10th July pacmaker fitted

What to expect going in tomorrow for pacemaker fitting bit scared having 6weeks of work and will the hospital write me a sick note or do I have to go doctors for it. And after it has been done are you prescribe any pain killers or anything

5 Comments

Hi Donna

by IAN MC - 2013-07-09 03:07:06

Best of luck for tomorrow ; having a PM installed really is a minor op and afterwards you will wonder why you were so worried !

Your GP will issue you with a sick note , I'm fairly sure that hospitals don't in the UK. Which part of the UK are you from by the way ?

I wasn't prescribed any painkillers and wouldn't have needed them anyway but some people seem to need take paracetamol for a few days. If you think you may need them you could persuade the hospital to give you a few tablets or you could get some from the chemist.

Are you sure that you need 6 weeks off work ? I see that you are a hairdresser .. does that involve lifting your arm above shoulder level ? With most jobs it is not normal to need 6 weeks off after PM implant .

Ian

Donna...................

by Tattoo Man - 2013-07-09 04:07:03


.................as a fellow Brit may I add my best wishes to IAN MCs. I am in the East Midlands and had brilliant treatment at Glenfield ,Leicester.

Let us all know how it went when you feel up to it.

It will be ok.

Tattoo Man

New Pacemaker

by SMITTY - 2013-07-09 04:07:55

Hello Donna,

Getting a PM will require a change in your daily routine for a few days, but except for lifting heavy items for a couple of weeks it is not too drastic. After that, you should not even be aware you have a PM. I'm on my second one I neither of them has changed anything I do. Of course I was 71 when I got my first one in 2000, but neither of them has interfered with anything I want to do.

As for notes to your employer and meds, we are all different so I say talk to your Dr about these. I will say as for the pain killers the most I ever needed was Advil and aspirin.

Since I think I sense a little anxiety in you about the idea of getting a PM I'm going to "walk" you through the surgery, based on my experiences. My last implant was in 2009 so the procedure may be a little different now. But I went 9 years between implants (battery ran down on the first one) and the procedure had changed essentially none, so I would expect what I experienced was pretty close to what you will see. Any way for what it worth, here it is:

The following may give you an idea and relieve some anxiety about PM surgeries.

As I said earlier, 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:

On arrival at the hospital 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. It is uncommon for the person to spend the first night in the hospital just as a precaution, but that depends on the Dr.

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.

Good luck,

Smitty

Thanks guys

by donna_30 - 2013-07-09 06:07:15

Why will I have a problem after for. Sick note there's no way I can go back to work when my arms are in he air 8 hours a day 6 days a weeks I don't want any wires coming lose and having to have it done again thanks for advise will let you know how it all goes . Donna

I had PM put in on July 2nd.

by Brend - 2013-07-09 07:07:21

Hi Donna, Good luck tomorrow. I had mine on tuesday of last week and I was in a panic the day before. I never slept with worry. There was nothing to be concerned about. It was routine, with a local anesthetic and a sedative. I did not need any pain meds. the only problem is very severe bruising as I had a bleed that required a pressure dressing for 48 hours. Again not a big issue.
Keep reading here. I found out more from this site than from the docs.
Brend

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