Fatigue

Hi everyone. It is now 23 days since I had pacemaker fitted and I an tired all the time. With a small amount of movement I get tired. I had to go to hospital for unrelated tests yesterday. I was driven there and home again. I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I was starting to think it was laziness, but having seen posts on this site I have read that some people experience this. I am learning all the time about my PM, mainly from this site. I see that some people have had their PM settings changed and this corrects the fatigue proplem. Do I wait for my first review at the hospital or do I make contact now. I received a letter this morning saying that my cardiologist will be away and rescheduling my appt. to 28th August. I am unsure what to do and would like some advice. I am not very fit but I exercise every day and prior to PM, I would walk a lot. Leisure walking up to about two three miles. Now two hundred yards and I am soooo tired.
The one positive in this is I am sleeping better that I have for years. Only a bit too much.
Brend

8 Comments

I hope you be fine

by LuCas - 2013-07-25 01:07:30

Hello Brend,
It is nice for you that you learn about your problem so that you can profit from all the wonderful explanations that we find here everyday.
I am very new to the pace maker world, but I've known for a long time what my heart problem is. In my case, I only needed a pacemaker to help me cope with a bradycardia which, in its turn, is a consequence of an enlarged atrium. I also have AF (atrial flutter) which has not gone away even with cardioversion. I'm unlucky at this point.
When I first got a pm, my doctor adjusted it to 80bpm. Five days after the pm implant, my first visit, I told him that I could not sleep with that heart rate. I was not used to my heart beating so fast even when I was trying to sleep. So, my physician set it to 75bpm for my daily needs. When I stay moveless for a long period, the pm automatically goes to 55bpm which is the sleep mode. Then, I could sleep better.
You may ask if I still feel tired. Yes, I feel better than before, but still not 100%. It has been 1month and 2 days.
I will have some time to find the balance because I've started to take other medications (amiodarone) which makes changes in my heart beat. After the amiodarone reaches a certain level in the body, the pm will need to be set again for better body efficiency.
If you could do lots of things before your implant, then it COULD be a situation of pacemaker setting. If you can see your doctor before he is away, much better.
I wish you all the best and success in your visit to your cardiologist.
We'll wait for you to come back here and tell us how you feel.
Lucio

You may need a tweak...

by KAG - 2013-07-25 01:07:55

...That was my experience. I'm now 6 weeks out and within the first few weeks when I tried to resume walking in my neighborhood I would get SOB and felt really sluggish. I checked my HR and it would drop down to my low pacing rate. I have total AV block and my PM drives my ventricles all the time. I'm not in very good shape so I thought maybe that was it. I learned what my mode and settings were and got with the PM techs. They raised my UTR and that seems to have helped. I haven't pushed it very hard yet but will slowly build up and test it out. I was able to go in way before my scheduled PM check which isn't for about 3 more weeks. I'm so glad I didn't just wait since I'd still be struggling with it.

I think that sometimes it may be you adjusting to your PM, but sometimes it's your PM that needs adjusting to support you. Best to ask questions.

Kathy

Been There Also !!

by donb - 2013-07-25 04:07:53

Hi Brend,
It's all too common for our Cardiologist to prescribe medication which you didn't mention if you're taking any.
Most common are Beta-Blockers which will slow down activities by being tired.
DonB

Support

by Brend - 2013-07-25 05:07:04

Thank you all for the support. There is something comforting in knowing that many others have and are experiencing the same thing.
I have made a decision. I am going to contact the hospital tomorrow and ask if they can review the settings. I will keep you informed.
Brend

call and ask

by Tracey_E - 2013-07-25 09:07:04

You didn't say why you got the pm or how long you'd been sick or undiagnosed before you got it. Sometimes it just takes the body time to heal. It's a minor surgery, but still a surgery and an adjustment for your body. I napped most every day for a good month after. Or it could be the settings need tweaked. They send us home with a guess, it can take a few tries to find out exactly what we need. When you walk and get tired, take your pulse. If it's not going up enough, that can be an easy fix with settings.

settings

by Brend - 2013-07-25 10:07:01

Thanks TraceyE.
I have been having blackouts for about six years and finally doc fitted a reveal monitor. On the first reading they discovered that my heart slows and stops on an irregular basis. They decided there and then that I had to have a pacemaker.
I guess I expected too much. From what I was told I believed that within about two weeks after fitting of pacemaker that I would be full of energy.
I really need to learn more about settings and the tweaking them.
Brend

hi Brend...

by lubro - 2013-07-25 11:07:05

welcome to the group... I think each person reacts differently to having a PM implanted, and I can only say... give yourself some time to adjust. Like TraceyE said, it could be settings that need tweaked. I felt really tired and out of it for the first couple of weeks. I believe that I was more tired from worrying about things...I've had my pm for about 6 months, and I now feel great... can do almost anything I want...guess I'm one of the lucky ones (so far )...
you may want to see if you can get an earlier appt with your Dr. just to be sure things are ok...
keep reading here... lots of good information being shared...
take care...

Lubro

Feel the same

by Lyntole - 2013-08-05 08:08:10

Hi all I am New to the group and would like to say hello! I am post PM Dual channel due to AF and my heart stopping. Since the implantation I am tired all the time and I am having strange heart beats. Visited my pacemaker clinic last week and they tweaked the PM and I felt all the flutters in my heart which was extremely uncomfortable. They can't understand why I experience this so are keeping a closer eye on me. I feel very vulnerable since the implant and its been 3,weeks since the op and feel worst than I did before the implant. I had a reveal fitted for 4 years previous which picked up the stopping of the heart.

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Member Quotes

It may be the first time we've felt a normal heart rhythm in a long time, so of course it seems too fast and too strong.