All rainbows and flowers?

I'm a few weeks out from my first PM surgery. My Dr. and everyone I've talked to say its a simple in and out procedure and I can get back to work in a day or two. Nothing to worry about. What's the real story? What experiences have you (anyone) had?

Second question. What kind of high voltage equipment do you need to avoid with a PM? I'm a ceramic artist and use a 240 volt electric kiln... will I have to avoid this?

14 Comments

As Don says

by janetinak - 2012-09-27 02:09:00

we all react differently. I had AFib really bad for 2 yrs, tried everything so when I had my AV node ablation & 1st PM, I felt great. You almost always stay overnight with the 1st as they want to xray lead & do an EKG the next morning. Took Tylenol for the site discomfort & went back to work in a few days. I had clerical type job but, of course, if you have a heavy duty job you may either need to get restriction to do less (i.e., no pole climbing, etc) or wait awhile to do your regular job.

Hope that helps,

Janet

240v not a problem

by SaraTB - 2012-09-27 06:09:28

Bear in mind that 240v is the standard voltage for all electrical equipment in the UK, and 220v in the rest of Europe, so you can rest assured that your kiln is perfectly fine for you to use.

rainbows and flowers here

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-27 09:09:04

Everyone heals differently and has a different tolerance for pain. How quickly you bounce back is also affected by how long you were sick before the pm and your overall health. For me, I literally woke up feeling energized. My hr went from the 20's to the 80's, all that extra oxygen was like mainlining coffee for weeks. I was walking the day I got out of the hospital and back to work in a few days.

The kiln should be ok. As Don said, if you feel anything just put some more distance between yourself and the kiln. You're not going to hurt yourself, worst case you put the pm in test mode until you get far enough from it. That distance is usually 6" so unless you're hugging it it should be fine.

Be careful reading the posts here. Many come here because they want answers when they've had complications. In reality, complications happen less than 1% of the time, serious complications considerably less than that, so for every person here with a problem, there are thousands out there getting on with their lives.

If you have questions about the surgery or recovery, don't be shy!

Rainbow was delayed

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-27 11:09:32

They punched a hole in my heart and it wasn't very pleasent. THey fixed it a month later and now it's rainbows and dandelions .... I mean flowers. LOL. As far as the voltage is concerned, it's the magnetic fiield around the line you have to worry about, not the raw voltage. But 240 is not likely to create that strong a field unless you laid the wire across your chest.

Best wishes - Dave

no problem

by SUPERSALE - 2012-09-27 11:09:32

when i got my 1st pacemaker there i jump on the table and ready for doctor to get it done who know what doctor do how to insert pm i don't want to know i want to be fully sleep after it all over i was laughing and and ready to go home

Depends on who you are

by donr - 2012-09-27 12:09:37

...as to whether or not it will be rainbows & flowers or snakes & weeds.

We all react differently. For me it was rainbows & flowers. (well, that's not what I called it. I came out of the hosp looking for Arnold Schwartzenegger, ready to take on the world.) For other people, it's cleaning out the septic tank. No one can predict what it will be like for you. You just have to play the hand you are dealt. Now reality is that for most folks, it's a piece of cake. for others, wel, a different story.

As long as you don't crawl inside the Kiln while it is on, you shoud be safe.

Now, having told you that - I had one negative experience w/our water heater. I'd had my Pm about two weeks & climbed a ladder up into the ceiling of our shop. As I squeeeeeeeeezed through the space between two joists, suddenly I felt terrible. I almost fell off the ladder! Got down real fast. When I sat down & thought about it, I realized my new PM had just passed w/i 3 inches of the cable supplying tthe water heater. The heater was on, so the line was carrying 30 Amps at 240 Volts feeding the water heater.

Bottom line is to be careful around the cabling for the kiln. If it's conducting, you might fee something. If you do, just move a few feet & the feeling should go away. What happens is that the magnetic field is putting your PM in its tedt mode.

Flowers and Rainbows ~

by Carolyn65 - 2012-09-28 01:09:29

When I learned I was having an eblation/PM in 11/2009, I went online to find answers to my many questions of concern, worry, fears, etc. I found a whole lot of people who had lots of negative, scarey things to tell me ~.

I found the PM Club and the Posts/Comments had negative/positive things re: PM surgeries. I was told by many well Xperienced, educated ones on this site of the people who had negative thoughts and the thousands who were doing Great and almost never 'Posted' ~

The incision/placement/recovery period is all up to you and your Doctor. I am a firm believer of listening to my own body and treat myself according to what it tells me. If your body tells you to 'take it easy', by all means, do so! My heart Dr. said not to let anyone at the hospital place a 'sling' on my arm to immobilize the side of my PM. The Dr. said my elbow/arm/socket might 'freeze', which in turn would call for lots of Re-hab/pain. Not to pick up/lift over 5 lbs. for the first few weeks to keep from pulling the 'leads' out of your heart and other small suggestions. I turned down a prescription from the Dr. as I left the hospital, which, the next morn, I called the Dr. to get one. A lil' pain med helped the discomfort at night time for a few nights. After 2 weeks, I slept on 'that' side, as I am a 'side' sleeper ~ just 'lil' things which your body will talk to you about ~ just listen.

After a few, I forgot I even had my 'energizer bunny' (my PM) and only notice now, IF I accidentally 'bump' that area and/or while bathing that area under my skin below my left clavicle.

