confused and still in pain

I had a pacemaker emergency implanted on 4/19/13. I have alot of pain in my collarbone, cant stand straight, and just got to the point that I can go to the bathroom by myself. my left arm is still strapped to my body, but it hurts to take a deep breath. Standing with the right posture is impossible. But the pain in my collarbone sucks. The nurses in the hospital said it shouldnt hurt that bad but it did and does. 3 of the many umbing hots the Dr. did felt like he was jabbing my muscle or something wrong. They hurt so bad. Is any of thi normal? I dont see my cardiologist until May 1st.

4 Comments

Welcome

by MSPACER - 2013-04-24 09:04:45

I am wondering why you are still wearing the sling. My doctor only had me wear the sling overnight in the hospital, and sent me home without it, but with warning not to lift the arm or carry anything with it for about 4 weeks. The pain should be subsiding a lot by the end of the first week. I just took tylenol each day for the pain. Sometimes a small ice pack for a few minutes will help if there is a lot of swelling and bruising in the area. You will have some pain taking a deep breath, but it should go away soon. When you sleep, it helps to lay your arm on top of a pillow to support it. It keeps the arm level with your body, so you have less pain. Also, keep your arm elevated during the day-it helps with any kind of swelling.

Did you only have a local when the doctor did the implant? If you are still in a great deal of pain by the end of the week, you may want to check with the doctor.

Thats just it.....

by Kpratt - 2013-04-25 03:04:25

After hearing the Dr and nurses tell me that I could rip the screws out of my heart, it scared the hell out of me. So when I stretch my neck and it starts to pull on the PM side I get scared! Im so glad Im not alone.

Pain

by kgdalg - 2013-04-25 11:04:44

I had my PM put in on April 19th too (emergency) and a couple of things...
The numbing shots hurt a lot too, but my doctor warned me and explained it was like the novocaine when you get your teeth worked on and that hurts like heck as well. I even had some pain when he cut the deep part of the pocket but it was over quickly.
About the shoulder... they are all correct about the sling. My doctor wouldn't even give me one. But I did keep finding myself locking my arm near my body as protection. Every time I did though, it would make my shoulder and neck get stiff and hurt, so I tried to regularly loosen it up and gently move my arm and fingers. Yesterday I took a short walk and really tried to keep my arm as loose as my non PM arm and that helped a ton. Today it is much better. I had rotator cuff surgery 2 years ago and that is considered the most painful surgery there is and keeping the shoulder loose was the most important part of my recovery. Stand tall, relax and gently get back moving. You will feel sooo much better.
The mental part for me is going to be harder, I didn't have any time to prepare mentally for this, like you. But the way I look at it, if I can get myself to physically feel back to normal, I'll better come to terms with the mental part. It's Spring. Enjoy.

Hope you are feeling better

by kgdalg - 2013-04-26 01:04:36

Hi Kpratt,
I was thinking about you today when I took my walk. I really hope that you will try to relax and get moving. I felt like crap just 3 days ago. Once I got up and moving around more I really do feel much better. I keep tightening my shoulder and arm but when it starts to get sore or my fingers get tingly, I have to remind myself to loosen up and gently stretch. This sucks, but don't you want to get feeling better fast? Listen to music, watch a funny movie, take a walk and don't look up depressing stuff on the internet about pacemakers. Hope you feel better. Keep in touch. Tomorrow it will be a week for us. We'll be back on top of the world before we know it.
Take care.

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