Most Recent Messages in Surgery & Recovery

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Excessive Pain during surgery/Lovenox

Hello,

My mother had pacemaker surgery at a major hospital in Boston Nov 12. My brother and I were there with her. All seemed to be going well and folks at the hospital seemed supportive. Although there was some comment from the docs/interns that she was being consciously sedated (and they wanted to make sure she stayed breathing on her own), at NO time did anyone indicate that the pain during the procedure would be excrutiating (sp?) and that the numbing/freezing whatever you call...

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Home again...

So I'm home from my first pm surgery. Rather sore, annoyed about the new lump on my chest (hubby says it's not really noticable), but overall doing well. It's very weird feeling something thumping around in there...I guess I just have to get used to that. Trying to stick to ibuprofen during the daytime - now that I'm out of bed the Darvocet makes me feel kind of spacey.

The kids (2 and 4) did well. My girl was very brave; I could tell she was holding back tears when they came to v...

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PM on Friday, 11/21...

Ok, so I go for my PM on Friday. I am a bit nervous, as one might expect. One, I hate having to have it because I'm only 35; two) any kind of surgery is a little scary; three) I'm worried about recovery and not lifting my arm for 6 weeks with a 2 and 4 year old.

The more I read, the less I feel I know about it all. My heartrate sits at 40 most of the time so I know it'll be pacing me 100% of the time. I see comments about the top of the range. I'm wondering if I even need a top?...

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calf pain?

Did any of you expierience calf pain after getting your pacemaker? This started for me 2 days ago. I did walk some that day but not that much. It doesnt seem to be going away. It is worse with walking. It is in both calfs.
Should I be concerned? Should I call the Cardiologist? I have my pacer now for 21 days.I am feeling better otherwise and actually had a pretty positive outlook today.Dont know how I'll feel when I go back to work though as its pretty physical.
Thank You all so much f...

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How long must I wait?

Hello I have a question.How long were you told to wait before lifting your arm ? I'd like to know from several people.Were you told to exersise the arm?I had my PM installed 10/27/08 and am returning to work Dec. 1st. I have a very physical job. I am a CNA at an assisted living facility and I will need to lift and transfer patients-some are very heavy. I am finding that the affected arm is getting weak. I dont think at this point I could lift that arm over my head.I am wondering when I can begi...

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Atrophy!

I had my PM place in July, I had it placed underneath the muscle to give myself some extra cushioning, because I am still young and really hard on my body. But I have started to get some really noticeable atrophy on my left side. No one seems to know what to say or do about it, and my cardiologist pretends its not even there when I bring it up. Has anyone else had anything like this

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Am I being unrealistic?

I go for my PM next week. I'm 35, two small kids (2 & 4), work full time in an office job. My doc said I could go back to work as soon as a couple of days after the surgery. Is that unrealistic? I will go on Friday, 11/21 and PLAN to go back to work on Monday. I'll only do two days then off the rest of the week for Thanksgiving.

My biggest concern about the whole deal right now is what to expect for recovery and being able to 1) do what I need to for my kids and 2) get back to...

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I had my 2nd surgery

Well, I had my 2nd surgery last Thursday to have my ICD repositioned. It was quite an experience. It took almost 2 hours because they decided to fix one of the leads while they were in there that had been causing diaphragmatic spasms and they had to cut out the old scar that was what they called keloid scaring (swollen and very sore to the touch)??! I was awake for most of the surgery so I was able to tell them when I no longer felt the spasms....and I did feel some pain even though I was pretty...

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Newbie from NV

Got my PM two days ago. The low end is set at 62 but my HR is staying above 70 - sometimes into the 80s. What is going on? Should I be concerned?

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about bioheart

someone recently wrote about bioheart and its progress in repairing scarred areas of the heart with your own stem cells injected into the heart. (bioheartinc.net), the publisher wrote on this to tell of her friend who is progressing quite well with this therapy. well, i've checked into it a bit more and if you go to the website of bioheart, i believe one of their testimonials as cited on CNN is quite unbelieveable. one of their anchors actually received the operation and is doing fine now....

