Short of breath PM fix

• by HK
• 2014-03-02 02:03:03
• Checkups & Settings
• 1554 views
• 8 comments

Hello everyone,
I wanted to update, all who are interested, about some recent changes my Cardio/EP made to my PM During my recent checkup and PM check I heard from both the Medtronic Rep and my Cardio that my PM is functioning fine. To that I responding " I am glad my PM is functioning well but I am not" and I added that I am disappointed in my lack of ability to function well and once again I added that I have been complaining of weakness, shortness of breath and extreme fatigue. I know those complaints sound familiar to many on this site. My cardio ordered a stress test (basically I think to appease me because they looked at me as if I was a mental case). Even my family was doubting my symptoms were real. anyway, the date of the test arrived, I was hooked up to the monitors and ready to go when the Cardio came in and said he could not do the test because my PM was working 100% of the time and he could not get a good EKG reading. I guess I argued back that he already knew that I was 100% dependent on my PM and yet he scheduled it anyway. At that point I guess I said the magic words" Maybe I need to get another opinion" because with that statement he decided "maybe we could do the stress test anyway and see what happens. I agreed and started the stress test. I go through the 1st 2 three minute trails and the machined switched to the next level of difficulty. After 2 minutes I was gasping for air and that is when they saw something. It turns out that even though the upper end of my PM was set to 160, the PM started blocking me 2:1 at 130. I siad stop the machine I am going to pass out and so they hit the emergency stop button. I took me about 4-5 minutes to recover but they actually saw there was a problem and one that was most likely causing my symptoms. I was scheduled for an appt with my EP and his team.

The EP appt. was difficult because they started by turning my PM off at which time I promptly slumped in my chair, then they turned my heart rate up to 150 at which time the PM blocked me 2:1 again. They worked with the PM settings for at least 40 minutes and then declared the changes they made should prevent my PM from blocking until 180. They said go out and live your life, climb steps, run, jump, do everything strenuous that I could think of.

I took their direction and began to live my life as if I did not have the PM, the way they said I should after it was initially implanted. I cannot believe I am actually saying this but I can do most everything I did before and no symptoms. Now, I can actually exercise, come home from work without taking a 2 hr nap, stay up later each day, sleep well and wake up refreshed. And, yes, for those thinking it, have sex with my wife again. I felt vindicated, that I am not crazy and now there is a chance I can lead a somewhat normal life.

I hope this serves others well in that we all need to push our doctors until we get the answers. It is out life, not theirs and we deserve the attention to detail. It is not enough for them to just save our lives (I am grateful they did) but they must work with us to help us gain the quality of life we deserve. I am sure I will have other issues in the future, the PM is only a machine, but I will never doubt myself again. We should all listen to what out bodies tell us and push back against the medical establishment until we are satisfied with the quality of our lives.

Thanks for listening and I wish you all the best you can be.
HK