Very Confused !

Hello everyone ,
I have just found this site and what a relief it was !
I am 47 years old , very fit , very active . I am a regular attendee at my local gym , and have just got back into running .
I have been having dizzy spells for the last 3 years , Drs thought it was related to my migraines , however last Tuesday it was discovered that I needed an ECG .
I merrily went for one thinking all would be fine , however the following day had to to attend for a heart scan , and by Thursday was told I need a PM .
I am treally confused as to what I can and cannot do now .
I am having the PM fitted shortly , but have so many questions and would love to hear from other members who have been through this .
Can anyone tell me whether I should still be excercising ? I am getting mixed messages from the medical staff , some say "yes but be sensible" others say " No ". ??
I did quite strenous excercise at least 5 times a week up until last week , can Ii still do this or did others waiting to be fitted with a PM cut back on the excercise now ?
Also how long will it be before I am OK to carry on as normal after the op ? Did you find that you were back in the gym quite quickly ?
Does anyone find that they cannot do anything after the op , that they could before the PM was fitted ?
Any guidence on what questions I need to be asking the Drs before the Op would also be appreciated ?
I am in complete shock at the moment , I cannot drive until the PM is fitted and not much to do other than think about this op
- I am such a wimp !
Any guidence would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks for reading

Sue

7 Comments

welcome

by tmenssen - 2012-06-22 05:06:30

I was walking on a treadmill after a few days. Back to running in 3 to 4 weeks. The PM has not slowed me down at all. You may need to make adjustments to the PM. They raise my upper limit to 180. When they put it in they keep it at the default setting which is 130 bpm.

Hey...

by Clockwork - 2012-06-22 10:06:49

Hey Sue. I recently underwent the very experience you’re living now. Like you, I was very fit, exercised regularly, and I’ll turn 47 next month. Boy, did I freak once the doc muttered “pacemaker!” I began my research. On this site, I found similar experiences, empathy, and wisdom.

You may consider doing plenty research on the net. The more you look, the more you’ll fine tune your questions, find answers, and develop more questions. Jot down your specific questions. Then ask your doc. Then ask some more. Docs seem to give vague or little information until you ask.

Just got my PM barely 4 days ago. I was still freaked on the first day post op. Today, I removed the bandage, showered, and am regaining flexibility every day. Most importantly, feeling more upbeat and looking forward to returning to my active life. If you doubt whether you should continue exercising in the few days prior to surgery, then maybe you should err on the side of caution and wait ‘til after the surgery and the doc gives you the green light. In the big picture, a few days of missed exercise is nothing. I’m no wimp. I bet that you’re not a wimp either.

Ed

welcome

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-22 10:06:57

First of all, know that electrical problems are usually a fluke, the heart is structurally normal and no amount of eating right or exercising could have prevented an electrical problem.

Without clear advice from your dr, I would say exercise if you don't feel dizzy. If you do feel dizzy, stop, it's a sign your hr is too low.

You should be back to the gym doing anything you want in 6-8 weeks. Odds are good you'll feel pretty good within a few days but we have to baby the side the pm is implanted on for a bit. No lifting, no raising the arm higher than shoulder level. Other than that, move the arm normally so your shoulder doesn't freeze up. Get approval from your dr first, but aerobic exercise should be ok as soon as you feel up to it. I took a walk the day I got out of the hospital. Now, I do anything I want!

Here's a great video that explains the most common arrhythmias and how the pm is implanted.
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers/videos-and-animations.aspx

And you are not a wimp, what you are feeling is perfectly normal.

Sensible isn't wimpy

by cohara - 2012-06-22 11:06:03

TracyE is right. Wanting information about pacemakers when you know you will be sporting one soon is a normal reaction. You came to the right place. Most of what I know about pacemakers is an amalgam of personal experience with reading about the experiences of others on this site. Without PM Club, I would be plugging along only half informed; I have found medical staff only give the bare basics. It's up to us to fill in the blanks. Use the search feature on the site; you'll be amazing of how little a pm can actually impact your life. Members hike the desert, rock climb, run marathons-the only difference is they have an on board computer making sure their heart's electrical system keeps firing properly. If you don't find what you want to know, just ask. There are many very wise souls on this site who can speak from personal experience.

Carol

find out why

by arthur - 2012-06-23 01:06:42

Hi Sue,
Did your docs pursue an answer as to why this is happening to you?
I have third degree heart block, full time pacing with a dual chamber pacemaker. My second opinion Doc did not pursue finding out why a 46 year old, healthy distance runner (thus was two years ago) would be experiencing sudden electrical problems, basically the "it's a fluke" answer that it appears most of us hear.
Two years later my ejection fraction starts to drop off and again, "we will keep an eye on it, you may need a bi ventricular device".... I'm a bloody slow learner when it comes to trusting the experts, so I switched gears and found WHY Doctors.
Why? Cardiac Sarcoidosis. If I had known this two years ago, one, I could have halted its progression and two I would have received an ICD which now has to replace the Dual Chamber.
I'm not pissed off. I should have trusted my intuition from the beginning but I'm damned glad that I found the docs I'm with.
I suggest that you look into the cause and hopefully, you will find one. At the least get a cardiac MRI and PET Scan.
As for returning to a normal active life, you are going to feel great and you're going to Kick Ass!
best,
Arthur

You're no wimp!

by donr - 2012-06-23 04:06:47

All these reactions are normal. I know of no one here who, when told they needed a PM danced a jig & sang a song of joy over the pronouncement. I freaked out so badly when told that my cardio's head nurse, who sprung the news on me, had to have hospital maintenance bring up a stepladder to climb up to the ceiling to grab me & bring me down to the floor again. I was up there, swatting flies! One Xanax tab & about 20 min & I was rational enough to talk about it.

I was lucky, that's all the anxiety/stress I've had over getting my PM. After that, it was a great big lab experiment I was observing - except that I was the frog in the bottle!

A lot of the answers to your questions depend upon one piece of info you didn't disclose: WHY are you needing a PM? Makes a long term difference.

You only said shortly for WHEN the big day arrives & you become computer assisted. Till then, I'd lay off the exercise. You will have a long life ahead of you to exercise, so skip it till post op.

IN one respect, you are lucky - you had warning that something was amiss - you just either ignored it or the reasons for needing the PM didn't surface. When you have electrical problems w/ the heart, usually they are just like those w/ a TV set - they just SUDDENLY occur - you know the experience, one day the stupid set just croaks & stares at you like a big Cyclops. No rhyme or reason, it just happens. So, you get it fixed & charge on! Don't go nutso for an answer as to WHY - no one will be able to find it. It just happened!

As to the limitations - I'll send you via Pvt Msg my take on Limitations, as gleaned fro personal experience & all the experiences of others reported here.

Jut hang in there & relax till the PM is installed. THEN start thinking about the future seriously.

Don

Ironman with Pacemaker

by hjfarr - 2012-07-09 04:07:16

Anything is possible so long as you have no other serious medical conditions. I am 69 years old and had a pm implanted in Jan 2011. I had competed in triathlons since the mid 80's. I followed my doc's orders regarding returning to my exercise routine. By July 2011 I was competing in Olympic distance tris (1500 meter swim, 24.8mile bike and 6.2mile run. On 5/19/12 I completed my first Ironman distance triathlon.
The important thing is to follow your doc's instructions. I was back on a stationary bike and running within 3 weeks. Since it was winter I didn't ride outside until it warmed up. I was told not to lift weights or swim for 6-8 weeks. The leads must heal properly and lifting or swiming could pull the leads lose.
You will return to your normal routine sooner than you expect to.

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