Mammogram and PM

I recently had my first mammogram since my pm was implanted on 23 July 2013. During the second shot attempted on my pm side, I experienced such pain that I had to have them stop the test. Shortly after the pain, I suddenly became "fuzzy", so I sat down and put my head down between my legs. Then, I became nauseated, broke out in a sweat, and was physically shaking. It is thought that I had a Vaso Vagal Response.

Has anyone else had such an experience during a mammogram? It felt as though they had clamped down on the bottom of the pm, and as they squeezed down, it felt like the machine was pulling the device down (which caused pain up near the top of my pm device -- where it had been more tender after the surgery). I felt kind of silly when all of this happened, especially since I think I gave them quite a scare. Was a natural response that I had no control over. Felt okay within about fifteen minutes and much better about an hour or two later.

6 Comments

mammogram

by judyblue - 2014-02-25 08:02:42

I am so glad you shared. I have been very concerned to get one now with a pacemaker. But my mother died of breast cancer and never had a mammogram. and I always thought if she had one she might be alive today. I look forward to posts on this topic.
judy

Held not he'd

by Bostonstrong - 2014-02-25 10:02:13

Sorry.

Mammos

by Grateful Heart - 2014-02-25 10:02:22

Sorry you had a bad experience iheart. Mammos should not be that hard. Did you tell them you had a PM before the exam? When they know we have one they try to be careful usually. Sounds like they squeezed too hard.

Judy, you should still get your mammogram, as you know, they are important....just let them know you have a device. They can "work around it" it just takes a little maneuvering on your part. They saw a shadow behind my device and to further investigate, they did an ultrasound. Very nerve-wracking but all was fine.

Ask your Doctor for an ultrasound the next time.

Grateful Heart

Mammogram

by Bostonstrong - 2014-02-25 10:02:30

I was worried, my site is very tender 8 months post implant. I actually he'd my hand over the site so they couldn't squish it. The tech gently explained she could see it and promised not smash it. Whole process took 5 minutes, easy stuff.

Mammogram and PM

by iheartemh - 2014-02-26 03:02:17

I want to thank all of you for your responses and concern.

First of all, it has been seven months since my pm implant.
Second, yes, I did mention to the technician that I had a pacemaker implanted on 23 July 2013, AND that this was my first mammogram since the surgery. She informed me that they do mammograms all the time on women who have pacemakers. No problem.
Third, I had no real pain when they first scanned my right breast from the "front" position. It was when she attempted to scan with my right side facing the machine that I felt the pain. She brought the device down slowly, but only got part way when I yelled for her to stop. And yes, I did say my right breast because they had to implant my pacemaker on the opposite side due to some hearing loss I have and so I could use my cell phone on my left ear (my loss is in the right ear and usually I can hear quite well with a cell phone up to that ear -- except sometimes if I am outdoors or in a noisy environment -- then I need to hold it up to my left ear).

Everything should be fine. I have a 19 March appointment at the "device clinic" and a 25 March appointment with a cardiologist to check out the rest since I have a 20% blockage in a far off branch. Medicare should take care of most of these visits and any testing. My internist insisted that I be seen by these specialist because I've not seen anyone since early August 2013. He wants to make sure that someone is checking my progress and heart health.

I'll ask my doctors about doing an ultrasound next time.
Thanks!

mammos

by Tracey_E - 2014-02-26 09:02:25

It sounds like you had it too soon. We should wait a minimum of 6 months, as long as a year, until enough soreness is gone to do a mammo.

When I got mine, they did a very gentle scan first to see where all my hardware is, then while looking at that they did the regular scan. I go to the same facility every time now and they're digital so they can easily pull up the last one.

You know you're wired when...

You play MP3 files on your pacer.

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