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correction on bioheart

sorry. but it's
bioheart.com, not bioheart.net, somehow there was a mix up
thanks

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Newbie from Nevada

I am scheduled to have a dual-lead Mentronic (sp?) inserted this Thursday. I suffer from low heart rate and A-fib. I remain hopeful that the PM will help me feel better and eventually I can get back to exercise without paying for it in the evening. I'm nervous. What can I expect in the first few days. I work in an office and will try to go back to work in 6 days after surgery.

I am so thankful for this site.

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3rd Time Around


Hi folks,

I'm getting my 3rd PM (coated 2 lead) in about 2 weeks. You may recall my other 2 implants had to be removed because of either infection or allergic reaction. It's still unknown what the true cause of the inflammation and erosion was.

In case my problem was an allergy to titanium, the new one will be coated in a hypoallergenic material (PTFE?). So that's 1 big worry out of the way.

In case my problem was bacterial colonization, the the surgery wil...

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i got my ticker helper, i hurt!!!

hey got my pm on tuesday, and im still really hurting... i thought i was a surgery pro, but this hurts way more then i ever thought it would. did anyone else feel like their armpit was on fire and have an aching arm??? i think my armpit and arm hurt more than the incision...... this will get better right???

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next tuesday.....

well next tuesday is the day i get my pm! i am so nervous!!! just know it will be hard to not be able to look after my one yr old without a bit of help. how was recovery for everyone?? i really hope this will fix me, it has been a long five months of never feeling quite well.... i cant even imagine feeling normal again :) well wish me luck!!

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Sensitive Implant Area

PM was implanted 6 weeks ago. The steri strips that covered the site are just now falling off. I notice the entire skin area over the PM itself is red and tender, anyone else have/had this reaction? Talked to cardio office last week, thot I could start slowly on treadmill, etc. Since they didn't have opportunity to do stress tests prior to implant (was in cardio at 9:15 am, hosp at 10am and PM implant 2 1/2 hours later, pretty quick, lol) they have told me to slow down, no treadmill until mo...

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How bad is it?

Hi, I just turnd 24 years old and found out that I’m going to have to get a pacemaker. I’m just wondering what to expected for recovery time. I’m been vary healthy and in great shape my whole life, I’m a Commercial Fisherman from Alaska. I have a United States Coast Guard Master 100 Gross Tone Captain License, that is going to be suspended tell I can pass the USCG psychical examination. The psychical includes me being able to run one, six minute mile, lift 75lb’s, crawl in a out of tight places...

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Left arm hurts at night

Hi PMates,

Its been two weeks since my PM implant, and I feel my PM is now more noticible than before and hurts more than before. I also feel it moved downward a little bit. I can of feel it loose which my Dr. said it was normal.

Also last night while sleeping on my left side, I felt the PM triggering which woke me up. I turn and everything went back to normal.

Have any of you experienced any of these symptoms?

Thank you.

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Recovery

Thank you all so much for your comments. This has helped a lot. I let my Dad read them and hopefully it will make him feel better. In answer to some of your questions:

To TraceyE - My Dad first had a heart cath and only had 80% blockage and they will treat with medicine. The Dr. sent him to a blood and cancer specialist because his plateletes were low and also mentioned the pacemaker. All tests came out okay with the exception he was low on iron. They set up an appt. for him to r...

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Weird feelings..

Hi all,

I am 22 and last Wednesday I had a dual pacemaker put in due to multiple syncope episodes in the last 6 months that have resorted into smashing my head many times and many hospital trips. It appears I suffer from Bradycardia (resting heart usually in low 40's, and high 20's at night) and I have vasal vagal syndrome. Also the hospital notices my heart beat was irregular quite often. All in all, the ticker isn't really the way I want it. At 22, this has been like hitting a brick...

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I, too, am feeling tons better since my implant.