How far can I go?

I'm a 24 year old Royal Marine, I had a pacemaker fitted in August this year and am now about to be discharged because apparently I won't be able to keep up with the arduous physical side of things.

I just want to know how much exercise I can do with this and I'm hugely into my fitness and don't want to lose that.

also, is it normal to have quite a large bump after 6 weeks of having it implanted, will it go down in time or has being young seen me off slightly?

cheers, Dave

6 Comments

Your Future

by donr - 2011-10-05 09:10:33

David: Let me answer your question based on 28 yrs in Uncle Sam's Army. I retired at that point. I did not get a PM till some 13 yrs post retirement.

Our Army is huge, compared to what I think the Royal Marines are. I started out in the Air Defense Artillery & transferred into the Ordnance Corps - essentially the same names as equivalent branches in the British Army.

Because of its size & a myriad of admin/logistical functions, we could absorb a few PM hosts. MOF, I knew one - but he did not go Bionic heart till he was near retirement. There is no way that we could ever have absorbed a PM Host in a combat arm. Just to much contingency medical support necessary to back them up. Those folks must be deployable all the time to go to extremely rugged places for extremely rugged duty. Physical & medical conditions for deployment - like to Iraq/Afghanistan - are stringent & rightfully so.

My PM & I are working pretty well together, but we have our moments when things don't go so well. There is no way that I could have survived in a combat environment - even in my logistics specialty. Face it - as soon as you begin to host a PM, you become high maintenance. It's not the PM - they are about as reliable as you can get from a machine. They are probably more reliable than the host they are planted in. Here in the US, yes, there were many functions I could have performed. We do absorb a number of non-deployable people, but not many. In a large army, that frees up other folks for the deployments. But - in a small force, can't be done.

I'm afraid your future must lie elsewhere than the Royal Marines.

Don

Dont let it hold you back.

by edejesus - 2011-10-05 10:10:59

Hey man,

I dont know if Im a bad example or anything but I had a pacemaker put in for a heart block my freshman year of high school in 2004. Now Im 21, I can tell you that I still train brazilian jiu jitsu, I train muay thai, I play rugby for my college), I snowboard, workout 5 days a week with curcuit days and heavy lifting days. I have tattoos, I walk through airport security just fine.

I was told Im not completely dependent on my PM and every check up Ive gone too it has been just fine. Although the next time I go into have have my PM replaced I am going to try and get it under my muscle rather than under the skin just for cosmetic reasons.

Basically what Im trying to get at is with this thing in my chest Im not stopping my life and what I want to do. I am going to school for Criminal Justice trying to be a cop and have already taken exams at some cities and counties.

Basically dude, no mercy. I dont know your health situation but I dont see why you cant stop doing what you have always been. Just give yourself the needed recovery time after surgery.

-E

living with the pm

by Tracey_E - 2011-10-05 11:10:00

There's no reason to think you shouldn't be active! I think the military has problems with it because we have a computer in us that needs maintenance, in a combat situation you may end up needing care they can't provide. There are people with pm's who have been in the Olympics, professional athletes, triathletes, you name it. Check with your dr first to make sure you are cleared, but if your heart is otherwise healthy and the pm fixes your problem, you should be able to get back to full activity any time now.

The bump usually settles down over the first 6-12 months, but how it ultimately looks depends how it was placed and how you are built.

thanks :-)

by davidwilliams1986 - 2011-10-05 12:10:37

yeah there's a lot of machinery I have to be weary of in the forces and it's too much of a risk for them...

I'll have a word with the doc during my first check up in a couple of weeks see what she says

they've made a pocket for the pacemaker in the muscle, but said because I'm quite muscular it's tough to get it in there, as I get older I'm presuming it'll sink in further

muscle

by Tracey_E - 2011-10-05 12:10:42

It's great that they buried it for you! It should make it much more comfortable and easier to be active without it getting in the way once it settles in. When they're just under the skin, just under the collarbone (the traditional placement), seatbelt straps and backpacks can rub. And yes, it should sink in more as it heals.

Advice

by davidwilliams1986 - 2011-10-07 03:10:39

Awesome, cheers guys you've helped massively.... Best of luck to ya both

Dave

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