June 28

I'm getting my first pm in a few weeks. My dad was in his mid-60's when he did a face plant into his dinner plate and barely made it the hospital in time. And now it's my turn...I'll be 50 in July and I still have two kids at home. Any wisdom to share? I love roller coasters, loud music, my iPod, iPad and I'm very active. Not I'm ready for this, but the alternative is scarier.

6 Comments

I was your age

by Mary1998 - 2012-06-18 02:06:52

when I received my first pacer. I have heart block. After you recover, you should slowly begin regaining your activities - this time without the fear of blacking out. Before you know it, people will be shocked to hear you are a pacer patient - you'll be doing all you wish for - unless you have other heart issues/health issues that prevent you from doing so.

I had thought there was a lot I would be barred from, but not true. The classic joke is I no longer use my chain saw to cut down trees. :)

Best of luck to you. You have the advantage of this forum, which is GREAT!

Life goes on

by rwagenblatt - 2012-06-18 07:06:17

Izad,
I'm 57 and lead a very active lifestyle. I got my pacer on May 3 and while the limited activities and shock of getting the implant was a bit much, I'm back to a full schedule of work, play and in 4 weeks I'll be at AllGood festival for 4 days of LOUD music.Hang in there and we'll be here if you need support.
RW

Hey Izad

by walkerd - 2012-06-18 07:06:51

I see no reason you cant continue on with life after pm, I listen to loud music, use an Ipod, dont have a ipad but have no idea why you cant continue to use, havent been on rollercoaster but alot of memebers have. A pm isnt a sentence to stop everything but like you said the alterative is, there are a few things you have to watch out for but for the most part most people dont do it anyways, lay on magnets, lay on a running car motor while working on it, im not sure what else.
At least you didnt follow your dad by planting your face into your dinner plate and it was found before that happened.
Good luck
dave

Why are you getting the PM?

by donr - 2012-06-18 08:06:12

That will have a real bearing on your limitations. But only in the nuances. They will give you a manual to read that will put you into shock. Follow it explicitly & you will spend the rest of your life on the couch, watching old movies/Ghost Whisperer on WE TV, sprouting vines & eyes all over your body! I promise you, it's that bad! Read the &%^$#@@%&*^ manual, then donate it to the local zoo. The Zoo will need it to cover the posteriors of the herd of elephants they have. If they don't have a herd, they can cut it way down to size to cover the one that they do have! It's THAT big of a CYA document written by lawyers, not real people who host PM's for life & need to get on with theirs!

To help you out, I'll send you, via Pvt Msg, my classic comment on "Limitations." It will tell you the REAL limitations you will face after you heal up & the harpoons are thoroughly established in the walls of that Great White Whale of your heart. They are gleaned from personal experience & the experiences of the denizens of this glorious web site.

You know, when I used the Moby Dick analogy on my Cardio - who is the nicest guy wearing a white coat - he gave birth to a full-grown Texas Longhorn steer & proceeded to give me a lecture on how difficult it is to successfully plant the electrodes in your heart wall while it was going in an out continuously & all you could see was an image on a fluoroscope. Same thing happened when I likened Radiation therapy for prostate cancer treatment to frying the little sucker like a chickie nugget at Wendy's. Could there be something out of whack about my medical procedure analogies? You mentioned a "Face plant in a dinner plate." Once upon a time, & a lifetime ago for a lot of folks here, I was in the Army, assigned to the Japanese Island of Okinawa. My family joined me after about 2 months & our 9 month old actually fell asleep at the dinner table w/ his face in his plate. We have a photo of it somewhere in our archives. The serving staff thought it was a riot. The kid had to be tired - he stayed awake the entire 14 hr flight across the Pacific.

Don

1st PM

by manaman - 2012-06-18 09:06:07

Read the manual then use it in a bird cage or as garden mulch. As my PM dr. said" you are not getting this to be put out of work to make sure that you continue to work". I would not really worry about what you can/cannot do. Trust me, your body will let you know for sure. You may feel "funny" for a few minutes (until the PM can correct itself) but it will correct itself. Had mine for 20 years and worked arounb all kinds of stuff that made me realize I should not be there, however I never had a life threatning experience because of it.
Just don't stick your head into a microwave oven and don't test power recepticles with paper clips, the rest will take care of itself. I have (on many occasions) tested things that I was told not to be around ( ie. chain saws, electric blankets, phones, etc) and found that one person with PM could not do there were others that had no problems.
You've been "WIRED" for a new life. Trust your instincts and have a full and wonderful life.
Blessings/prayers
Cecil

Hi

by Gellia3 - 2012-06-19 08:06:09

I got my PM when I was 26 in 1975 for CHB and it will be 37 years very soon. (Damn I'm getting OLD!).

I didn't miss a thing "growing up". Heck, back when I got my PM they told me they didn't know what I could or couldn't do. So, I could do nothing, or take my chances. So, I just did everything I wanted and I found there wasn't ONE thing I couldn't do because of a PM.
I think maybe bungee jumping or skydiving, but I didn't want to do them anyway!

Don't let a PM limit you. It just sits there doing the job it's meant to do and it does it well so you can go on about your life and live it.

Good luck with your surgery and know that everyone here is sending you good vibes!

My very best to you,
Gellia

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