30 or more. So, they are not indestructible, however they are reasonably tough and very well protected. 

You can ask for a copy of your xray if you want to see where your leads are. The NP emailed me my last one. I had to laugh because I've always joked that my xray probably looks like a bowl of spaghetti ... and it really does. I'm on my 5th device,  have one extra lead, and I have an unusual placement so leads are all over the place. 

Leads...Thank you!

by Geri - 2018-03-24 09:56:08

Thank you for the advice, Tracy!..I'll definitely get a copy of the x-ray...was worried maybe I dislodged one of the leads with my injury...

more on leads

by Tracey_E - 2018-03-24 18:21:55

If leads are going to come dislodged, it would be in the heart where the tips are, not in the chest where it connects to the device. This is unlikely after the first 24-48 hours. After the first year, it's nearly impossible because of the scar tissue. They do not put them in tight, there is slack between where they go in the vein and where they connect to the device. That extra is often coiled behind the device, so even if you pulled on it, it wouldn't do more than aggravate the scar tissue. There's no way you'd do anything to get tension down in the heart where they are attached. 

I'm going to post my xray in the gallery so you can see how much slack there is. Keep in mind mine is not a normal placement and I'm on my 5th, so I have way more extra lead than is normal. But it still shows how they go into the vein and run to the heart. Also, one of my leads is 20+ years old and how they screw in has changed, so I have this funky connector thing rather than the leads screwed directly into the device.

Leads...

by Geri - 2018-03-24 19:04:53

That's amazing, Tracie...When I pushed against the door with my shoulder, it felt like a large mass going up in my chest and then down...I think I may have bruised my top left rib, if that's possible... the discomfort near the top of the left rib is much less today...

Thanks so much, Robin!

by Geri - 2018-03-24 20:54:39

I thought it might be scar tissue too.. And it seems to be getting better...Feel very tired...and a little light-headed when lying down...

Update...

by Geri - 2018-03-31 20:05:00

Will be seeing my surgeon this week...Shoulder/chest injury seems to be getting better...Ice and one Aleve have helped a lot...as well as rest...exercising the injured area didn't help at all and made the discomfort worse...Hope to get an x-ray and to check my lungs...Somehow I think I may have bruised my muscles and possibly my lung?... as my breathing is not always easy complete breaths...