Most Recent Messages in General Posting

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Heart rate settings

What rates are you PM's set?   Mine is at 60 and 120, have a neighbor that had hers raised to 70 and says she has a lot more energy, any experience with that?   I've never been given that option or advice.    TIA

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Opinions on medical jewelry

Hi everyone. I am looking for opimions on a topic of very little importance! When I first got my pacemaker, 3 months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to get a medical information bracelet. I figured that, if I experienced an accident or illness & was unonscious, it was important that medical personnel know of my pacemaker before doing certain tests or procedures. Now that I think about it, at that point damaging my pacemaker would be the least of my worries! Also, since undressing m...

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the power of being optimistic

A cardiologist reviewed 15 studies - over quarter of a million patients between all of them- on the relationship between health and optimism. I think a lot of us know this intuitively but it's fun to see the science overwhelmingly back it up. 

"Rozanski called the data 'consistent' across the studies. 'In every case, there was a strong relationship between optimism and a lower risk of disease,'"

"Biologically, pessimism is associat...

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papers that show a potential link between covid and acquired heart block

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7311354/

https://academic.oup.com/europace/article/23/3/451/6085830

Here are two papers suggesting that some people with COVID have acquired heart block.

 

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Mammogram

I am scheduled to have a mammogram next month. This will be first since having a pacemaker. I am right to assume that the nurse doing the mammogram will not go too close to my pacemaker? I can tell her where exactly where it is. 

I have read online that it is all right but I am a bit apprehensive. What are other members experiences of mammograms?

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Sleep issues

Curious as to what people take to help them sleep I take a small dose of trazadone but would like to know what helps orhers

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update. 2 months after pm

hello. just to update. 2 months after pm. not dizzy any more after a change in meds. I stopped  taking lisinopral. and my blood sugar is better after changing  to Crester  overall I am finally  feeling better. so keep on looking at the meds you are taking. see my cardiologist  next week. keep a dairy  has been very helpful. good advice 

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pacemaker

I am 8 weeks with a pacemaker, and just now starting to get somewhat better, i had the implant due to aortic replacment_TAVR. in the beginning i was experincing lightheadedness but not as bad recently. Has anyone on the forum had this and if so how long does it take to be back to normal? I am able to do my workouts with not much problems and its also getting better. 

 

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Collagen pepties could cause arrhythmia issues

I am not sure if anyone has had a similiar experience but i started taking collagen pepties for help with workouts and health but soon noticed that i was getting some palpitations during workouts, routine checkup also confirmed that since i started taking collagen pepties my pacemaker had to do a lot of pacing. 

I googled a lot on this topic and found some folks reviews on the products with similiar experience. doctor did say that due to the high levels of calcium in collagen pepti...

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Great article on living with serious illness

This article about a young cancer survivor is incredibly insightful and I think offers a lot of great advice for anyone living with health challenges.

"You think of health as binary: You're either sick or well, whole or broken. I think that kind of binary thinking is flawed," Jaouad says. "Most of us live somewhere in the middle. And so not striving for some perfect state of wellness is liberating. And learning to make a home in the wilderness of that in-between...

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What happened and why??

Hey everyone, I'm 28 next month and I've had my pacemaker for 4 years. Earlier I was cooking dinner on the stove. I was stirring Mac-n-cheese with a metal spoon in a metal pan and all of a sudden when holding the spoon it felt like my hand was cramping up. I tried touching it a couple more times before I realized that the spoon was actually shocking me! I thought maybe it was just a quick static shock but it did it a couple more times when I touched it again. It wasn't just o...

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Low Heart Rate

Past problems 
October 2016 – Implantation of Reveal device
Postural hypotension
Paroxysmal run of narrow complex tachycardia, possibly atrial fibrillation – longest episode was only 28 beats
No absolute indication for anticoagulation
August 2017 – Ventricular standstill (16 seconds pause) August 2017 – Implantation of dual chamber Pacemaker 

Hi I'm three and a half years post pacemaker. Recently had a remote pacemaker check...

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PVC's and salt crackers

Last week and today I felt little bit of light headedness and funny beats in my heart. I had a PM to ICD upgrade last month.When I called my doctors office they said its PVC's happening @ 8 per hour and its not denagerous and some people feel it and some dont. I never felt them when I had my PM and at that time the average was 3 per hour.They told me to drink enough water and cut down on coffee/alcohol to 1 beverage per day.They also said eating salty stuff like crackers help too. Just wo...

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Inquiring about pace maker surgery

Hi, I am 17 years old and after having an ablation that didnt work I am informed i would need to get a pacemaker fitted which I am extreemly scared about.I was wondering if anyone could tell me about how it feels after the surgery and if you can feel the pacemaker inside the body? Any advice would be good. Thanks in advance 

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Inquiring about pace maker surgery

Hi, I am 17 years old and after having an ablation that didnt work I am informed i would need to get a pacemaker fitted which I am extreemly scared about.I was wondering if anyone could tell me about how it feels after the surgery and if you can feel the pacemaker inside the body? Any advice would be good. Thanks in advance 

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Pacemaker moved?

I'm 2 weeks post op and my pacemaker seems to have moved! My surgeon told me he put it in the previous cavity (submammary) but now I feel it poking out my side. Is there a chance it will move back? Can I gently massage it back in? I don't really want to go in for another general anaesthesia to move it so was wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and what they did?

thank you in advance!

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Pacemaker movement question

I had my ICD implanted Nov 2020, and am adapting to it quite well. However, when I am lying down, it seems to pivot and ends up right against my collar bone. When I am upright, it sits about 2 1/2" below my collar bone, so it feels like it's not scarred in correctly. I am heavy-chested (G cup), and quite often feel a pull at the top of the PM. Is this something I should be concerned about? Would a breast reduction (with my cardiologist's blessing) help?

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Sinus node nicked

I see a lot of people have had their sinus node nicked during an ablation and now need a Pacemaker. Was that the surgeons mistake or is it just something that happens?

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Fell, should I have my icd checked?

Hello everyone,

I have been doing great, however, today while riding a bike I fell - my tires skidded. My left-side chest, shoulder, and arm hit the ground - luckily the ground was soft. Sounds dramatic, but luckily the only thing that broke was my phone holder - my phone and myself are completely fine. However, I am wondering, because I did hit my left side of the chest, the side that has an icd, should I have my icd checked out?  It's Friday, do you think I can just...

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Miserable

I switched cardiologist because he would only spend 2-3 minutes with me and he cancelled everybodys appointment that day and I made mine a month out. My new cardiologist spent at least 20 minutes with me and he was shocked that I was given an icd without an angiogram prior to surgery, he was not happy when no stress test was given. He stated he probably doesn't think I needed one however he made an appointment for me to have a stress test by the end of this month. Anyways my icd been in m...

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You know you're wired when...

You have a new body part.

Member Quotes

Try to concentrate on how you’re able to be active again and feel normal, rather than on having a machine stuck in your body.