Most Recent Messages in Complications

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Hair loss

Has anyone lost Hair/have alopecia after placement of their pacemaker? 

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Pulsating neck

Hi everyone

I had my PM micra leadless implanted almost a year ago in July 2019 and in December 2019 started getting a really strong pulsating neck. It's really visible to the eye and forceful. I'm in the UK, my GP was unhelpful and dismissed this symptom completely without any kind of examination. Not seen cardiologist yet. I have just come across the possibility of valve problems due to damage during insertion of PMs (even leadless ones like mine). Especially the tricuspi...

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Sports

Hi there - 4 wks. ago received a Biotronic 2- leads pm due to a Bradycardie - 3 degree AV block.The cardiologist reassured me that i could continu with my cycling on a 80-85% compared with what i was used to.- have raced on a high level all my life - 71 years old.Yesterday went for my first spin on the road - little scared i admit  ... pm. is fine tuned to a setting of 50- 175 bpm .Q- is it  normal to feel a little lightheaded/dizzy - a feeling i'm having to go through...

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zapping feeling

Has anyone ever felt what I can only describe as a live wire jerking feeling?  It is in the left side closer to middle under my breast.  I can go days without feeling it and then be shopping and it hits which stops me in my tracks.  The duration of the feeling varies as does the jerking motion.  It can happen once and be done or a few times in succession but it hurts and is very uncomfortable.  Since I never experienced this before the PM I assume it is related. ...

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Subclavian DVT - One Year Later

I've been a ski instructor/guide for years, but only worked one winter since my implant joined me last year. For me i've always had more lower than upper body mass, but as COVID struck I saw the opportunity to change that with some easy 5min/day routines and took up surfing.

A month down the line, my left arm started to swell, which I initially mistook for rapid 'gains'. But it turns out that I developed a massive blood clot in my subclavian vein. So far the haemotologis...

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Extraction and replacement

I am having surgery next week to have my whole pacemaker taken out and a new one put in. I am very nervous as I have read taking the wires out of my veins can be dangerous. My pacemaker has been in for 5 years. Has anyone on here had this surgery?

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Persistent Band of Tightness/Pain Since Shortly After Pacemaker Insertion

I am a new member who received a pacemaker six weeks ago for brief periods of intermittent complete heart block occuring infrequently. The pacemaker is set at DDI at 50. I am pacing less than 1% of the time. Beginning within a few days of the pacemaker insertion I started having periods of throbbing heaviness in the substernal and epigastric region. About 10 days after insertion this became continuous and became mildly painful. It has persisted since then.

I have a tight...

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Breathless - Update III

If you read previous posts you will be aware of my complications post PM implant so no point in going over old ground.

Anyway, four months later and after much door knocking, i finally got someone to listen to ME and stop referring / defaulting to tests and manuals etc. So, med professionals if any of you are reading this, for future reference please try HEARING what the patient has to say.

Long story short they made an adjustment (another one) and changed th...

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Not the best update but progress

Hi everyone! 
 

I'm back with some news. This is most likely outside the PM world now but I thought I would still post it. For months I've been telling my doctors I need an exercise test. All of the tests they provided were at rest and my issues always seem to worsen with activity. Anyhow I was scheduled 3/19/2020 for a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test but it's was delayed due to COVID. I was finally able to take it 6/3 and just as I suspected it revealed so...

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Surgeon literally runs out of building

Okay, this actually happen!  But there is more to the story.  I live in Tucson and there is a major "Bighorn Fire" taking place and the doctor receive notice that his house receive notice to evacuate.  
He had finished surgery with one patient and myself and another patient were waiting to go in for surgery.  No one was in danger and we were professionally taken care of and rescheduled.

Presently I am scheduled for Thursday June 18 for a pacemaker. I a...

