pacemaker

I'm going to have a pacemaker put in on 12-31-12. I don't have a clue what I'm getting into.

scooterray

6 Comments

Second one

by dad4dds - 2012-12-23 03:12:37

I just had my second pacemaker put in. It is a pretty simple procedure. In most cases you can go home the same day. My first one I did. My second one I went home the next morning cause it was an ICD/BiVentricular a more evasive procedure.

Good Luck
Live long live strong

Brian

pm

by scooterray - 2012-12-23 05:12:47

my heart rate is 30 to 50 bpm, dizzy spells. heart pounding, and seems to skip beats. tired a little more than usual

Getting A New PM

by SMITTY - 2012-12-23 07:12:55

Hi Scooterray.

If you are commerced I can understand but probably like you have been told, it is unnecessary concern. I had heart surgery (quadruple bypass) a few years before I got my first PM and the only thing in common to the two surgeries the name "heart surgery." PM surgery is a breeze compared to the open heart surgery.

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 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. Each of us is different, therefore get slightly different instructions) 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.

We are all different and we react to a new PM differently, so we get a PM and see how and what it can do for us. Most of the time it is nothing to it. But as time goes by you will have may questions, the answers for whih you do not need at the beginning, so post them here and you will get most of them answered.

Good Luck,

Smitty

I agree with Smitty

by ElectricFrank - 2012-12-23 11:12:46

One suggestion that helps make it easier to sleep for the first few nights after the implant. Sleep on the side opposite the pacemaker and put a pillow in front of you to support the pacer side arm. This keeps you from squeezing the incision area which can wake you up.

best wishes,

frank

My experience

by RobertS - 2012-12-24 08:12:29

was pretty much as Smitty's. I had my pacemaker implanted two weeks ago for very sudden onset bradycardia. I didn't get any meds to make me relax though - and am now feeling shortchanged! Seriously though it was fine and pretty much painless. There was a little discomfort as the surgeon made the space for the pm to go in as I am pretty skinny - like working on 'a tough old rabbit' he said. I too got a large dose of anti-biotics by IV pre-op and was given a five day course to take at home. If you are given anti-biotics do take them all. I'm pretty much healed now and all is working fine. I go for my first check up in about three weeks from now,

They'll probably tell you all this but keep the wound dry for a few days and take care with the arm on the side the pacemaker is in. It'll be a bit sore anyway so that'll restrict the movement. Paracetamol sorted out any post op pain I had.

One good tip I got was to try to wear clothes that open at the front rather than those that you have to pull over your head. Put the sore arm side in the sleeve first.

Didn't find sleeping a problem but I was told that it'd be good to sleep with my arm inside my pyjamas to stop me moving it too much in my sleep. Did this for a couple of days then, as Frank says, used a pillow. Now I'm back to normal.

Sure you'll be fine but don't be shy and do ask the medics any questions that come to you. And there is lots of info on this site.

Have a relaxing Christmas and best of luck. Let us know how you get on.

Robert

Medication??

by climber - 2012-12-27 10:12:45

Have the Dr's talked about any medication to increase heart rate? Sounds a bit harsh to have a PM fitted for such a reason you've given. Unless the Dr's have told you you've got a real condition, such as, type 2 heart block etc. Do what I did, and get a 2nd opinion from a different hospital. Don't be forced in to having a PM!

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Life does not stop with a pacemaker, even though it caught me off guard.