Wondering if I need a rate adjustment?

I've had a PM since 2010 due to bradycardia. My current PM is a Boston Scientific, the low setting is at 60 bpm. and has been forever. I am very active and walk a brisk 20-minute mile every morning with no side effects, no SOB, etc. and have a lot of energy for my age -- 85.

This started a few  months ago..... After eating dinner I normally sit down a watch a little TV or read. Within a very few mintes I find myself sound asleep... actually cannot keep my eyes open or hold my head up.

My daughter's friend had this same problem and she found out she needed a pacemaker. Now her problem has been alleviated. This made me wonder if I might possibly need to have my rate increased a bit? Any thoughts?

3 Comments

Falling asleep after a meal

by Gemita - 2020-10-04 16:22:54

Hello Normalou,

What time is dinner ?  At 85 I think you have every right to relax and fall soundly asleep at any time, but particularly after an enjoyable dinner and when you are nicely relaxed.  At 82 my husband is doing this all the time.

Why don't you ask to have your heart rate raised a bit to see if it makes a difference.  Can do no harm although you might find your body is less relaxed with a higher heart rate when it is time to sleep.  I also suffer from bradycardia and when I first had my pacemaker set at 70 bpm, I found it difficult to sleep but now I sleep better than ever.

Do you find that your sleep at night is affected by falling asleep immediately after dinner, or doesn't it make a difference ?  If it doesn't make a difference, I would be inclined to leave well alone. 

Not the pacemaker

by Gotrhythm - 2020-10-04 17:31:36

I don't know the answer but I have the same concern. I'm 77. My pacemaker was 9 this August. For the last 6-8 months, I've had the same problem.

The thing is I remember being a teenager watching my grandmother who was then around 80 napping in the evening. And later, my aunt when she aprroached the same age also tended to fall asleep after supper. Neither of them had a pacemaker, although they both had heart failure.

My conclusion is that it's just one of those things that comes with age, pacemaker or not.

But what age has to do with it, I don't know.

Sleep after a meal

by AgentX86 - 2020-10-05 16:41:59

This could also be a blood sugar effect.  That doesn't mean diabetes, rather normal variations caused by the meal.  Otherwise known as a sugar crash after a sugar high.  Most of us have been really tired after a large meal. Think Thanksgiving (no, it's not tryptophan). I know that if I go out for lunch (often suppliers will take us out), I'll get really sleepy in the afternoon.  Many shoot up with coffee to combat it.  I can't, so have to fight the drowsies.  It's perfectly normal.  As we get older, many things affect us more than they once did ("Get off my lawn!").

You know you're wired when...

You invested in the Energizer battery company.

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So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.