finaly made it!!

Hi everyone
just got home after finaly getting my pm did it with just a local no sedation took 2 hrs was not as bad as i expected but glad its over hopfully will end my symptoms i have 2 leads took him awhile to get the best position the leads were then screwed in i must say though when he was messing with leads causing dropped beats and loads of ectopics the central chest pain was nasty worst bit about it for me and i get bouts of this still now more central pain than pacer site im taking regular pain meds which does dull it down could this be cause the heart is irritated from the wire screwin and messing about. i think the pm has kicked in a few times as my cardio said i would feel it as im so sensitive to what my heart does im not paced all the time it will just be there when i get all thes dropped beats and pauses. what iv felt is a little pulse bump were my ribs part only a sutle bump is this the pacer????

kimbo :) i have a medtronic.

5 Comments

Brave

by Ariela - 2013-03-02 02:03:45

Hi, Kimbo! I don't know anything about all this pacemaker stuff but I wanted to let you know that I am very happy that you are home now and on the road to recovery. You were so brave to have this done with only a local! I always ask my doctor to put me as "out" as I can get! Sending lots of good thoughts your way! Ariela

Congratulations!

by Many Blessings - 2013-03-02 09:03:34

Good job Kimbo! I'm so glad you posted this awesome news! Best of luck in the years to come!

Could the "little pulse bump" you felt possibly be your PM pacing your diaphragm? I had that for the first day until they adjusted my settings while I was still in the hopsital. I know a lot of others out here had the same problem. Mention it to your EP doc, cardiologist, and/or PM tech so they can let you know if this is what's going on. Mine was fixed with one quick adjustment. What a difference!

Sensations from having leads screwed in

by ElectricFrank - 2013-03-02 11:03:25

Just the description of "screwing" a lead into the heart wall seems barbaric, but actually it seems to be no problem. I too had my pacer implanted in 2004 with only a local and no sedation. There was a few strange beats but no pain as it was done. Mine was for AV Block and when they turned the pacer on my HR jumped from 26 to somewhere in the 70's. That felt so good that I could have jumped off the table and run around the room.

If you can handle it like you did there is lot of advantage to going without the sedatives. The only pain I felt in the whole 2 hour process was some O.R.person using my chest for an elbow rest. I immediately asked that the bony thing be removed. If I had been in ga ga land it would have remained and the next day I would have wondered where my bruised sternum had come from. I also spent some time before the surgery started having them position pillows under my head, neck, arms, and legs so I was comfortable. I also asked them to stop at a convenient point and loosen the arm straps so I could stretch.
Taking care of my body kept this old 74 (at the time) year from being a mess the next day.

Congratulations on managing it. You should pat yourself on the back.

frank

No feeling in veins,arteries

by Jewelrymkr1 - 2013-03-03 04:03:43

Hi kimbo! Congrats! I had a medtronic pm for the past ten yrs! I just recently as feb 19,2013 got a new pm by Biotronik W/ a 24/7 home monitoring system. Well regardless, i was told that the inside of our heart and the vessels they use to put the pm into our Atria or into the Ventricle or both, like mine...they have no feeling?. I had a heart catheterization from HELL & I was awake...wide awake screaming & no one would listen me! It was a horror & with all of my issues, my old gen cardiologist dr allowed his new "sidekick" to hurt me and when i dare complain afterwards he was rude to me... Then others complained about the new guy too & he fired him! I left his practice whereI'd gone since 1991!!my eps took over everything now, incl my Coumadin because he has a real Coumadin clinic!

thanks everyone

by kimbo - 2013-03-03 05:03:37

for your comments prob gunna be on her bugging everyone with all the strange feelings to come!! so glad this site is here to vent off and ask for advise. i feel better with the pain today just sore over wound site but looks very clean and no redness just nasty bruising to be expected iv to go to the pacing clinic tomoz to get it checked and ajusted if needed not felt it kick in today so far. i think the pain i felt across my chest is pericardic pain had it before after the ablation and ended up with fluid round heart so just hoping i dont end up with that again must say the sensation when the wire passes the throat feels soooo wierd but normal as it passes my cardio says the other chest pain while ajusting is due to me having a very sensitive heart muscle and its letting us know it doesnt like. he has bedded it right deep in my muscle by top of my breast hoping for a good result as im extremely thin i must say i carnt see it stuck out :)).

thanks everyone

kimbo

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

Member Quotes

The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.