acid reflux

Hey gang! New to the world of PM, Just had installed last Friday. I am 42, in shape but was always tired and winded.Had a tilt table test done on Tues.July 8 and my heart stopped for a full 22 seconds. Now that I have the PM, I have had a severe case of acid reflux. Talked to the cardiologist about it today and all he could suggest is that I developed it all of a sudden magically! I have been on Nexium for sometime, but he put me on Keflex to keep away infection while in the hospital. Then he suggested Mylanta, no help either. Can't sleep or eat without severe pain and blowback. Any suggestions would be great.

8 Comments

Acid reflux

by ElectricFrank - 2008-07-18 01:07:10

If you have been on Nexium for some time, it would seem that acid reflux isn't new to you. Am I getting it right that it has just become more severe since the pacemaker?
There are a couple of possibilities that come to mind.
1. What you are experiencing may not be acid reflux. One of the problems is acid reflux and some cardiac problems have very similar symptoms. The pacemaker if not adjusted properly could be aggravating some existing heart problem.
2. If there is a problem with the new pacemaker leads and/or the pacemaker has switched to mono polar mode it can stimulate the diaphragm. The usual symptom is twitching in the abdominal area or diaphragm, but the area where gastric reflux occurs tends to be where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm and the twitching could aggravate the reflux.

Having just had the pacemaker implanted you are susceptible to a problem a lot of us have had. At implant they tend to just leave the pacemaker set to the standard factory settings with the idea that they will straighten it all out at the first programming session. This can leave us putting up with some very uncomfortable symptoms for several weeks and is unnecessary. I suggest asking for a programming session by the pacemaker rep as soon as possible. Get a pre and post printout of the data and settings. several of us here can often help in understanding the data.

frank

PAIN CAUSED BY DRUGS

by pete - 2008-07-18 04:07:48

I had severe pain which was at first dismissed as nothing by my doctor which annoyed me intensely as I dont go to the doctor for no reason. I was admitted to hospital because of it within 24 hour. I could not stand the agony anymore. It was caused by a drug called ramapril. You can get a pain reaction from drugs. It might be one of you medication causing it. Pain can wear you down so try to find out asap whats causing it.
I have had so much trouble from drugs. They are just as likely to make you worse as better or have no beneficial effect. Some patient take a cocktail of couteractive drugs. For example, you get one drug but it gives you pain. They give you some other drug as well to help the pain. The second drug makes you feel drousy and unwell. So you get a drug to stop you feeling drousy. You then feel depressed so they give you antidepressents and so on and so forth. Then after a few months you really feel so bad you wish you were dead. Cure- stop all medication and miraculously you are 100 times better. However if you are taking heart drugs that you are benefitting from without any downside you should continue to take them. You need to be carefull and only take what you need in the dosage that is right for you.
Cheers pete

Right on Pete

by ElectricFrank - 2008-07-19 12:07:26

Pete,
You aren't supposed to notice the ridiculous bunches of meds they want to give you! After all how are those pharma reps going to feed their kids.
The last time I saw my GP there was a guy in a blue and white pin striped shirt in the parking lot next to me. He was leaning in the back of his station wagon loading his tote bag with a drug store worth of meds. But that wasn't the worst of it. I over heard him on his cell phone getting a list of the prescribing practices of each doc in the facility and what the goal for numbers of prescriptions for each med was.
My doc wasn't too happy when I asked him if he was falling short of his goal for Lipitor when he tried to talk me into taking it. He tried to tell me that he didn't do that so I told him what his goal for the med was and that he fell short last month.

How to anger your doc 101!

Make you feel good though that this is how the decision to prescribe a drug is made.

frank

Many Thanks!!!

by kev-o - 2008-07-21 02:07:08

This goes out to Electric Frank and all the rest of the super nice folks that helped out. I finally got an appointment with the group that installed my PM and they found that it was set on unipolar instead of bipolar settings. It was also set on autocapture and was driving my diapraghm into spasms. This in turn was causing most of my acid reflux. The tech told me that he had never heard of a PM causing this problem so I showed him the e-mail you all had posted. So now that he realized that he doesn't know everything about PM's, he promised to bring it up at the next tech meeting. I go back tomorrow to have it checked so maybe they can tweek it a little more. As for the cardiologist that was such an arrogant jerk, I have fired off a letter to the group and am letting them know that they should not dismiss patients so quickly.Who else knows our bodies better than we do? Thanks to everyone again! Just a quick question. Can someone with a PM still use a tanning bed?

Great!

by ElectricFrank - 2008-07-22 01:07:48

It warms my heart and smooths my pacing when I hear a story like yours. It seems that it is up to us to get the care we need.

I don't see any problem with using a tanning bed. You might want to limit exposure of the pacemaker site until you verify how sensitive it is to UV. The incision and the stretched skin might be sensitive. I haven't had any problems. I spend a lot of time in the sun without a shirt and don't use sun screen. I haven't had any problems with mine.

frank

Update

by kev-o - 2008-07-22 07:07:18

Kev-o here, just wanted to pass along that I had an interrogation appt. today, and the tech was able to set my rest rate down to 50 and she felt that it should help diminish the acid problem a little further. It is truly amazing how much better I feel, I have started walking again and am up to 3 miles a day. The incision is still sore but managable and looking forward to exercising again. Feels like I've known you all for years, it is really good to know there are still a few decent people left in this crazy world!

Me too...

by pacie - 2008-07-25 04:07:37

After reading responses to certain complications that I was encountering with my PM, on my last interrogation I asked the tech about turning off my rate response since my heart was pounding something awful every time I ate a meal. She looked a little distraught and I told her that this was a suggestion from a pacemaker club that I was in and she said that it was worth a try. I haven't had any trouble since then. So see, you guys are the bomb...and I appreciate each and every one of you! I love this site!!

Thanks a million times over,
Pacie

Heartburn

by appletongirl - 2022-03-06 07:22:12

HAv had my pacemaker for about 6 months. Have been having  something that feels like heartburn at night. JUst started about a week ago? is this common or should I be really concerned?  Thanks

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