I was told not to stand for long under Big power lines and/or any equipment which had huge power surges. I was also told a PM might accidentally cause the alarms to go off when coming/leaving a shopping store security system ~ so far, since 2009, I have not. I do not fly, so I have not Xperienced airport security ~

Keep us 'posted' ~
Carolyn G. in TEXAS ~ Take Time To Smell the Flowers ~

Thanx

by shoe - 2012-09-28 08:09:16

Thanx ALL. Very helpful, measured and realistic advice. Just what I needed.

Different stokes for different folks

by manaman - 2012-09-29 10:09:35

Was fully awake during first and second implant ! Not a great deal of pain during entire healing process. Was cleared to go back to work (general maintenance tech in mfg facility) in three (3) weeks by doctors but company would not let me back in plant until they had cleared all areas of CYA!
Facility I worked in had loads of magnetic equipment and huge electrical sentering furnaces and coating furnaces. I (in the beginning) did little experiments to see what (if anything) would affect PM. As a general rule I found that large electrical flux would REALLY slow me down. All I had to do was remove myself from the area for 20/30 minutes and it was back to business as usual. Being exposed will not harm you (I've even received quite a few electrical shocks) worst case is it will just put PM in a test mode and it will reset itself.
Test things and see how you fill, usually 6" to 10" distance from item will be just fine! Believe it or not, I got (and still get) more reaction form a cell phone than anything I can think of (just try to remember to use it on oposite side.
Be prepared to answer a lot of questions like: What did you do on such and such date from your tech at your interrigation apponts! Really quite funny when I think of it.
I found that MOST recovery issues were "SELF INDUCED". Just TRY to go about your life as usual and soon you won't even notice your "BLUE BUNNY"!
Good Luck,
Cecil

Hearts & Flowers ?

by brucenj - 2012-09-30 07:09:02

Got my PM in April '12.
The actual procedure was simple enough, had to stay overnight in the hospital and then left the following afternoon. No significant pain afterward, could walk w/o any tiredness. Was on a painkiller, oxycodone w/acetaminophen for 3 days.
But I have not gotten used to the physical prescence of the PM, yet. I have experienced palpitations and flutterings afterward that I never felt before. My Dr has increased my beta blockers which has seemed to help somewhat. And have felt the need for more rest. I can't say it has been a cakewalk for me.
Since complications and / or reactions can occur, even if only 1% of the time, Make Sure you need the PM. Discuss with your Dr if there are any possible alternatives, and also how any problems will be dealt with afterward. Also, once you have the PM, it is unlikely that it will be removed. Replaced, yes. Removal is a more complicated operation that a cardiologist has to agree to.
Hope this has been of assistance. I wish you the best of Luck.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce

by shoe - 2012-09-30 11:09:33

Yes= that's all good advice. I was advised to get a pacemaker 2yrs ago without being given much of a reason. In the 2 yrs I've altered my activity level and tried to get more rest, less stress etc. in other words tried to avoid a PM. That's reduced my heart skips but I still get those killer "power outages" ,as I call them, where I have to just drop into a chair and go into a comma for an hour. I now know I have 2nd degree AV block not caused by meds or other factors. At this point I've been told that the skip and miss heart rate is damaging organs so a PM sounds like what I need even thought it's not what I want. Your info on recover was helpful I need to learn what I can about that process and be ready to work through any bumps. THANX

I have had a lot of problems from my pacemaker

by darkoff - 2012-10-01 03:10:29

Maybe my experiences are atypical, but I have had a lot of problems from my pacemaker. I had the pacemaker implanted in 2007. Immediately after the procedure, I felt some discomfort at the implant site, but otherwise I felt okay. Then for the first 2 or 3 months afterward, if I did any running or activities that caused my body to bounce up and down, the pacemaker would bounce up and down inside my chest. After those 2 or 3 months, the implant site tightened up so that the pacemaker didn't bounce around inside. But I developed a bump above the implant site, and that bump was sometimes itchy and sometimes painful. The worst side effect of the pacemaker was that it caused me to have numerous episodes of atrial fibrillation for about 2 years (to the best of my knowledge, I had only had 2 episodes of atrial fibrillation before the the pacemaker was implanted). Another big problem with having a pacemaker is that you can't get an MRI, so whenever I got injured, it was very difficult for the doctors to diagnose it and treat it. In hindsight, I really wish I had never had the pacemaker implanted.

Better over time

by rdinger - 2012-10-08 12:10:19

I had my pacemaker implanted 3 weeks ago. The pain from the surgery was minor. For the first few days I felt great. On the third day my pacemaker moved down in its pocket and pulled the slack out of the leads. When the leads moved it caused me to have constant palpitations (atrial fibrillation). They had to go back in a week later and put the pacemaker back in place. Again the pain was minor. I found that using an ice pack helped with the pain better than pain meds did. I would get palpitations every day but I feel better and get less palpitations as time goes by. I'm three weeks in from the original surgery and feel better than I have in years. The palpitations are pretty much gone. After the surgeries I became a little depressed. I think it was because of the back to back surgeries. I found comfort through my faith. Just be patient after the surgery. Keep a positive outlook and keep in mind that things will get better.

ThanX again everyone

by shoe - 2012-10-13 11:10:34

Been away from this site for a while and just catching up on everyone's advice and experiences. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and thanks Rdinger for mentioning faith I gotta keep that perspective. All the comments are really helpful and will help me begin this episode with a PM with eyes open.

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