About to have a pacemaker inserted!

Hi there!
My name is Amanda and up until a few months ago I was happily traveling the world on a six month tour when I kept collapsing. After two concussions and my heart stopping whilst having a lumbar puncture, I was diagnosed with bradycardia and requiring a pacemaker.
I'm 28 years old, usually a confident person and now i feel my life has changed and I am extremely frightened.
I realise that usually older people have pacemakers inserted, I was wondering if anyone could possibly give me some advise on what to expect in regards to the surgery and every few years having to have the battery replaced. I have heard that the quality of life is improved with less dizziness, more energy and not feeling the cold so much.
Also I was wondering if there are any restrictions about exercise, travel, and having children.
Thank you all so much for reading this, I will be having a pacemaker inserted sometime this month.
Kind regards
Amanda

5 Comments

Welcome to te club, Amanda

by janetinak - 2012-10-13 02:10:06

you will probably get a lot of good responses here from those in your age group & younger. I am older but I can tell you that my experience is that my life is 100% better due to my PM.Others have become pregnant & if you hit the search button in the upoper right corner you can look up those who have had a baby with a PM.

The PM switch out is usually very easy. I am on my 3rd & its a piece of cake.Lots of spost in here about that too.

Hope that helps,

Janet

indeedie, welcome to the club :)

by sonnige2005 - 2012-10-13 04:10:10

Amanda, hi!
don't you worry, you'll be fine, sweetie! and it's not only the old people who have to wear this pretty device :)
i'm 29 now and am with pm for 12 years already. i had a major heart surgery after which a pm turned out to be of life importance. i also had the battery changed 5 years ago. and...apart from the necessity to be extra careful with new devices (and their magnetic fields) and the necessity to explain to airports' security that i can't go through metal detector, my little friend is not causing any trouble.
you can have an absolutely normal life of a young woman, can get pregnant, go to the gym, travel by air, by car, by a rocket :) do whatever you please to do. just always bear in mind that any device can cause electric or magnetic waves and it is safer to keep it on the side opposite to your pm (including mobile phone) or just not use it at all. take it into a habit before using any new device to read carefully the manual and maybe browsing the web (or simply asking your doc) if this device may be compatible with a pm. as well as whenever you come to ANY doc, always inform them of you pm again to the above point.
as for the surgery itself - normally it's pretty simple. first time, when they install those special wires from pm to your heart, they don't allow you to lift your (left) arm for 3 months. afterwards, when only the battery is changed even this is not the case. you may feel low sometimes, or lazy on the border of depressed - it'll all pass. all feelings are natural and normal. the only thing - do not fear! this is truly a minor surgery and there is nothing to be scared of!
after surgery give yourself time to recover and then you'll see how quality of your life improves!
again and again, do not be frightened! trust me, compared to other heart problems a person may have, this is as simple as having to wear a helmet all the time :)
good luck and feel free to write if you want to know smth else or just to have you spirits up!
Lena

Good Advice from PM Club ~

by Carolyn65 - 2012-10-13 05:10:20

In 2009, when I was worrying, scared not knowing the UNknown of what was happening to me, I found this wonderful, informative PM Club. TraceyE and Smitty among a few others were the first to give me a 'shoulder' to lean on, some supportive advice and an overall, educated picture of what would be happening.

I see above, they still have Great, Good, Educated advice ~ I would add one more to this 'what/what not' to do advice they have posted. My doctor and several others since my PM implant, have said to NOT let the nurse's/hospital put a sling on your arm on the side of the PM implant. The doctor said having the arm/elbow in a confined position (sling) would/could 'freeze' my movement/use of that arm and would require more physical therapy on that arm than anyone could ever imagine. Sure enough, when I came out of surgery/recovery of my PM implant, there was a cotton sling on that arm/shoulder! Thankfully, my Dr. walked in at the same time, gently removing the sling and told me to take it home and let my cats 'play' w/it ~ ha-ha.

Since my implant in 2009, I forget I even have a PM, and my lil' 'energizer bunny' just keeps goin' and goin' ~

Keep us posted on your Great progress, Lil' miss,
Carolyn G. in TEXAS ~ Happy, Happy Holidays ~

hello!

by Tracey_E - 2012-10-13 08:10:11

I'm so glad you found us! It can feel like the end of the world but I found getting a pm was the best thing that ever happened to me. No more feeling bad, passing out, worrying about what my heart was doing. Instead, I have a state of the art computer making sure my wonky heart behaves itself.

