2 questions

i have 2 questions.the 1st question,kinda weird,has anyone ever felt like they are getting electricuted when pushing shopping carts.the other day it rained all day and when i was at a store and pushing a metal cart i kept feeling like i was getting electricuted in the arm near my pacemaker.and the other question,i've had the pm for a month now and recently i've been feeling alot of burning type sensation in the shoulder area and my arm feels tingly and feels like i've lost some strength in it.

7 Comments

thats weird

by ohiolaura - 2012-08-12 03:08:45

Ive only had my PM for 6 weeks,have pushed a cart a few times,not had any issue I felt with any feelings like you described,thank goodness!
Plus I am lucky I guess and havent had issues with pain in area or arm weakness.Maybe since you (and I ) havent used the arm,(left for me),you feel its weaker not being used.
I think my left has always been weaker,since I am right side dominant,and not using it hardly for the past 6 weeks most likley has made it more weak,hoping to get green light on Tues to start to resume regular things with left side.
Id see what others say about the shopping cart thing,and if it happens again,call your Dr,thats so weird.

HR Monitor/ Watch

by Grateful Heart - 2012-08-12 04:08:24

Any chance you were wearing a heart rate monitor/ watch? I had one where you did not have to wear a transmitter around your chest, just a 1 piece watch and when I opened the freezer or refrigerator doors in the supermarket, it zapped me up my left arm. Stupidly, I tried it a few times before I rememered I have an ICD. I told them at cardiac rehab what happened and the nurse put it on and touched metal on a treadmill and SHE got a shock. (She does not have a pacemaker/ ICD). I returned it to the store and told them what happened.

I then bought a Polar brand HR monitor/ watch and you wear a strap/ transmitter around you chest and the watch/ receiver part on your wrist. I never had a problem with it.
Hope this helps...if for nothing else, just to ease your mind that you know what you felt.
Take care,
Mary Ellen

Testy nerves

by cohara - 2012-08-12 05:08:53

Sometimes a pacemaker can rub a nerve the wrong way. I have experienced a sharp electrical type sensation and burning and tingling due to an irritated nerve. You might want to mention it to your doctor.

Hope this resolves itself soon,
Carol

I was so excited

by Shortcake - 2012-08-12 08:08:14

when I saw your post. When I shop at one certain store in my area, I get shocked! It's the craziest thing and I thought I was the only person in the world that did this. I was so thrilled to see your post I immediately grabbed my husband and had him read it. I get shocked so bad, it literally makes a clicking sound. When I first told my hubby, he cracked up but then he was with me and heard the click right before I screamed. Not too loudly of course, I was in a store! But it does shock me and it hurts like $&@2! I even mentioned it to my pacer tech and she thought it was hiilarious. I thought I was going nuts. I don't know why it happens but it does. The strangest thing is that it only happens to me in this one store. Do you have this happen at one place or do you experience it everywhere you push a cart? If you ever find out why or how to prevent it please let me know. It sure ruins a shopping experience!
Susan

Electrocution - zzzzzzzzap!

by donr - 2012-08-12 08:08:14

Mommy: here's what I sent to someone else on Tingling fingers. It might give you some insight into some alternatives to what the other comments suggest about such feelings. Read to the end - tingling fingers & the kind of discomfort you feel may be related.

Begin copy & paste

If it Ain't one thing, it's Another - Tingling
Comment posted by donr on 2012-08-07 11:10.
Is it normal? NO! Does it happen? YES. Is it something to worry about? MAYBE, depending on whether or not it goes away. Let me start w/ a guess - it's your left thumb, index, first & INSIDE of the ring finger that tingles. (The other option is the OUTSIDE of the ring finger & the pinky.) There are TWO different nerves involved. They come out of the spine at two different levels, one vertebrae apart. (Don't ask why - I didn't design the system. An engineer above MY level did that!) The vertebrae is above the shoulders, so the nerves travel down the neck, out across the front of the shoulder area & down the inside of the arm. All you have to do is "Pinch" one slightly & you cause tingling. Just sleeping on the left shoulder "Funny" can cause it to happen. You may be doing that in your sleep & not know it, even though you are sleeping on your back - you THINK! Sounds like you normally sleep o your left side, so you could very well be doing something weird while asleep & not know it. Now for the NEXT alternative: Read what I wrote previously, below.

Tingling in fingers

Mommy, you want to look at these pictures - they will show you what is crammed into the PM area like sardines in a can. This COULD be the source of your discomfort.

A few Comments on tingling
Comment posted by donr on 2012-07-25 09:31.
Let's start w/ the tingling: Google on "subclavian vein." select the Top entry (I hope), the Wikipedia entry. It should have a row of illustrations. Three of them are photos of the RIGHT shoulder area that shows very nicely, but a bit grisley, the area around the vein. Now the LEFT side is exactly the same. Look at all the nerves running past the vein! That vein is where they insert your leads. Now you get a couple fingers, a scalpel or two & some leads being manipulated into that vein - a lot of it being done almost by Braille, & you should be able to imagine some damage being done to some of those nerves. Since you don't complain of LOSS of feeling or motion or control of the arm all the time, my guess is that it - whatever "It" is - will be temporary. I will be glad to tell you it will go away - HOWEVER, I don't have the foggiest idea! I suggest that you hustle in to talk to the Dr. & ask someone who knows. Your peace of mind NEEDS it! One of those nerves (the median nerve) serves the thumb, index finger, the next finger & the INSIDE of the ring finger, IIRC. I have this happen all the time, & although it's caused by another issue, the effect is the same. All the discomfort you have in the shoulder/upper arm can be caused by issues initiated around the insertion site near the vein. All the nerves that serve that area come past there.

You could also have a hunk of scar tissue that formed at the point where the lead goes into the vein. It could put pressure on the nerve - it doesn't take much - & cause the tingling. The important thing is that it goes away, so at this point, you probably don't have anything permanent. You should still ask the Dr. next time you see him/her. (BTW: expect to be brushed off by them.)

End Copy & Paste

thanks for all the comments

by wmommy22 - 2012-08-13 01:08:26

i know i just need to have patient with all the healing that has to happen,but i didnt think working on the chest would affect the arm.that is why i asked.its been a real problem the last few days and since i feel the dr doesnt always answer my questions,i figured i would ask the people who would know first hand

Several peeps with same problem.

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-08-13 11:08:33

Here is a comment I just entered for someone else - yoshiking. It seems there is a flurry of these kind of problems happening all of a sudden:

I'm getting level 4-5 pain in my rib cage, across my diaphragm, into my shouler, and down my arm on a regular basis. All test indicate this is not a cardiac event. But I don't care. I'd rather die from asystole once than lose my job (I trim trees out of high voltage electri lines - can't do that with level 4-5 pain or messed up on pain kilelers) or experience level 4-5 pain for the rest of my life.

I'm going to ask the cardiologist to restick the leads or take the damned thing out of my chest. If he won't, I'll do it myself with a paring knife! Enough is enough.

I'm going to the doctor today and be a mid level asshole about it (I hate being a total asshole. LOL). We should stay in touch. One might help the other in the end.

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