Recover from pacemaker implantation

Hi,everyone! I'm 27 years old and this is my first time to join a club like this. I've got my pacemaker implantation only 3 months back and I've got a lot of things to cope up with not to mention the occasional sharp pain I have on my pacemaker site. But what bothers me the most is the way my body respond when I'm at work. I'm an ICU nurse, and our 8 hours duty taking care of critical patients really is that tough but I have love what i'm doing as an ICU nurse but almost all my colleagues in ICU s worried about my health. At first, I felt offended but for the previous days when I started going back on shifts, I noticed I have more episodes of pain on my pacemaker site and sometimes I can feel dizzy or nauseated. I don't know if this has something to do with my pacemaker. I'm just afraid of taking off from my work now and rest for several months I might not get a chance to be an ICU nurse again after having this pacemaker. Anyone here who has pacemaker and works as a nurse? Did you try applying to other hospitals do they still accept you? thanks.

5 Comments

regina

by my4turtles - 2013-01-06 01:01:29

was yours placed under the muscle?, it does take time and several months... and im sure with your job your are moving your left arms around alot. Do you press things against the site also.. Give it some time, rest on your off days and let your body take the time it needs. You will get better but the muscle needs to heal..
As for the dizzy part, have you been in for your check up's to see if they need to make any changes to the settings??

thank you for the responses...

by regina144 - 2013-01-06 01:01:37

thank you so much for all your responses...this is really a big help and to know that I'm not alone with what I'm going through right now...it's quite refreshing. Thanks

site pain

by daisy41763@yahoo.com - 2013-01-06 02:01:21

my icd is 2 mths old, my 2nd one. I don't have sharp pain now, every now n then I get what I would call a twinge .. However, I noticed your a female Also, and my bra bothers mine, the strap itself, the underwire where it pushes me up too.. that really bothered it a lot at first. a different bra made it worse. try loosening the strap or I used a sock between me n the bra. I'm still tired and I stay home. I think it all just takes a lot outa yeah. my moms a retired SICU RN. many nights she came home after a twelve hour shift and be ready to crash.

PS:

by Many Blessings - 2013-01-06 11:01:18

Looks like Angry Sparrow and I were commenting on your questing at the same time. LOL!

I read hers and noticed she too, mentioned the magic "8 months" for feeling better. Must be something to it.

Weird Pains & Low Energy

by Many Blessings - 2013-01-06 11:01:25

I too had weird pains around my PM site at first that weren't incision related and really never found out what they were. Those did go away for the most part after a few months.

I'm 8 months post PM and I still get some little pains, but now I think it's the plastic thing where the leads go into the PM that is bothering me. I can feel it through my skin and it feels sharp underneath when I touch it, which is where the pain is. It feels like it's scratching me underneath my skin, especially when I move. My PM is not underneath the muscle, but right under the skin. I might change that next go around.

I get knocked on the chest every once in a while from a great niece or nephew or animal I'm playing with, and notice the pain much worse after that happens, but it still never goes away. It also hurts if you have your glasses or something hard tucked into your shirt and someone hugs you, squishing the glasses (or hard object) between them and your PM, so watch that too.

I, like Daisy above, have trouble with my bra sometimes. My strap doesn't bother me at all, but having something tight around my chest, and the underwire does. I don't want to give that up, so I too, loosen it up a notch. It helps a lot, but doesn't fix the problem all together.

As for being tired, it's still real early in the game for you. Don't push yourself too hard yet. It takes some people a little longer than it does others to feel good again. One member told me up to 8 months when I first had mine put in. It didn't, but 8 months seems to pop up a lot when people ask how long it can take to feel good again, so keep that in mind. Are you taking any new medications that could be causing you to feel tired?

I too work full time, and am very active before and after work. I'm always lifting something, work out every day, and am just plain high energy to begin with so I'm always on the go. You may just need to give yourself some time to get used to things, but like Daisy said, do check to see if your settings need changing. That alone can make a world of difference. If you still don't feel better, get it checked out by your EP or Cardio doc to see what else could be going on.

Good luck! And, trust me, you will feel better soon. :)

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