I was 27 when I got my first pm. I went from cold, tired, dizzy, fuzzy mind to feeling terrific. I have traveled the world with it. I do boot camp 5 mornings a week and hike or ski most vacations. I had two babies with it, one named Amanda :o) She's 14 now and just started high school. Her older sister is learning to drive, I swear that's been harder on my heart than everything else combined!

I'm 46 now and on my 4th pm. Changes are super easy. They go in the same place, so it's all scar tissue so I really don't even get that sore after a replacement. They last on average 7-10 years. I get mine checked every 3 months, but that varies with dr and where you live. Other than the quick checks a few times a year and a few days off to get it replaced every 7 or 8 years, I really don't give it a thought and it doesn't keep me from doing anything I want to do.

The only restrictions are no mri's, though ask your dr about the new ones that are mri-safe. No arc welding or working in a junk yard where they have those giant magnets to pick up the dead cars. Tackle football or competitive karate are not a good idea, though they make shirts now that protect the pm if that's your thing.

Discuss position with your dr. Many drs put them right under the skin just under the collarbone. This is the easiest and heals the fastest. If they put it a little lower and a little deeper, it'll be less conspicuous and a tank top and most bathing suits will cover the scar. The main reason I like having mine there is backpack straps and seat belts don't rub. A good number of women complain about seat belt and bra straps, I've never had an issue. And I love to hike, I like to be able to carry a heavy backpack without rubbing. It took a little longer to heal than a simpler placement, but it wasn't bad. I got by on tylenol after the first few days.

St Judes website has some great animations that explain how the heart beats, how the pm helps, and how the surgery is done. If you have questions, just ask
http://health.sjm.com/arrhythmia-answers/videos-and-animations
Some are awake for it, some do it with the stuff where you're awake but don't remember. That's what I had. They generally keep us overnight so they can check the pm in the morning, sometimes do a quick xray to make sure everything is still where it's supposed to be. Drs vary on their instructions but average is 6 weeks of minimal lifting and no raising the left arm (assuming it's on the left side) above shoulder level in order to let the leads settle into place. After that, anything goes.

I've babbled on enough! If you have more questions or just want to chat, I'm always around. Most drs offices are full of retirees but there are a lot of us here who started this journey young. Some like me who got it at your age and have been paced long term. Others your age who got it as an infant and are doing great. And retirees and everything in between. Know most of all that you are not alone!

Getting A Pacemaker

by SMITTY - 2012-10-13 09:10:29

Hi Amanda,

I can understand your concern about the upcoming PM surgery, but like you have been told, it is unnecessary concern. To give you an idea of what is involved below is something I have written about my PM surgery experiences. I got my first PM in 2000 AT AGE 71, and the 2nd one in 2009. Both were done in the same hospital but by different Drs. Both surgeries were almost identical. So to give you some idea of what you are facing

I arrived at the appointed time, which was 7 AM. I was given a some of the hospitals latest fashions to put on and told to lie down and get comfortable as it would be a little while before the surgery. I read the paper and watched TV for a couple of hours while other PM patients were also being readied for their PM . After about an hour I got an IV and spent the next 3 or 4 hours being "prepped" which consisted mainly of getting about a quart (at least it looked like that amount) of antibiotic through the IV and the surgery area cleaned and cleaned real good.

About noon the doctor showed up and examined the area for the implant. After another hour or so I was wheeled off to the surgery area where I spent another 30 or 40 minutes being "dressed or draped" for the surgery.

Sometime after I got in the surgery area I received some medication to make me relax so they said, but what it did was make take a nap in about a half-sleep mode. I vaguely remember being told they were injecting a local anesthetic into the area where the surgery would be performed so I would not feel the anything. About 45 minutes later I was told, "okay Mr. Smith, we are through and your pacemaker is working just fine." I was wheeled back into a room where I had to wait for awhile to be sure I had no adverse reactions to any of the meds I had received. About 5 PM I was told I could go home.

I was not unexpectedly sore and my healing was no problem. I did have restricted use of my arm for a few days, the main thing being not to raise my elbow above my shoulder, or lift more than a few lbs. with the arm on the side of the PM. I was not allowed to drive for about 24 hours and then for short distances for a week or so. All in all the pain is less than most dental surgery I have had, and since I was retired even with the first one, it did not interfere with any activates.

One last word, you will go home with your Drs best guess on PM settings. Most of the time these are good, but occasionally some people need to have those settings tweaked. If you think your PM is causing you a problem, if it is just that you think something is amiss, let your Dr know, otherwise he will have no way of know everything is not perfect.

Good Luck,

Smitty

You know you're wired when...

Friends call you the bionic woman.

Member Quotes

I am very lucky to have my device.