lead removal

I been having problems with this pacer since the beginning. Not really the pacer itself but just having it. The doc said today as he was releasing me from the hospital that he is going to take the lower ventricular lead out and that I don't need it. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about it. I think it may be a waste and I need it or it will make me worse all together without it. Has any of you had your vent lead taken out? I am to the point to where I might just have them take the pacer out and just live without it.
It's making me that mad lately.

12 Comments

another opinion

by Tracey_E - 2010-11-18 06:11:48

Have you had a second opinion? Why did you get it in the first place and why does he want to remove the lead? It all seems odd to me, I think I'd want to understand more before allowing another surgery. It's common to pace primarily with one lead or the other. The reason they give us two anyway is because the second lead provides additional information and it's a back up there if we need it.

lead removal

by thecrazyone25702 - 2010-11-18 07:11:00

I guess all that would happen is he would take it out and need to put it back in. Which sucks but Idk anymore.

lead removal

by thecrazyone25702 - 2010-11-18 07:11:31

I got mine for brady. It was really low low teens. I can't live without the pm but I am sick of living with it doing what its doing. I have a bad feeling about him removing one of the leads so I might not do it. He said he puts one lead in people of a younger age all the time and they do fine. BUt I think he doesn't know what he is doing.

Doctor May Be Your Problem

by J.B. - 2010-11-18 09:11:00

I hope you can get a second opinion before you let this doctor remove either one of the leads. In dual chamber pacemakers, wires are placed in two chambers of the heart. One lead paces the atrium and one paces the ventricle. This approach lets the pacemaker more closely match the natural pacing of the heart as it can coordinate function between the atria and ventricles. The doctor may be a good surgeon but sure sounds like he could use some additional knowledge about pacemakers and the problems people with them can run into.

As for your statement about the pacemaker making you crazy, that tells me a lot about your doctor. You should not even be aware you have a pacemaker unless you touch the implant site. With you having all the problems you are telling us about, then I say the fault lies with the doctor an not you or the pacemaker.

Not a good reason

by ElectricFrank - 2010-11-18 11:11:07

I don't see anything in your post that would indicate that the pacemaker is causing you actual medical problems. Maybe its time to see a counselor or psychologist and try to come to gripes with the real issue.

I know this isn't a popular approach, but at your age you have a lot of years left for the problem to rear its head again. I say this as someone who has faced up to a number of things and it sure pays off now when I'm 80.

best,

frank

Hi

by Pookie - 2010-11-18 12:11:44

I'm so sorry to hear you are having problems with you pacemaker. Obviously you are having problems accepting it in your body?

Why would your doctor just take out the ventricle lead? I have a dual lead pacemaker and I use the bottom lead less than 1% of the time and I've had my pacer since I was 42 (back in 2004).

I had a very tough time with mine for the first 2 years, both emotionally and physically, but I sought the help of a good therapist and with her help I learned to accept it. I too was at the point a few times that I just wanted the darn thing out, but now I wouldn't because for starters I am now using the top lead almost 90% of the time which sort of freaked me out considering back in 2004 I was only at 27%.

I have mine because I have bradycardia...just a slow heart rate. Do you mind telling us why you had yours?

It is a life changing experience for some of us, but again, if you seek good professional help, I think you will learn to accept it.

I know look at mine as a type of insurance policy - my heart will never ever ever be able to go below 60 again.

And without out, I guess I wouldn't be here writing to you.

A lot of us had to get help from our family doctors as well in the form of a mild anti-stress medication. It sure does help when you're having anxious moments.

I truly think you need to speak to someone before making such a huge decision.

Take care,
Pookie

done

by thecrazyone25702 - 2010-11-19 01:11:44

Psychiatrist, (laughing). Yeah right. Someone that read from a book and "thinks" that they are smart. lmao... whatever.

The only issue is that it pounds so hard that it feels like getting punched in my chest. That's not Psychological.

hmmm

by Pookie - 2010-11-19 02:11:31

I was the first to mentioned perhaps seeking some professional help, but didn’t get the same response that you just obviously directed at frank..... (nor am I wanting that kind of response from you or anyone else).

Perhaps the Psychiatrist you saw just wasn’t "the" one for you...not all of them "read from a book".

AND in your original post (at the very top of this thread) you did not mention your exact problem UNTIL you responded to Frank saying that you feel like you are "getting punched in the chest". And furthermore, in your post above - your second sentence said "Not really the pacer itself but just having it."....so what were we members to think or suggest to you if you just finished saying it wasn’t the pacer but just having it".

I really don’t think you have been very fair to frank, he was just trying to help, as was I.  

Pookie

.

by thecrazyone25702 - 2010-11-19 07:11:06

I see. I am sorry for what I put. To you both. As I briefly mentioned I get the bad thumps and irregular beats. Which I shouldn't. The doctors have been screwing me around for months and months about it. I am supposed to have an ep study possible lead extraction next month. If that doesn't work I am having them take it out. I will deal with the low heart rate as best I can. Again, sorry it was late and I was nearly asleep when I wrote the first message.

Just a suggestion

by ElectricFrank - 2010-11-19 10:11:11

"Not really the pacer itself but just having it."

This is what I was responding to. As I said this is not a popular suggestion.

best,

frank

No Problem

by ElectricFrank - 2010-11-20 01:11:52

We all have times like that (except me of course LOL).

Are you sure the thumps and bumps aren't PVC's. They are very common after developing a rhythm problem. The cause seems to some sort of irritation of the ventricles pacing center. What happens is that something causes the ventricles to fire early and on their own. Since the contraction is early they haven't had time to fill completely which causes a weak beat. This is usually feels like a skipped beat. The next normal beat in the sequence is actually missed because the ventricles aren't electrically read to fire. Now the following beat comes along paced either naturally or by the pacer. At this point the ventricles are ready to fire and more importantly they have had time to overfill. When this contraction happens it has a lot of force and we feel that "thump" in the chest.

The important thing is that while they feel serious, they are generally not life threatening. I have gone for months having as many as 2500/day with no ill effects.

Keep in mind that while they may have started about the time you got the pacer, taking it and the leads out will very likely not stop them, and can lead to other more serious problems. My suggestion before doing anything drastic, have them turn the pacing off to see how you can handle things. My now your unpaced HR could have dropped even more. When my block occurred my HR dropped to 40 and before the implant it was down to 26. While I could still get around without passing out I don't think my body would have done well with such low blood flow.

just some thoughts,

frank

sound familiar?

by brokenheart - 2010-12-04 01:12:09

wow...i was in that seat about 3 years ago. I hated having a pacemaker. I didnt even want it in my body at all. I cried and cried like almost every night because i hated having it. Mine was due to a medical error. So it was shocking when i woke up with a temporary pacemaker inserted tru my neck. It was sooo hard to accept it. But finally after 4 years i can live with it. I also have heart rythm problems...like the pvcs (premature ventricular contractions) and my doc takes them seriously. If you are concerned about anything you feel abnormal you have a right to get more testing done like having a loop recorder or an event recorder to tract your heart. I think if you feel in your heart that your doctor is not doing the best possible to help you feel better you should get a second opinion. Just dont jump into any decisions right away. If i was you i would keep the pacemaker. Because that way if your heart is ever in trouble the pacemaker will be like your heart's body guard to keep it going and safe. I hope this helps. If you need any more advice or just some one to talk to you can send me a message. God bless you.

brokenheart

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Member Quotes

In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.