Most Recent Messages in Complications

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Pacemaker & Radiation Therapy

Hi Everyone,
I am wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with receiving radiation therapy while having a pacemaker. I have esophagual cancer and the radiation treatment will be on my esophagus near where it connects to the stomach and will be close to my heart. I will have the treatment 5 days a week for 5 weeks starting Monday. Also having cemo once a week. I am 100% dependent on the pacemaker.
All the doctors are corrdinating things and there will be a Medtronic Tech mo...

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Bruising

Thanks to all who responded to my posting. My Mother is doing well. I called the doc's office today and was told the bruising is normal part of recovery. As discussed if she runs a fever or if there is redness and heat, I should call the office. I am glad to have you all to discuss questions and concerns!

Sue

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Bump at PM site

Anyone ever have a hard bump at their PM site? I awoke in the middle of the night with discomfort in my left chest. The first thing I always do when that happens is to check my pulse to see if I am in an arrhythmia. Well, this time something really did not feel right and I felt my PM site and there was something hard sticking out under my skin. It scared the heck out of me and freaked me out-----and my doctors always tell me to be sure to stay calm-----right!!! It felt like it may have been...

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not happy

Hello

I had a pacemaker fitted just 2 weeks ago, but not until after I went through a bad experience.  When the doctors attempted to enter my vein, they punctured my subclavian artery, and I had to be rushed into another theatre for emergency surgery.  Has anybody ever come across anything like this before?  Is it a common occurrence? 

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Bruising after surgery

My Mom (85 yrs. young) just had surgery last Thursday. Today, I noticed she has bruising on her chest, the left side where the pacer was implanted. Her incision looks great. Should I be concerned with this bruising or is it normal? Thanks for your help.

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fast heart rate with pm

What could be causing a pronounced beating of the heart if I have a PM?  I recently had an interrogation followed by an echo.  Since than the heart feels like it is racing or palpitating. It is keeping me up . The Dr. wants me to return in 3 weeks.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

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Dizzy (Continued)

Some of you may remember that a short while ago, I experienced episodes of dizziness, shortness of breath, tingling in the extremeties during some innocuous activity, but following, by about 90 minutes, some vigorous swimming sessions. In other words, strong physiccal activity followed by about an hour and a half of relaxation, then experiencing near syncope.
I called my cardio and felt like I had hit a brick wall with his receptionist. Then today, I'm in my home office minding my own bus...

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knee pain

I am having behind the knee pain and am going to dr. tomorrow and wondering what test could be done to check the knee besides an x-ray. I know that mri is out and that is usually what an orthepedic dr. orders to see the entire picture. Are there any other tests out there to check what is going on? I had knee surgery in '92 on that knee and not sure what except arthritis might be going on with it now. The pain comes and goes and it is painful to walk for at least a day and then it seems to go...

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COLD

Hi everyone, I have my pm about 6 weeks now and I got a nasty cold, cough, chest tightness. Is this something I should just ride out or do I need to call the doc.
Patsy

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Flutter in stomach

I had a PM put in Dec 10. Does anyone get a flutter sensation in their stomach? It's kinda of odd. I go back to the Dr. next Tues and just want some input to see if anyone else has this issue.

Thanks
Debbie

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Qestion?

I had my pacemaker implant in March 2010. I have been noticing some tenderness and soreness around the pm area. Has anyone else experienced that?

Tinac

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pradaxa

Alright so I got carried away, Pradaxa is not 4 times as effective as rat poison. It is a fact it more effective and safer, also a big Also YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET YOUR BLOOD DRAWN 1-2X A MONTH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. I'm happy as a clam, since I had been getting blood test for almost 22 years. Warfrain is in the history books,for me anyway!!!!
jp

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pacemaker mishap??

my mother got a pacemaker wed...she started to have really bad chest pains in the middle of her chest...they thought it was muscle pain but soon come to find that a lead protrudeded into her heart..it did not puncture the heart...they called other cardio docs and were told not to do anything more..(do not go back in to take out or fix)...they gave her pain pills last couple days...first it was 'ct scans look ok'...now its' fluid around heart has gone down'...we asked about fluid and not til this...

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Pacemaker problems - HELP!

Father in the hospital with SOB. He had a Boston Scientific pacemaker put in about 2 years ago. Leads broke in fall of 2010 through no fault of his. Replaced the leads and the Dr. left the pacemaker at 35%. He was going to the hospital every couple of weeks because of SOB. Went back over Christmas.....pacemaker was turned up to 70 some percent. He still can't breath!

Now they are saying he (suddenly) has COPD. Heart Dr. came in today....did not do ANYTHING and left! I've read...

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Swollen calf muscles

Has anyone with an ICD had swollen calf muscles? It is only the calf muscle that swells during the day - not fluid, no pain and no skin discolour is visible. I have quite skinny legs but during the day they become about 3/4 inch bigger. I mentioned it to the doctor at the hospital and he didn't seem worried but there must be a reason for it.

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extrasistole

Ciao amici, ho un PM da otto mesi e fino ad oggi è andato tutto bene ma da qualche giorno avverto di nuovo delle extrasistole come prima del PM. A qualcuno di voi è capitato? è possibile questo? fatemi sapere .....ciao

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lightheaded

Hi everyone.  This is my 1st posting.  I had a PM installed 5 days ago and went to my cardiologist today for a check up. Everything was fine and we spoke about getting everything adjusted in a few weeks. After I left I went to the grocery store with my daughter and when in the frozen food aisle I felt a little tingle in my chest and a little lightheaded. I leaned a little on the shopping cart.  My daughter said my face went to bright red and then pale and then pink.  I f...

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Symptomatic 5 months after pacemaker implant

I just joined. I was happy to find this site.

Early in 2010 I had a few unexplainable “blackouts”. I was also feeling light headed and came close to passing out quite often. After going through full testing with a neurologist and getting an all clear my primary care doc decide it had to be coronary. So I had an EP study done on September 1st 2010. They found I had an “alternate pathway” and “echo beats” in the atrial areas which where ablated. They did additional ablation for...

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jross

has anyone had swollen lympy nodes near collarbone on left side of neck after pacemaker implant

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Scar Pain

So I had my second ICD implanted this past July so it’s been about six months. My original implant was in Nov of 2005 and I don’t remember having this much pain. The scar hurts soooo bad.  Sometimes I am just sitting still and it will start throbbing, it’s so sharp and hurts so bad. Does anybody else have this problem?  My doctors say the only way to fix all the pain is either go in and scrape out all the scar tissue or move the device to under the muscle. ...

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Member Quotes

I'm 35 and got my pacemaker a little over a year ago. It definitely is not a burden to me. In fact, I have more energy (which my husband enjoys), can do more things with my kids and have weight because of having the energy.