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Pacemaker Got Hit...

Hello, I'm a 34 yo male and have had a dual chamber Medtronic pacemaker for about 3 months now, working beautifully. A couple days ago however, it took a direct hit from my 9 year old son's flying elbow during some horseplay :) which shoved it inward and pulled the skin over it. It still seems to be working just fine, but the site is extremely tender and there's this internal itch throughout the entire area that is driving me insane. Seems like a silly thing to call my electrophysiologist abo...

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I'm Back!

Hello My Friends - I am back and so happy to be reading and sending messages. Other than a great big "OWIE" I am doing great. Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts on my behalf. It is appreciated more than I can ever tell you. And, our little Valerie surely made everything so much better from the moment I saw her. What a lovely, sweet young lady. Her parents have done a fine job raising her; I wish more parents raised children like Val! I love you all for your caring and kindne...

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STILL ATHLETES AT HEART

Some cardiac-device recipients don't want to give up sports, so a medical registry tracks how they're doing.

Pioneer Press
BY CHRISTOPHER SNOWBECK PIONEER PRESS

For heart patients who have defibrillators implanted in their chests, the conventional wisdom when it comes to competitive sports is simple: Stick to golf. Or bowling.

Doctors worry that rigorous athletic activity could stress a patient's heart and prompt either an appropriate or inappropriate shoc...

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First Shock

Hi everyone,

I had my ICD put in on June 8th, and was feeling remarkably good. Before the implantation I was feeling pretty hopeless and emotionally dead, I just couldn't cope. Following the surgery I was a little sore but sort of went back into "normal" mode emotionally. In fact, I stopped thinking about the big issues and was just relieved the surgery went so smoothly. Friday night while out with friends, I got shocked once. Not only was I completely surprised by it, I was also very...

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Almost 1 year now

Good morning to All,

Well a year is almost passed that pacemaker was implanted and Thankful for new lease on life. Still have some issue that need answering but have not found them yet!! so here it goes to all of you any suggestion /comments ? Is this the way it will always be????
1) Still the numbness continue on the letf side and yes the arm too always seems asleep Why?
2) When I bend over to tie shoes are scrub floors the chest feels so very heavy Why?
3) Sometimes I...

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Hello!

Hi everyone!

Just here to introduce myself...and I must say, I'm quite thankful that a club like this exists! So far, the information that I've learned has been extremely helpful, especially in calming my nerves.

Please, drop me a line...would adore meeting you!

john

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FOUR WEEKS

HELLO

I AM IN MY FOURTH WEEK SINCE MY PM WAS IMPLANTED. AM FINALLY STARTING TO FEEL BETER, CANNOT GO BACK TO WORK AS OF YET (ONLY A PART-TIME JOB). I STILL HAVE RESTRICTIONS THAT WOULD LIMIT MY WORK POSITION. I WISH MY DOCTOR HAD SAT DOWN AND EXPLAINED WHAT THINGS TO LOOK FOR THAT WERE NORMAL AFTER A PM. HAVE HAD TO CALL THE DOCTOR SEVERAL TIMES TO ASK QUETIONS. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

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happy father's day

happy father's day to all the father's out there. our sight is made up of young old men women and there are many father's who to-day are honoured for being there. as for my own father he was great. life was different then and the expectations were different. all i can say is he took little for himself and saw that all five of us were educated and could fend for ourselves. he stayed when many would not have. he didn't have a father long himself so he had no one to identify with. so my advice is l...

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dissability

hi have anyone with a icd had problens with reciveing dissability

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possible lead extraction

Hi All,

I've had a dual chamber pacemaker (due to congenital heart block) for the past 16 years. I'm scheduled in a couple of weeks for my third generator change. Not to concerned about that, but it was recently suggested to me by my EP that I may be in need of lead extraction. Ok I have to admit I had never even heard of this until a few weeks ago. So now I've been reading about it like mad and must say I'm pretty afraid of it. He says that in younger patients like myself he doe...

