A little Nervous

A yr ago I was taken to the er in afib and stayed a few days in the hospital..they could decide why I went into afib but it resolved . Now I have been running bradycardiac primarily in the 40-50's but in the last month ive experienced shortness of breath, chest discomfort , dizziness and fatigue with a heart rate down in the 30's at times and sporadic blood pressures that run 140's/60-70 to 90's/50's ... eps dr put me on a cardiac event monitor and cardiologist tried me on synthroid for a border line low thyroid , for a little over 3 wks . the eps dr called me in after repeated events of my heart running in the 30-40's and said the synthroid had made no changes and my family dr took me off the med after noticing my thyroid levels have always been borderline without symptoms. so the eps dr has informed me I need a pacemaker. im a little nervous but at the same time excited at the thought of feeling better... im so glad there is a pacemaker club... any comments to aide in recovery or what to expect after surgery im very interested in hearing about it. thanks... my surgery will be done july 19th.

2 Comments

nervous...

by lubro - 2013-07-03 03:07:28

hi Lucy...

In Jan of this year, I had a rapid heartbeat that would not slow down...Went to ER, and was diagnosed with afib. My pulse rate was normally in the 50's, and I have never had any problems before. I was told I would need a pacemaker ( pulse was too low for the afib meds is what I was told)...I was nervous...scared...frightened.., as you may well expect. I finally decided and had it done. The procedure was not as bad as the worrying. I feel fine... I think you just need to give yourself some time to heal after the surgery. I read a lot of posts here and most people agree that the procedure is not that bad. Try not to over think things. It'll drive you crazy. Best advice I can offer you is to just take it one-day-at-a-time, and before you know it, you'll be up and about,
Just remember it's normal to feel scared...
I personally felt the psychological part was more scary...
worry about lifting that arm too high... pulling the leads out...can I do this? Should I do that?
But, like I said earlier... one-day-at-a-time...
You will do just fine...
Like Laura said in the earlier post...its a whole new world...but it's a friendly one...
Best wishes to you...let us know how things

Lubro

Read on

by ohiolaura - 2013-07-03 08:07:03

It sounds like this is your answer,if your HR has been so slow,this will make it where it should be so you can move around and feel "normal" again.
If you've read my post from yesterday,I had my 1 yr anniv ,I had about no time to ready myself for this,as my symptoms came on quickly,and I was able to get in and it was diagnosed right away,and handled.I was 49 then,its a slippery slope for some people,it was for me,but,and a big but,you can and will survive it.
Keep reading and asking questions,its a whole new world!
Laura

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Member Quotes

I had a pacemaker when I was 11. I never once thought I wasn't a 'normal kid' nor was I ever treated differently because of it. I could do everything all my friends were doing; I just happened to have a battery attached to my heart to help it work.