now too sensitive to work
Before my pacemaker I was a little out of breath from time to time and sure the week before the implant I felt like crap but now I feel pretty awful most of the time - I am so breathless that I am quite frightened to sleep some nights and I feel like I have just run 10 km with the most simple exertion... chest pains and constant fluttery feeling in the chest...The other thing that has happened is sensitivity to any stimuli - any stress and high emotion or sound sends me into a spin - someone yells and I immediately have my heart racing and I am shocking to live with because I am so reactive - irritable and mood swinging. Sometimes I just feel like crying because of the feeling of my heart and this is at work! - so embarrassing in my profession. So I actually have given up on my job... can no longer do it. - I am a Social Worker so how can I work when I react to high emotion?... I am now looking at finding a new career but I have this awful feeling of dread and I wonder if one night I will fall asleep and just stop breathing. I was taking beta blockers which stopped the flutters and the reactiveness but I was breathless and starting to have fluid retension so I am weaning myself off these and have started a small dose of an Ace Inhibitor - have been in contact with my GP who has been talking to my Cardiologist and I will go back to her next week but I feel like I am not taken seriously or that this is just my lot in life and have to put up with it - all in all my life feels pretty rotten at the moment
8 Comments
Wow !
by ppt - 2009-07-01 09:07:11
You are dealing with a lot ! I have struggled with Shortness of Breath (SOB) since before and now even after my PM implant. Do not give up !! I could not even get out of a chair or clean my cat's litter box without feeling like I had run a marathon. My Cardiologist's Nurse Practitioner had the nerve to tell me I was "upset with the PM in my chest and I needed to learn to deal with it" ! Ha! Meanwhile I lost almost 4.5 months of work and I am self employed ! Just keep pushing and stand your grund with the Drs. I am now at Electrophysiologist (EP) and PM settings are getting tweaked and I am now working better and feeling better (not 100% but significantly better than before) - I can clean out my cat's litter box!!!! WHOOPEE!! I can now make my bed, do dishes (ugh) go up one flight of stairs etc ... It has been 7 months to get to this point. Keep pushing them ---I am - I want to get even better ! It is possible !!!
But your post does seem really stressed out. Do you have family near? What do you think about counseling ?
ablation
by Cyborg Runner - 2009-07-01 10:07:20
I am very sorry for your troubles. Prior to getting my pacemaker I too had similar feelings. After I got my pacemaker the problem still existed. I suggest that you buy a heart rate monitor so that you can keep track of your heart rate. When I did this, I found that when I was getting shortness of breath, which happened frequently and easily, my heart rate was going up to 180 then with a little more activity (walking up 4 steps) my HR shot up to 240.
It took 3 ablations before I was finally "fixed". If you see the last several posts that I have put up I am now able to do anything and am running almost as well as I did 20 years ago. Seek out an electrophysiologist.
Don't delay. Get the heart rate monitor and keep a log of when your "anxious" periods occur and what your heart rate is at the time. you need to be your own patient advocate.
You will get through this fine.
SOB
by Smart Redd - 2009-07-01 10:07:58
How closely are you working with your primary physisian? I'm not a doctor, but your symptoms sound more like - or partly including - anxiety than strictly heart related SOB.
Please raise that issue with your doctor. It is VERY common for those of us adjusting to our 'bionic' state to have a bout with anxiety issues for a while.
Rule #1. "It is NOT all in your head!"
The opposite of what so many doctors seem to think when faced with patients who have recently gotten implants. Keep after the doctors until you get all your questions answered and your "tweaking" correct.
Rule #2. Never be afraid/ashamed to seek help through this difficult time if you feel some of the problem IS in your head/emotions.
You and your closest family are the best people to recognize a problem here. Not the doctor who sees you infrequently. A noticeable change in your personality is a good indicator that some additional help (counseling, meds, change in exercise/lifestyle) is needed for a while.
