Pain post implant

Hi all! I am pretty new to this stuff but I have a few questions about some stuff that maybe people have experienced. I recently had a device implanted in the beginning of 10-2011. I have recently noticed that every now and then I get a sharp pain that goes left of the sternum about the 4th or 5th rib. The pain is usually worse with inspiration and even movement and sometimes comes on after straining lifting or moving objects I was reading some posts on this earlier and people were saying they had a similar pain. Any ideas on what to do to prevent this or make it better?

Thanks everyone!

3 Comments

Activity

by Heidiglassmeyer - 2011-11-14 01:11:19

Hi!
Based on what you wrote the first thing that comes to mind is you are still recovering from your implant and I'm not sure that lifting anything that causes you to strain is a good idea. Especially if the pain comes on after those activities. I have had several bouts of pain in my sternum, including while breathing. Most of the time I can relate the new pain to an activity. Keep in mind your upper body was probably less active during your initial recovery so some of your muscles have not been used as much lately. Some things to consider might be, does it feel more like a muscle strain?, does it feel better with rest?, do you have any other symptoms like short of breath, palpitations, etc? I usually check my HR when I feel like something is up.

I would suggest to ease back into things and try not to push yourself too far. It never hurts to give your Dr a call, especially if you are having other symptoms.

Take care,
Heidi

Another possibility

by ElectricFrank - 2011-11-14 02:11:15

The pain could be caused by something that happened during the implant surgery, but related to the pacemaker.

I had my original implant done without anesthesia or sedatives so was wide awake during the whole thing. Part way into the procedure someone in the O.R. decided to use my chest as an elbow rest.I quickly let them know. If I had been out I'm sure that heavy elbow would have bruised my rib cage or sternum, and I would have wondered why I was so sore.

Once under anesthesia they consider the patient a "piece of meat" and flop us around anyway that is convenient. I don't think they are trying to be unfeeling, but it is easy to get so into getting the job done that they forget.

frank

ER

by paramedicma - 2011-11-14 08:11:33

Well I had talked to one of my ER Dr friends and we did an xray and pacer check. Turns out everything is fine with the device (as I imagined). He was saying that the exact place I am having pain is a big muscle intersection and that this can cause a lot of pain post a device placement under the muscle, and he said the pain can last several months.

Sally: The pain you are having sounds more like unstable angina than pain in your muscles, you should probably tell someone about that pain. Whenever you have chest pain that doesn't come on with movement or isn't works with palpation you should really seek medical care immediately . Unstable angina is a precursor to a large cardiac event pending down the road!

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