Neck and Shoulder Pain

Hello,
I got a pacemaker 8 days ago. I'm experiencing rather debilitating nerve pain in my neck and shoulder. The site of the surgery is healing nicely and not painful, but the nerve pain is keeping me from being able to sleep. If I lie on my right side it is better, though still unnerving (I'm a back sleeper), and if I lie on my back it is unbearable. The drugs that the doc gave me do little or nothing to help with this pain.
I really need to sleep... please help.

Update 4/22/2017 - That pain lasted about 3 months and no one knew why until I got a new PM. Turns out they had pushed the lead through the bone tissue of the clavicle and the bone healed around the lead - how they did this, I don't really understand, but the new doc had to chip/cut the bone away that had formed around it. Ha! And they kept saying I was making it all up!!

3 Comments

I had nerve pain too,

by kathykat11 - 2012-09-22 03:09:45

And I was not sure if it was normal or not when I finally broke down on the site here after 3.5 months they said talk to the EP and they scheduled me to have ir moved and placed below the muscle the difference was noticeable as soon as I was awake. the pain before was horrible and after all the pain a had been in healing was a piece of cake. I would give it a bit more time but don't wait ove 3 months to get them to do something. my pain was ruining my teeth from all the vomiting I was having extreme pain totally turns my stomach. Compalin but complain judiciously not every case goes to the supremem court LOL

Warmth

by golden_snitch - 2012-09-22 03:09:59

Hi!

Keep your shoulders and neck warm! I often use a special ointment that I buy in the pharmacy and which improves blood flow in the skin, making it feel very hot (burning sensation at first, then nice warmth). There are also patches with the same active agent that one can put on the shoulder blades, and that last for up to eight hours. The ointment and the patches are something I use after every pacemaker surgery. The thing is that due to the pain right after surgery, and the relieving posture you take (often without really noticing it), your shoulder and neck muscles tense up. The warmth helps to remove these tensions. You could, of course, just take painkillers instead, but warmth helps, too. Hope you find the ointment and patches in your pharmacy. I'm from Germany, so I don't know what the brand name is in the U.S.

Hope you get better soon!
Inga

Patience is a virtue

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-22 12:09:41

But sometimes you gotta raise hell. Give it a week or two and see if it subsides. If it doesn't, threaten to cut the PM out with a box knife. THat worked for me!

Just keep in mind there's a big difference between discomfort and level 5 of 10 pain. Keep perspective. I had horrible pain that they kept blowing off. A CAT scan ervealed that the ventricular lead had pierced my heart. They had to do another operation to move it. They might have to move your leads too, but up in the shoulder, not the heart. THat's not as serious.

Best of luck. Keep us posted. Dave

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