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Pacemaker settings

Hi I think perhaps someone on here could help me if thats ok,I had a dual pacemaker out in November 2016 for complete hearblock and after a few weeks started to feel unwell again so over two years of going backwards and forwards to different specialists and being told my pacemaker was fine! they decided to do a scan and I was told I had severe lvsd caused by my pacemaker after making me feel like a hyperchondriac all that time,so they put a biventricular pacemaker in to put it right in March...

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Pain in chest & shortness of breath

I had my PM implanted January 2019 and during the summer months of 2019 it was pure hell.  Starting in June 2019 until around September 2019 I was constantly having chest pains in my left pectoral near where I had the PM implanted.  I would often get short of breath especially during the night  around 2 am.  Eventually it ceased and I felt pretty normal or a while. Then when the weather started to get colder in November 2019 the pains came again along with a very bad case...

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Burping and Gurgling noise

Hi everyone, I have had my PM since 2007. No issues then had new box fitted in 2017. Unfortunately in Feb 2020 what I initially thought were flu like symptoms eventually turned out to be Endocarditis. After many weeks and PM & lead extraction and nearly 11 weeks on total on heavy antibiotics I finally got a new device fitted on the RHS. However since the night of the new implant I have been experiencing a lot of stomach growling and constant belching. I have spoken to both the surgeon and...

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caffeine

After over 2 years of having a Boston Scientific Atrial pacer, I'm now having all these missed beats, and what feels like very short pauses (< 1-2 secs).  I have contacted my cardiologist and I have an appt in 3 days with electrophysiology to interrogate my device.  I'm wondering what part caffeine plays in this, if any? I work nights so of course caffeine is a part of my life. Has anyone ran into caffeine problems with their devices?

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Pain

Hi I'm josh I'm 20 I got my pacemaker when I was 18 and every now and then I'll get pain around the heart area and discomfort and sometimes I'll fill it in my left arm. Now I have had high amounts of pressure hit my chest before so idk if that's had anything to do with it or if its something else I should be worried about. my doctors don't tell me much so I'm still clueless about some of the side effects on the pacemaker.

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Breathless - Update II

hi all,

I persisted with the PM Clinic in so far as telling them that although all the tests they had defaulted to came back clear (angio/CT/XRay) I still didn't feel 100%.

They finally conceded and 'tweaked' my settings. The technican raised the lower limit from 50 to 60. She was somewhat reluctant to do it saying that the settings were currently optimised for me and adjusting in this way might - stress might - bring on some other complications. No explanation was giv...

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Fallen lead

Hey everyone,

I have not been on this forum in a long time as everything was going pretty good. So a little backgraound, I have had my dual pacemaker for 5 years. On the day I had my pacemaker put in the top lead fell and started pacing my diaphram. Well 2 more surgeries later and I have had no issues. So last Saturday night I woke up at 12:45 and reached out to my husband and told him I did not feel right. At first I felt druged until I sat up and that sensation went away, but my mouth...

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Pacemaker and hietal hernia

Days after my pacemaker insertion I had severe pain in my chest and went to the ER. All the heart tests were fine. They believed the issue to be GERD and one test showed I had a hiatal hernia. The hernia was a surprise to me. Maybe it's coincidence,  but how could a pacemaker aggravate the hernia?

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Virus

I had a 6-month follow-up with my top notch plumber cardiologist a cuple days ago. His advice re: COVID19: "This virus will be around for the next 2+ years. If you have any surgery/whatever events planned, watch your local COVID19 rate chart and plan your move(s) for when the rates are decreasing, not increasing. Late summer this year may be an ideal time for your planned epicardial lead insertion.  Next fall and winter could be very interesting, like it was in 1918."

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New to this

Just had pacemaker fitted and had all possible complications.  Ventricular lead moved and caused pericardial effusion so back to theatre in less than 24 hours then pneumonia and af.

At home now and this evening have felt device discharging for about an hour (felt like pulses from tens machine).  Has anyone else experienced this please? 

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You know you're wired when...

Microwave ovens make you spark.

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.