Most Recent Messages in Checkups & Settings

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My Doctor's appt.

Well I finally had my appt today. My doctor confirmed that my heart rhythm is getting worse. My pacemaker did pick up episodes of irregular rhythm which I thought was going on. It was basically just like I thought. I am having atrial tachy and then a pause and then slow beats, then it repeats again. He seemed concerned but I could not get many answers about what this actually is and why I seem to be getting worse. He changed my medicine to Sotalol 80 mg twice a day and I have to go back in a wee...

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The "Appointment"

Hi Pacer friends. I have just arrived here at my office and was all ready to post my news when a client walked in so I had to logout and take care of him. Yippee for Clients! I like those people. :-)

Anyway, looks like I had a couple of "Remarkable Events" recorded on my Pacemaker since November. Those holidays can trigger some emotions! Yikes. My EJ (Ejection Fraction) is at 55%. Yay!

My Pacemaker is in EOL. Yikes. I still have a few weeks left so we decided that March...

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Appointment

Well, I have come to a realization that I don't like knowing that I have a surgery coming up. I would much rather have it happen as a surprise. I don't enjoy the "waiting period". I'm not used to having these things planned out. All my surgeries/hospital stays have been emergencies. Trust me there have been plenty of those.

I seem to have an overactive imagination and I now know a lot more about pacemakers than I ever thought I would. I know what questions to ask, when to worry, when...

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Follow up care

My pacemaker was implanted in June 2009 so I've had it just long enough to become real frustrated with the pacemaker clinic at my cardiologist office. I've had 2 remote pacemaker checks and have no idea what kind of information they get from these checks. I called the nurse at the pacemaker clinic and she told me "if we didn't call you then everything is fine". Well I am a dialysis nurse and we teach and encourage our patients to ask lots of questions, so since this is new to me I asked quest...

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when do you contact your dr or pacemaker clinic

Pacemaker in Aug. sat had intermittent chest pain for about 3 hrs, intensity coming and going for few seconds at a time. we were out of town so no one to call. yesterday and today the prevalance has been a lot less. some pressure, shortness of breath, and feeling faint (the latter of which is somewhat common.)

looking on internet this seems to be nothing. still i wonder. should i at least call the pm clinic and ask if they can read me? I have a portable machine here in office...

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Setting questions from a newbie!

Hi Everyone! I am 2 and a half weeks post op for pacer insertion. I went for my follow up appt with EP and had my pacer interrogated. As I have read on here I got a printout of the settings and everything. Now I need help deciphering them. I have looked online and at Boston Scientific website but am still confused...I have a DDDR , my lower rate is 75 (which I know is high but before all this my intrinsic rate was in the 80's always and I feel pretty good w/75) and then my "Max tracking rate" is...

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Checkups/burning & stinging

My PM was implanted in October, 2009. Everything is going well except I have a bit of burning/stinging often around the area where the PM was placed. It does not last long. What do you think this means?

Also, is there a general time frame for the doctor to monitor
the PM? Should it be checked more often? I went back in November, 2009 for my first check-up, everything was ok, however I did not know the questions to ask and the nurse told me they would monitor it again in s...

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PM settings

I read on another post and posted on that post about PM settings and being tired
feeling better etc etc
I feel better then before I had the PM... but I still get tired
not as bad as before... but its still there.....and Smitty my hubby has noticed that I have a lot more energy then before
but I have a question about what you said about the settings
of the PM? how many settings are there?
I know that my upper level is set to 140 which use to be 130 and the low...

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Heartblock

Hey Everyone,

I'm putting this question out there to all of my pacemaker friends. Yesterday I went to my checkup for my PM and found out that the bottom half of my heart is using the PM 97%, where at my last visit 6 months ago it was only 32%. When I asked the Cardiologist why his reply was, "It doesn't matter why, since you have the PM it will handle it whether it's 32% or 97%." Am I wrong to want to know why my heart needs it more now than 6 months ago? I am a 46 year old woman,...

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forgetting pills

Hi all

When we have our pace maker check, can they tell if we have missed any medications?

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Pacemaker follow-up

Hi all,

I haven't been here since I first got my pacemaker implant which was almost two years ago. Everyone here was so helpful during my first few (very difficult) months. I'm now 34 years old and back, hopeful for some more help.

