Short of breath and weird feeling

Fluttering/thumping

by AgentX86 - 2018-07-14 23:16:18

You don't give us much information to go by but it's not normal but  it's not "normal" to have en emergency pacemaker implanted, either.  Perhaps you could tell us more about your symptoms that caused you to go to the ER and what you've been told about your condition.

Not sure

by Tula1970 - 2018-07-14 23:31:46

Sorry for the lack of info.  I had the pacemaker put in to control low heart rate.  I fainted numerous times in just a few weeks.  I went by ambulance for fainting again.  Fortunately I had on a holter monitor that caught  the low heart rate.  The Dr did a tilt table test to confirm that a PM would actually benefit me and it proved I would.  I have in a double lead PM to make sure that my heart rate doesn't go too low. I think they set it not to drop below 60.  

I am still so new to this I don't know all the technical terms and I am still just trying to figure it all out. 

Bradycardia

by AgentX86 - 2018-07-14 23:53:08

That's OK, we were all there at one time.  It just came up more suddenly for you than most.  My EP was telling me that I might need a pacemaker for a year and a half and we tried a number of other procedures before it came to "no other choice" time. Google is your friend.

That said, palpitations (thumps and bumps) aren't generally associated with bradycardia.  Can you feel your pulse?  Is it regular? 

It may be that you're unusually sensitive to what your pacemaker is doing to you.  Call your cardiologist's (or, preferably, EP's) nurse and tell them what's going on.  They may want to see you and my adjust your pacemaker.  They'll probably turn the voltage down after things settle in.  It may take some time to get used to your pacemaker but it doesn't hurt to talk with them.  That's what they're there for.

I too had that thumping

by Queen50 - 2018-07-15 19:06:08

I too, ended up getting a pm very quickly.  In the hospital on Saturday went into stage 4 heart block and got my pm Monday morning. I too, had thumps in my chest and was dizzy at the top of stairs and couldn’t catch my breath. I definitely felt weird   It was very hard to explain to people how I was feeling. However, I took the people’s advice on this forum and waited the 6 weeks and gave myself a chance for my body to figure out this pace maker thing. Surprising once that 6 week marker came I was feeling a whole lot better. I’m 4 months out and feel great.  Best wishes. 

Update

by Tula1970 - 2018-07-16 20:47:51

I ended up going to the emergency room yesterday I was told that one of the leads had slipped and was pacing the wrong Chamber Of My Heart. They scheduled me to have a procedure to repair them this morning and when they did the X-ray in the procedure suite they determined that the leads were fine.

I do have very frequent PVCs now which were not this pronounced prior to having the PM put in so I was prescribed a beta blocker to assist with those. I am back at home and resting and hope that the rest of this journey is much easier

Short of breath and feeling weirda

by unsinkable - 2018-10-02 22:58:31

I collapsed at work and was taken by ambulance to the ER. On the way I had another episode where I passed out. Once at the hospital I was diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome and told that my condition was a result of bradycardia. Never before had I experienced these symptoms. I have been treated with high blood pressure so to experience this sudden drop in pressure was completely out of the norm. That same day I was implanted. That was April of this year. It's taken some time to get used to my new normal but I feel better every week. Recovery takes time and I think we all experience this a bit differently.

Fatigue for me has been the most lingering condition. I read posts from others that are paced that speak to the fact that they are as physically engaged as they were prior to their implant surgery. I hope to get there soon. For now it's a bit of a process for me testing the boundaries of what I feel comfortable with on a daily basis. This is a great community of folks with varied experiences to share. Keep reaching out. Everyone is cheering everyone else along. It's an adjustment