Pacemaker Club: Sharp, Fast Pain

Sharp, Fast Pain

by Martyvogel1
2019-07-20 00:20:09
General Posting
772 views
2 comments

Today is 1 week post crt-d implant. Healing has been steady and on track.

Today I had a really fast sharp pain that felt like it originated in the center of my chest and shot across my right upper chest and then it was gone. It lasted all of 1-2 seconds. No other symptoms noted.

I'm thinking maybe it was a muscle spasm or part of the healing process. But my mind goes into overdrive and I start to panic and think the worst...Does this sound like anything serious???

Thanks for your time!

2 Comments

Post implant healing

by Theknotguy - 2019-07-20 10:32:05

Post implant of the pacemaker you are always more sensitive to all sorts of things. They've just done minor surgery on your body, given you all sorts of warnings, then send you home as if nothing had happened. It takes your mind a while to adjust to the new situation, then you have the actual healing process to go through. Oh, and if you watch a video of a pacemaker implant, you won't think of it as minor surgery. I'm glad I watched the video post implant!

You'll feel all sorts of bumps, thumps, and other feelings post implant. Some people report "ant bites" type of sensations as the nerves reconnect in the scar tissue. I occasionally got the sharp pains you had. If it goes away quickly, it's usually just the nerves healing. Sometimes it's the scar tissue being stretched out. Just depends. So if you take a deep breath and the pain goes away it's probably just feelings you get from healing.

There is additional healing that goes on for six months or longer. At or about nine months post implant I went back to working in a woodshop. Was lifting up to 50 pounds of wood at a pop. Didn't feel a thing while I was doing it but the next day it felt like someone had wrapped my pacemaker in sandpaper. I'd be using hot/cold packs, aspirin, and Tylenol to help ease the pain. The pain gradually went away and now I can lift what I want. I use this as an example because most people aren't aware of how long the healing can go on.

Oh, I'm six years out and sometimes will get the sharp pain you described. Usually it's after I've been doing some type of exercise I shouldn't have been doing. But mostly I can do anything I want as far as exercise goes.

Hope everything else is going well for you.

tell your doctor but

by Uelrindru - 2019-07-21 17:43:54

As always tell your doctor about wierd things but Theknotguy is right. I used to get a burning in my site, felt like someone set it on fire and threw glass in just to be sure. I've been back to work for a bit and I have the sandpaper feel right now. it's getting better as I work my shoulders more.