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This is pretty interesting!

FRIDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- The bizarre death of a New York City high school track star from a muscle pain cream overdose is raising a red flag once again on the hazards of overusing common over-the-counter medications, experts say.

The New York City medical examiner's office ruled last week that 17-year-old cross-country runner Arielle Newman died from an accidental overdose of methyl salicylate, the wintergreen-scented ingredient found in popular sports balms.

To...

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Swimming?

Anyone ever go swimming with their pacemaker? I have been invited to go swimming this summer. I never been swimming since my pacemaker implant and back sugery. They say swimming is good for you. It's been a very very long since I went swimming. It will also depend on my energy level.

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PM Clinic

I read on one of the other boards that PM clinic visits sometimes leave patients exhausted or just plain not feeling well for a while. What can anyone here tell me about their experiences and what I can expect? I just had mine implanted this past Monday and my first visit to the clinic is June 26th.

Rick

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Remember John Hopps?

WE SOULD ALL THANK MR. JOHN HOPPS
John Hopps, a Canadian, invented the first heart pacemaker. At the age of 21, he joined the National Research Council in 1941 after training at the University of Manitoba as an electrical engineer. He found that by using mechanical means the heart could be artificially started again after it was exposed to a cooling process. With this discovery, Hopps was able to build the first pacemaker in 1950.


In 1958, the first pacemaker was implanted...

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Type of pacemaker

Hi everyone, I've had questions about my type of pacemaker, and I think it's called a Medtronic Adapta and it has Rate-Drop Response, also it is dual-chamber, and I am at lower-limit of 60 bpm, so as soon as my heart tries to go to 59 it kicks in (I actually got to see/feel that happen on the monitor when I was at the hospital). The first night my heart dropped 22 times, and I'm sure it does that most nights. During the day I feel it kick in at least 5-6 times per day, and those are just the o...

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Update to endless pain

Hello,
Thank you everyone again for your thoughts and prayers. Today I went and did a lung scan that came back negative for pulmonary embolism. Nice to know, but...please forgive me...I am absolutely frustrated. The doc is relying on solely the scan (which only looks at the lungs and can be highly inaccurate) to say I have no clotting going on, but wouldn't do any additional testing until I mentioned it. Now I am on to ultrasounds of both legs and my bad arm.

I have another condi...

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About to join the Club

Hello from New South Wales, Australia. I have read many of the postings here as I approach the date of my defibrillator implantation on 27th June 2007. I have learned much more here about little things to be aware of than I learnt from my doctor. Any suggestions for a newy welcome!

I need to check, but I think I am having a Medtronics defibrillator. I know it has three leads and that the pacing side of things won't actually be functioning, just recording, because my doctor said with m...

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Non-pointless thought ;)

Hi pacer friends,

You know how before theater people go up on stage to perform someone says, "Break a leg!" ?

What about a pacemaker person going in for surgery...would it be 'Pull a lead!" ?

there's my wise thought for the day.
take care,
~valerie :)

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Anyone know what I should do?

Hey fellow Pacers... I have a situation that I am not quite sure how to handle. I sent my inquiry to a fellow member, then copy and pasted it here, frankly because this private message says it all... (hope you don't mind Valerie)
Thanks to all in advance who take the time to read and reply!


Hey thanks Valerie. I have been doing ok. Trying to keep busy with school, and physical activity. Bored.com, never heard of that but I will have to check it out.

Anyways, I re...

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Any Suggestions?

41 on 3rd pm put in nov 2006. 18 yr old leadwires. left arm numb, pain, tingles, twitches since nov implant. cardiol. says not related to pm. problems swallowing- throat tightens up like muscles frozen. says not related to pm.all this started in nov. dizzy spells and fainting since may. discussed putting in new leads with new pm in nov. card. insisted we get as much time as possible out of them. 6 months down the road, i am fainting. about to be divorced with no health insurance in one month. an...

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