Water aerobics

Today, I went to water aerobics and could only do 20 min of the hour long class.  I’m now on day 10 of my first pacemaker.  64 years old...this is so hard.  I still can’t sleep on my stomach for this hockey puck on my left side.

I know I’m lucky to have this, but sometimes when I work out my heart just beats out of my body and I feel a shortness of breath. Is this normal 10 days after surgery?

4 Comments

recovery time

by Tracey_E - 2012-07-12 06:07:11

Be careful being in a swimming pool until your incision is 100% closed, bacteria can cause nasty infections. Drs vary on how long is long enough, but 10 days isn't long.

Getting sob while exercising could be several things, all normal. When you feel sob, stop until your heart is beating normally and you feel good again. You could be doing too much too fast. Many of us had limited activity for a while before getting the pm so we end up out of shape and it takes a while to get it back. Or your body might need more time to bounce back, it's a minor surgery but a surgery nonetheless. Last, they often send us home with limits on the pm that aren't enough to exercise so your settings might need adjusted.

I ran into all of the above when I got my first one! Sitting around isn't my style and I'm not known for patience :o)

Recovery time

by Ruffles - 2012-07-12 06:07:29

What's sob? Thank you so much for your response!

sob

by Tracey_E - 2012-07-12 06:07:49

short of breath, sorry about that! My fingers get lazy and I forget not everyone knows our shorthand

Wioth or without ridges...

by donr - 2012-07-12 08:07:45

...Water aerobics is hard work. Tremendous resistance to arm movement. It's meant to be.

I'd say that 10 days Post 0p is a bit soon to be pushing it like that.

Good grief - you did 20 min out of a normal hour program - that's a lot.

Scale it back a bit - that's too soon.

You ask is it normal 10 days post op. Are you an Olympic class active athlete? If so, probably not. If yo are a normal human being, probably so.

At 64, even if you are accustomed to such a work out , given even three or four days w/o exercise & your body will lose tone very fast & set you back a significant amount.

I got my first Pm at age 66; w/ the three days in the hosp. I felt the loss of stamina when I came out. It's great to feel like the exercise & to do it, but start slowly & ramp up your effort.

Like my kids tell me - "Dad, you aren't 40 any longer."

Don

You know you're wired when...

You have a dymo-powered bike.

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A pacemaker completely solved my problem. In fact, it was implanted just 7 weeks ago and I ran a race today, placed first in my age group.