Brand New PM and Curious about Recovery

I was diagnosed with Bradycardia on Monday (August 26) and had my PM implanted yesterday (August 30)...I had episodes of dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, chest pain, numbness/tingling in the left arm...EKG was clear, Ultrasound was clear, Holter Monitor revealed heartbeat in the 30's many times in the 24 hour period...I was optimistic that the PM implant would do away with all lightheadedness immediately...I am 44 years old, active all my life, ran 3 days a week...It has been 24 hours since my PM implant and the fuzziness/distorted vision remains...what can I generally expect as a recovery time? I have essentially done nothing since surgery yesterday, no excercise, no lifting...PM was set at 70bpm...just looking for some encouragement I suppose.

3 Comments

hang in there

by Angelie - 2013-08-31 05:08:53

You should be feeling better. Be careful not to overdo it in recovery and mind your lead precautions. No raising your arm above your head on the pacemaker side for 6 weeks. The leads have to adhere themselves to the inner heart wall and I've been told that they're about the consistency of your inner cheek. Very delicate tissue.

It does take some time to fine tune your pacemaker after placement. You should have been scheduled for a Pacemaker check soon in the next few days or weeks. Keep that appointment and let the tech know how you're feeling. Let your doctor know how you're feeling despite how long it's been. You should be feeling better, not worse. Pacemakers should ENABLE not disable.

Hang in there and give it a few days, but if something doesn't feel right then go back to the hospital or call your doctor. You know your body best :) I'm 38.

Welcome to the pacemaker club. This site was a good outlet for me when I was first implanted 5 years ago. I too enjoy running. In fact ran my first 5k, 4 months after my implant. Let us know how you're doing.

Angelie

Go back & review...

by donr - 2013-08-31 06:08:42

...your level of activity leading up to the PM - NOT just the period after surgery! How active w4ere you while wearing the Holter Monitor? How did you feel then? All that counts. Also, surgery - anesthesia, even as light as it usually is for a PM implant can easily leave you playing alligator for a short while.

We all react differently to the procedure. I got up & was able to walk out of the hosp the next day (Kept me over night because of some other issues they wanted to monitor) Stopped at Home Depot on way home & bought lumber. Next day was using it - although rather slowly, since I was restricted to keeping my left elbow below the SHOULDER - as opposed to the head, as Angelie put it.

Fuzziness/distorted vision is not a common after effect. Cannot even comment there - are you sure you put on your own glasses after the procedure? That will depend on the agent they used to zonk you during the job. Also if they used an Fentynal as a pain killer. Most people awaken after Propofol as a sedative to put you into La-La Land like "BLINK - Hey I'm back, where did everyone go? I'm ready to go home!" Then the hangover from Fentynal hits you & you start asking if anyone got the tail number of the 747 that ran you down.

Your PM settings may need some tweaking since you are a runner - not unusual. That will depend on what your natural HR was pre Brady. Tell the Doc you need somew tweaking & don't let him/her blow you off like dust on a window sill.

All will work out , just takes time.

Don

Distorted vision after PM insertion

by Selwyn - 2013-08-31 07:08:06

If your vision was OK prior to surgery the problem is most likely to be drug induced from the anaesthetic agents and pain killers- this is especially likely if both eyes are affected. If it only affects one eye, then you may have a problem within that eye - it is possible, for example to cough after a general anaesthetic and disturb the back of the eye, or even have a little clot or bleed. You may have no recollection of the event.

It is as others have said very early days yet. Anyone having a general anaesthetic will feel tired for a few days. If the problem affects on eye seek medical help over this sooner rather than later.

Personally, by the end of the week, I was on my bicycle riding 10 miles. You really need to be careful about raising that arm though for at least 4 weeks, and some say 6.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a return to robust health.

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