Contra dance and pacemakers

Hi, folks. I'm at 5 1/2 weeks post-implant, and feeling great. I spent last night contra dancing, a favorite activity. I'm wondering if there are any other contra dancers out there, especially women, or anyone else who may have insight into what I should be able to do once I hit my EP's 8-week (!) limit on raising that left arm overhead. I have been dancing carefully--no twirls, arm-yanking moves, etc. I suspect that even after the 8 weeks, I may not want to try twirls or any other kind of moves that put your arm straight up. Flourishes are fun, but not at the expense of yanking leads out. Here's a nice video of a venue I occasionally dance at. You can see what folks do: left allemandes, left-hand stars, tugging by another dancer, possibly a left-arm twirl (no dips!). Love them all, but if a careless yank is a potential problem, I will just make them not happen....oh, and enjoy the music and the dancing! It's a wonderful form of exercise with others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcYOIXIMfJQ


7 Comments

go for it

by Tracey_E - 2018-06-10 20:43:31

I didn't see anything in that video you can't do now! You aren't going to yank a lead out. Any restrictions after the first few days are just precaution. The leads attach in the heart where scar tissue holds them in after the first few days. There is plenty of slack where the lead comes out of the vein, often enough that it's coiled behind the device. No amount of moving your arm is going to pull on it where it enters the vein much less down in the heart. 

p.s. I'm an admin, I deleted the duplicate post. 

Time to twirl!

by Sharon M. - 2018-06-10 21:21:00

Thanks, Tracey! I kind of wonder why my EP is so conservative, but I've been very good about following instructions. I'm starting to forget to, though....sounds like that's fine. I can certainly feel it when I lift my arm overhead, but I'm betting that feeling will also pass after a while. I'm assuming that the connections between the PM and the leads can take some punishment as well. Thanks for your comments and support. 

I'm moving!

by Sharon M. - 2018-06-10 21:36:21

Thanks, Robin. I am definitely moving. Zumba, LaBlast, contra. The only things I haven't been doing are the arm overhead thing and not carrying heavy weight (I do have heart failure, though, and an old valve job to go with the new battery. It's actually a lot less obvious to me than the PM). I'm not too worried about my recovery rate, just interested in others' experiences. It's good to see that I'm on the right track.

taking some punishment

by Tracey_E - 2018-06-10 22:56:51

I do not baby my leads, and they are just fine. I've been paced since 1994. They are thin and flexible and intended to move with us. I have never held back, but my family would tell you I've gone a little crazy the last few years. It all started with a friend who convinced me to try Crossfit. I didn't think I could do it. Turned out I could, and it was a blast. Then one of my kids talked me into taking her on a zipline which I expected to hate.  I loved it. Then I wanted to do something hard I'd never done before to celebrate 20 years being paced. I dragged my oldest kid on a 5k with me that weekend. I was slow, but I finished. I created a monster, now she's got me training for our second half marathon. So then I started asking myself what other things was I afraid to try that might be really fun?  I don't have any other health problems and I have a doctor who encourages me to be as active as  I can. I did a Spartan race earlier this year which had walls to scale, barbed wire to crawl under, monkey bars, ropes to climb, buckets of rock to carry. I emailed my ep a muddy finish line picture. My youngest is coming home later this week and we plan to spend a day at Disney doing coasters. So far I haven't found anything that my cardiologist has a problem with and my leads are in great shape. Go dance :)

I'm on it!

by Sharon M. - 2018-06-10 23:18:02

Oh boy, Tracey! You make me want to jump for joy! I am so impressed! Not that I have any desire to do Crossfit, and I hate to run. As for the Spartans....well. But you are the kind of role model I need. Hooray! I'm glad you're out there.

you never know until you try :)

by Tracey_E - 2018-06-11 10:10:15

Crossfit is fun. I'm slow and sometimes I have to modify, but it's more doable than you think and feeling yourself get stronger and stronger is addictive. I'll tell you a secret, I hate to run too lol. I like challenges and goals, I like pushing myself,  but mostly I love having something my daughter and I share. She's away at college but we compare our training stats and goals, we are planning coordinating costumes for our next Disney run, and we meet for races. But running itself? Meh. 

A pacemaker is not an excuse to turn into a slug! Just the opposite, it gives us the ability to do more because now our hearts can keep up. It's normal to be a little paranoid at first but it shouldn't hold you back at all once you're fully healed. Enjoy life to the fullest and don't worry about the pacer. 

Thanks, Swangirl

by Sharon M. - 2018-06-18 01:01:27

Thanks for your comment, Swangirl. I have the contra dancing under control now. Yoga is next.

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