Dreams

Wondered if there was anyone else out there having horrible dreams about their PMs. Since my implant seven weeks ago my sleep has been very disturbed. I originally thought it was because I was quite sore and bruised but that is much better but I am still waking up three to four times a night for no apparent reason but waking up very aware of my PM and my heart beating strangely.

This morning I woke up very distressed. I dreamt that my PM was coming out because the wound had burst right open. The wound was very different in my dream - it was stitched on three sides. So there was this huge flap of skin and I could see the pacemaker and all the wires inside my body. It was horrible! And then when I looked closely I found there were two pacemakers! I awoke in such a panic and it has been hard to shake off this feeling. I have had some other dreams about the PM - all of them distressing.

Does anyone else have PM nightmares?

Sue

7 Comments

Sleep and dreams

by Swedeheart - 2008-03-26 02:03:42

Hello,

I am 4 weeks since my first implant. Sleeping is a luxury I haven't enjoyed much since implant. I have always been a "good sleeper" so this is a new challenge in my life. I too have had terrible anxiety about it all... it is getting a little better (at least during the day) but I keep wondering what this thing is doing to me! Sometimes at night I feel the blood surging through my veins and my heart beating. Never thought about any of that "before the pm".

I have had a couple of yucky dreams, but nothing about the PM itself... I generally don't remember my dreams either so I have found all of this challenging. I just feel if I could get decent sleep at night all would heal so much better and faster.

I don't think you are alone in the difficulties with accepting this little techo wonder we all have... I only wish my EP or regular Doc would have been a little more forthcoming about the difficulties.

Hang in there, it seems like many of the "seasoned" folks have passed through these rugged waters and have found smoother sailing.

I do think we need to discuss these things with our doctors, however. If they don't get feedback they can't change or improve!

medication?

by winesap - 2008-03-26 03:03:33

Some of the heart drugs can also impact your dreams. For me - it was another negative side effect of the beta blocker (that I've been off for the last month). As much as our rationale self understands the PM, our subconscious is still dealing with the fundamentally frightening reality. Hang in there.

Dreams of PM shutting off

by Saphire416 - 2008-03-26 10:03:55

I too have those PM dreams. I have my PM for 3 months now and I have dreams of my PM all the time, that is when I atcually sleep! My dreams are mostly that it shuts off and I am waking to holding the PM in my hand trying to get it to turn on so my heart will start again. I talked to my EP when I was just in about this and he said it was part of the process of accepting the PM. I wake up in a cold sweat though seeing this box in my hands with the wires attached and a hole in my chest.
Know you arent alone in those crazy dreams, maybe we should write them down and submit them to the scifi channel and try to make some money off them! lol Not trying to make fun of your situation, just trying to keep my sanity.
Here is hoping we both dream of a beautiful beaches with the soft waves crashing in and us relaxing with a smile on our face.
Saphire416
If you feel like talking feel free to private message me

dont worry Sue

by allanrogers - 2008-03-26 11:03:26

I had same sort of dreams but they stop-like everyone ont
this site it seems to me that getting your head around a pacemakers presence in your body is a huge hill to climb and usually rather rapidly.

I find if you keep telling yourself that your pacemaker is your friend and it is here to protect you which is totally true you will learn to trust our life saving device.

In life we either sink or swim so see your pacemaker as your life raft

kind regards

allan from Scotland

Anxiety

by Elke - 2008-03-26 12:03:13

Hi Sue,
I did not have any dreams about the pacemaker yet, but Ido have a lot of anxiety associated with the pacemaker in general. My family doctor had put me on anxiety meds 2 months ago, and that helped. But I did get a lot of info on the web about that drug and it seemed that it was effecting every single system, so I decided to deal with the anxiety without drugs.
I'm trying some positive affirmations. Here's one for anxiety.
"I trust the flow and process of life. I am safe and secure. I am calm and peaceful !"
repeat out oud as often as you can during the day and before going to sleep.
I hope you will get better adjusted over time.
take care
Elke

Dreams

by BOB 1 - 2008-03-26 12:03:20

My pacemaker has never been the subject of one of my dreams, thankfully. But since getting a pacemaker and taking the heart medications (beta blocker and calcium channel blocker) prescribed at the time I got the pacemaker I have the craziest and wildest dreams imaginable. The good part is I can very seldom remember the content of any of the dreams more than a minute after I wake up.

fertile imagination

by gevans - 2008-04-10 06:04:12

I started remembering dreams when I was given beta blockers. Prior to that I'd had very few times that I remember ever dreaming. Since then there have been such an onslaught of them that it gets rather mundane. It bothered me for a few weeks, but since none of them were terrifying (even the ones when I was chased by a grizzly bear...because I always found ways to escape). Now it becomes a case of amusement as I will relate the bizarre or wild tales to my wife when I wake up and we both have a laugh or two. Eventually you will get to the point that you just accept the fact that you have a fertile imagination...and relish the fact that you can live a vivid "dream life" amid either a mundane or struggling existence.

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