At the time, I was having dizzy spells and before I knew it, I was in the hospital having a pacemaker implant. Long story short, my electrophysiologist said that he couldn't figure out why my heart was stopping. He said we might know one day...

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what to do, when you can do nothing

hello my name is heather. i am 23 and had my first pm put in at 6 years old. i was diagnosed with 2nd and 3rd degree a.v. heart block. i had the pm replaced in 2001. that means as of jan. 29 my pacemaker is 9 years old. i am scared to death now because i have no health care (cant afford), i cant get any assistance because they say we make too much money, and i am not disabled enough. i have not seen a doctor in 5 years. when i was a kid everything was fine, i had medicaid. at that time i wasnt t...

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what to do, when you can do nothing

hello my name is heather. i am 23 and had my first pm put in at 6 years old. i was diagnosed with 2nd and 3rd degree a.v. heart block. i had the pm replaced in 2001. that means as of jan. 29 my pacemaker is 9 years old. i am scared to death now because i have no health care (cant afford), i cant get any assistance because they say we make too much money, and i am not disabled enough. i have not seen a doctor in 5 years. when i was a kid everything was fine, i had medicaid. at that time i wasnt t...

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PAC's PVC's and pacing

I was wearing a 24 halter last week and got the results today. It seems that I my heart races at 7:30 am and about 10:30 am. Both of which I can easily explain..morning rush to get out of the house and mid morning rush to get to a different class. Finally an answer!! LOL
The lady told me my heart rate was going down after that on it's own and so that was good too.
One thing she did notice that left me a little confused was when I pace it seems I am pacing at night. Right after I pace I...

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Cardiac Monitoring

My new EP told me today that he does not do home cardiac monitoring. My old one did, but I have had many problems with my old EP. Is there anyone else that does not do home cardiac monitoring? He said that the pacemakers are so reliable that you do not need it between checkups. Anyway, I have been feeling so much better since they put in the 2 leads and a new pacemaker. I was so sick from the one I had placed last July. I got a copy of how my previous single lead pacemaker was dropping bea...

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Looks like i've got to go through it again

Hi all.
Thanks to those who replied to my last, rather confused, mailing. Not seen cardiologist as yet but dr's recieved letter outlining plan to implant a dual lead pm asap. I am a little aprehensive about this as initial pm implantation( 2 years ago) was so distressing. Hey ho..... is'nt it great? Never mind i am grateful it can be sorted. Something always happens to shake things up a little. My husband lost his job shortly before christmas..Things have been hard ...he is working again...

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Please Help

I am 30. Ive had my PM since 2007 for SSS. I have IST and Syncope. Today I had a pacer check and they chainged the setting in my ventricle. They told me it was over sensing in the ventricle and made a minor tweak. My ventricle wasnt even on until about 3 weeks ago. Ever since they had to turn it on I have been having PVC's all over the place. Since they made the adjustment today Ive been having 2 or 3 every minute for the last 4 hours. When they were this frequent right after surgery they said I...

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Is it too much to want a bit of info from interrog

Went for mycheck up yesterday. Talk about trying to get blood out of a stone! New technician not seen before, ushered me in, hooked me up, wouldnt talk to me, wouldnt answer my questions and when I left treated me like a child, almost patted me on the head and told me all is well, so go away and come back in 6 months and dont worry your pretty little head.

Well................I drove home at 5.30 in horrendous traffic and was getting more and more angry on the way home. When I got h...

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Puls at 80+

Hi everyone,

I am a femal, 53 years old and got my pacemaker on December 8, 2009. For the last 5 weeks i have checked my blood pressure and my puls daily. The puls is always over 80. Is that normal or do i have to ask them to change my settings. I wake up several times during the night and have a hard time going back to sleep.

Any input is appreciated.

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"dangerous rhythms"

I have had a dual chamber pacemaker/ defibrillator for 4 years with office and phone checks about every three months. I got my device primarily because of heart failure and for that it has been very good. My EF went from 30% to 50%. Yesterday when I saw my EP they detected some "dangerous rhythms" which my pacemaker is not detecting soon enough and so they are going to put me in the hospital to do something to the pacemaker to fix this. (Clearly I don't know much about this) It is an outpatient...

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We are very lucky to have these devices.