recovery

hello everyone

i havent been on for awhile. my puter went compute. maybe it could use a pacer?!!

anyway my question or seeking advice is that i had a pacemaker put in at the end of april. for 2nd degree heart block. it is now november. i tried going back to work but could only do one day & my boss took me off the schedule. now i am due back to work dec.2.

my problems are shortness of breath with activity & fatigue. i constantly need to sit & take a break. all tests ruled out lung problems & the keep saying the pacer is working fine.

so what is it? is it all in my head?

6 Comments

stress test

by Tracey_E - 2008-11-08 08:11:53

Those are classic symptoms of a pm that needs simple reprogramming! Just because it's working doesn't mean the settings are right for you. Have they done a stress test to watch what happens when you get your hr up? I'd ask for that next if they haven't already done it.

work

by lryegbert - 2008-11-08 08:11:56

I would look to water weight, congestion if I am not working the system everyday I put on weight water, what i drink. check for water pills that make you pee on my 18 pills 4 are water pills. When i hold water i am short of breath and tired then the congestion wont let me sleep I know it's not fun BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT FOR OURSELF WE ARE WORTH IT

Meds and Programming and ?

by afibber - 2008-11-09 01:11:48

Hi,
I, like you, have been thru many of the same symptoms and problems. Please look up my previous postings-they will help you to understand where I am coming from, and what I have been through. This site is the most informative~real people with real questions, that have real answers~that have been a lifeline for me. I have been paced since 1998, and now am 100% paced.
Without this little miracle marvel, I would not exsit.

This a a short list of what has recently happened to me.

Three weeks ago, I had a bi-ventricular pacemaker placed, due to shortness of breath for over a year.
I have been on all the cardiac meds, the "water" pills, (up to 80 mg of lasix a day), and have had my pacemaker interrogerated repeatedly.After insisting I needed "my settiings changed", by the Hopkins EP doctor. He patiently sat with me 3 different times, and
3 different times, he just shook his head and said "there is nothing I can do to change your pacemaker settings to help you with your shortness of breath." With tears in my eyes, I left the office, still in utter frustration why I was so short of breath when I walked. I am not talking about power walking, I am talking about just parking the car and walking into my condo. I would take a shower and have to rest and breathe. Putting groceries away was a major ordeal, I still have a chair in my little kitchen.

My activities of daily life were becoming increasingly difficult. I live alone and that made me either more headstrung or more whiny..but I was getting no anwers from anyone. Actually, I felt neglected.

After many, many months of not getting an "answer" that was never "clearer than mud", I made an appointment for a 2nd opinion at Hopkins. It took the EPat Hopkins 20 minutes, (after reviewing my records that I had brought with me) to figure it out. He said my heart was "out of syncronization". My pacemaker implantation change date was scheduled. WOW----finally someone listened to ME and didn't blow me off.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a new pacemaker called a 'CRT-P" that will help your heart to pump more effienctly. When your heart beats like it should, you will not have water retention and shortness of breath.

Alas, CRT-P. Much bigger than what I used to have; acually it feels like someone has left a 1/2 of a hockey puck in my chest. My site is still intact....it didn't move into my breast, or into my armpit like some of the storeis that I have read here.

My new little marvel is finally showing me its stuff. I can now walk without stopping to breath. I find myself walking faster and faster..my back still hurts (fell in a store Christmas 2007 trying to take a "breather", I went to sit on a store ladder like you see at (*&%%#$%^) or any large store, which I have sat on for years, and guess what? It was not locked....I went to sit on my old familar seat....and down I went-flat on my back on concrete I had a nice goose egg, and my back did not hurt at first. But after 1 month, I developed back spasms. I am still dealing with back spasms, but compared to my breathing, and my new pacemaker, I am so happy. It has been a long road,

So the moral of my story is: Never trust your doctor~~
get a 2nd opinion IF your symptoms persist. Do NOT wait for them to help you.
YOU have to be assertive, NOT aggressive, but remember, when your cardiologist is not listening to you, get a 2nd opinion.
And never trust a rolling ladder....
Hugs to my PaceMaker Friends
We ARE all very special!
A-fibber (Brenda)

My adjustment

by oscarp727 - 2008-11-09 06:11:37

I was feeling the same three days after PM implant. I have a second degree block also.

I went back to the doctor and medtronics technician and they decided to adjust the ventricular stimulation to 100%. After that, I have been feeling much better.

Now I don't feel tired after climbing stairs or working out.

The shortness of breath episodes have not disapear but they have distanced in time.

Hope this can help you.

My 2 Cents Worth

by Carol - 2008-11-09 11:11:42

Yes, Yes, Yes, get a second opinion!!! I totally agree with the last 2 comments. I too had problems with a heart beat that I knew was out of synch...I could hear it with the stethoscope....but my EP and Pacer nurse all kept telling me my pacer was working fine, I was just "too sensitive" and I'd just have to get used to it. Well, I couldn't walk from my desk to the restroom at work without all the symptoms you describe AND MORE!!! I was so frustrated and yes, depressed. I had this intermittent 2nd degree block that felt worse than before the PM. Long story short my Medtronic rep made some adjustments and, after 6 months of misery, I can finally do all the things I did before and feel GOOD! I agree be assertive, not aggressive, advocate for your own health...only you know how you feel and you can find someone who will finally help. Good luck and be persistent!!!! Carol

Check the Drugs you are on!

by Fruit First - 2012-01-15 10:01:49

elfinbee Please go to if you are on anything like Amiodarone or any drug ending in rone!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stopamiodarone/

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