I feel so much pain and frustration in your post. It is such a normal reaction to what's happened to us. We love you and hope you find your needed answers soon. Keep us informed.
Love and hugs, Red
Social Worker needs help
by ted - 2009-07-02 03:07:46
You have received helpful comments about how to deal with your doctors, etc. But it is so apparent that you need to get professional help to deal with your fear and anxiety. Your fear of falling asleep, the giving up of your job and your obvious depression and feelings of hopelessness are serious enough to warrant professional intervention before you become even more paralyzed. As a Social Worker, what advice would you give to a client that has expressed the feelings that you have? Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress.
Glenrow
by walkerd - 2009-07-02 07:07:20
Like everyone said voice your feelings to your doctor, If it were me I would go see the cardioligist, they are the experts in heart care. Dont keep your feelings to yourself let your doctor know, it is alot to deal with heart problems. I went thru high risk bypass in aug of last year almost didnt make it, and had my pm/defib put in in sept. I did so much reasearch on internet and still do that my fingers where numb lol, some things where helpful some scared me to death but gave me questions to ask my cardioligist. Like stated above ask ask ask, depression is quite common with health issues and nothing to be ashamed of. Keep us informed and dont keep it bottled up inside thats the worse thing you can do.
dave
Glenrow's progress
by glenrow - 2009-07-03 04:07:54
Hi Everyone - thank you for all your kind comments and good advice. The morning after writing these comments I headed off to work and got 1/2 way down the freeway and suddenly felt tightness in the chest and struggling to breathe so I got off the freeway and headed back the other way to see my GP. As it turned out my normal Dr was on holidays and a locum was on who had 20 years experience with Emergency. He didn;t muck around and called an ambulance. I gotta say that I love Sutherland Hospital (NSW Australia). They were wonderful from all the Emergency staff through to the cleaner and the food delivers... friendly, competent and committed... I very nice surprise. Anyway I had a stack of tests that would have taken me months to do bit by bit.... chest xray to see if any lung problem showed up, CT scan to see blood clots in the lungs etc, blood tests to see if I was having a heart attack, ultrasound to look at the heart pumping, wired me up for 24 yrs to look at heart functioning, 2 consults from my lovely Cardiologst and a string of his team members popping in, a visit from the pacemaker company with his briefcase computer, 24hrs breathing wonderful oxygen and a lovely rest in bed with nice, friendly but respectfully quiet elderly roomies. The end result? - tweaked pacemaker so it no longer kicks the heart along at the slightest breath of wind!! and off all medication - turns out that beta blockers are well known for causing breathlessness so I am better off without them given that I have never needed them for blood pressure. Right now I feel very good - and actually going out to dinner!! Fingers crossed I am over the hump - luv to you all.
Cheers - Glenrow
Glenrow's progress 2
by glenrow - 2009-07-05 12:07:23
Hi again.... 2 days later after the pacemaker tweaking and stopping the beta blockers - the pacemaker seems to be doing what it should be... all the symptoms have gone - have more energy now I am off the medication, can breathe and walk without a problem and I have stopped reacting to simple stimuli - can cope with loud noises and heightened emotions in others does not send my heart racing... I am still glad I am leaving work as I know I need timeout - 30 yrs of social work on and and off and this last time of 9 years... enough so I really think it is time to reassess where I am and what I want to do in the future - maybe working in a less stressful setting. What I am going to follow up on is some education on the pacemakers - want to know about the "frequencies" so I and talk with the pacemaker people with some degree of knowledge instead of bein at their mercy... one thing that I don't think they have realised is that a very minor tweak can have a huge impact on a patient's life... I am not sure they get that.
cheers.... glenrow.
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by bmom91 - 2009-07-01 02:07:49
As you can see there are alot of us that this has happend to. It does get better just keep talking to your doctors until they get everything right. Build a good relationship with your pm tech they seem to know more about pms then the cardiologist.
Good Luck!