Any advice for a one month checkup

• by trumpetplayer
• 2007-10-23 10:10:41
• Checkups & Settings
• 1996 views
• 4 comments

It has been a month since my Medtronics Adapta dual lead pacemaker was implanted. I go back next week for my first month checkup.

I have noticed a significant decrease in the benefit I was receiving for the first couple of weeks after implantation.

Now I'm feeling tired and more short of breath again. I think I read somewhere that pacemakers might need adjustment after the scar tissue that holds the leads in place is formed. Maybe that's what is going on.

It may be a lot of factors including an extremely stressful job and work environment. I wish I was better able to cope with work but I'm not. It frustrates me that I'm not coping like I want to even now that I'm a month out from the pacemaker procedure....I've got to deal with it. Retirement is too far off and a change in job is not likely.

During my one week checkup, the doctor did his thing, said I was fine and that was it. And I was doing okay but had no clue what he was looking at or what questions I should ask.

Could some of you help me out with some advice on some of the questions / issues that I need to discuss with the Doctor during the one month check?

They have it set for a resting heart rate of 70 although lately, it seems the lowest I've seen it is 75 and it hangs out in the 80's and 90's a lot of the time. That may not seem really fast but before the device was implanted, my heart rate was 35 and below so it can seem a little fast for me.

The main problem is that I'm just not feeling as well as I did right after the implant. I feel like I'm experiencing some of the previous symptoms of feeling tired, fatigued and short of breath. The tiredness and fatigue is fairly significant. The shortness of breath just seems a little worse and seems to come and go.

Thanks

Dan