Gastric pacemaker replacement surgery

Hey. I had a gastric pacemaker put in 2 months ago and ever since I've felt the shocks. I have to have surgery on Sept 30 to replace the entire device. Has anybody else had/have the same problem? I just wanna know if anybody has had better results after the replacement surgery or if the new one is just as faulty as the first... I'm nervous because there are so few of us that have these and the surgeons don't have very much information to go on. So I have to take a chance with surgery, which scary and dangerous and can be life threatening, as you all know. Please help.

~Mara

2 Comments

Gastric Pacemaker

by Tshirt - 2008-09-18 09:09:41

G'day Mara,
I don't have a gastric pacemaker either, but I do have a lead that needs to be extracted, and which should have been extracted when it was first noticed that it had moved.

As I understand it, 2 months isn't long enough for scar tissue to have grown over the lead and created a difficult extraction circumstance, so it's probably better to get it over and done with.

I certainly wish you well and heaps of good luck!

Trish

I've had a GASTRICPM for 2 years !

by GastricPM - 2010-12-12 11:12:45

Hi Mara,
It sounds like your gastric pacemaker is malfunctioning!
It should not be shocking you!

Next month, I will have had mine 2 years. I'm a 48 year old female, and have only had it shock me one time. I was in a department store signing my name on that electronic signature device that the credit card is run through. As soon as I pushed the button to verify my signiture was done, it zapped me good. That credit card device was actually at my chest level. My husband had to help me sit down. I was able to walk after 20 minutes but felt weak the rest of the night. I see the surgeon who implanted it, every 6 months, and she checked and my pacemaker was working 100%.

Please get that faulty pacemaker out of your abdomen and give another one a try. Please don't be discouraged.

I don't have diabetes, and I am not overweight. I had a stroke 27 years ago, and my body is gradually breaking down. The tenth cranial nerve on the left side of my body, called the Vagus Nerve became damaged on it's own, and my stomach became paralyzed. I had chronic diahhrea so bad that I could not leave my own home and be sociable. Now I have a new problem, even though the Pacemaker is working. I have chronic constipation. My large and small intestines, along with my colon have very low motility to them, and my stool collects in my colon, and stays there. I have to take great measures of over-the-counter remedies to get rid of my waste. It causes me great abdomenal pain. It has nothing to do with the pacemaker. At least that stopped the diahhrea. I was becoming so dehydrated, that I had no choice but to have the device implanted. I had a CT Scan last week and I'm waiting for the results.

I didn't mean to make this such a long note, but Mara, I wanted to encourage you to try to convince you to try the Pacemaker once again. Before I had mine installed, I talked to a patient, only knowing her first name, asking what her experiences have been. She is a diabetic. She had no problems whatsoever.

If you call your doctor and ask to speak to one of the female patients, around your age, on a first name basis, most doctors will do that for you. Out of patient confidentiality, you can only ask questions about her pacemaker experiences only. That patient would call you. I'm so glad I did that. This patient put me at ease.

Well, Mara, I hope I have made you feel more at ease. I'm so sorry you have been in such pain with the shocks.
Please, if you will, tell me why you had to have the device, and did it work a little bit for you. Did you see the surgeon every six months? I'll check this forum to see if your circumstances have changed.

GastricPM

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