healing well

Good Morning all! It has been 2.5 days since my PM was put in and I (now) feel pretty good, although the incision itches! IT is raised and angry looking too. So far, I am not getting dizzy or anything, but I do still feel my heart "flipping". Is that normal? My hr is set at 60-150 and I was running in the low 40's up to 170 (with extreme exercise). I also get flat out exhausted a few times a day. I will even fall asleep sitting wherever I am. Is this part of the healing process also? I have been taking it easy, but I have not been a slug.
Thanks!
Terri

3 Comments

Ever had an operation before?

by donr - 2013-11-02 08:11:01

If not, pls go to the SEARCH function, top right corner of this page & search for "Some Tough Love for Newbies." It's long, but will give you a bit of insight into what is happening to you. Surgery recovery affects all of us differently - whether there is a PM involved or not. Click on the title to open it up all the way.

Face it YOU JUST GOT CUT OPEN! You are going to be sore. That varies from person to person. I went back to nearly normal activity on the second day post op, although protected my left arm as I was told to do.

The "Flat out exhausted" can be your normal reaction to what happened to you, PM aside. Don't worry about that.

Raised & angry looking - ditto. BUT - watch it in case it becomes extremely swollen & red & warm to the touch - that's a sign of infection & you do NOT want one of those in a PM site.

Did you take the advice & have it "Buried"? That can lead to a bit more soreness than a sub-cutaneous implant - they have to muck around w/ muscles then.

Can you describe what "Flipping " means to you? Descriptions are pretty much personal in the way they are sensed.

Oh, BTW: if you are a typical Mom of 6, you are probably running around like a headless chicken w/ the kids. Back off a bit in that - that alone will make you exhausted a few times a day.

Don

Thanks

by mom0f6 - 2013-11-02 09:11:57

Thanks Donr! I did read the tough love post, I think I am just a tad on the stubborn side, but I really thought I was following the post. I have never had surgery before and I am not used to being "down". Thankfully, most of my boys are grown at 30yrs, 29, 27, 24, 21 and just turned 13 yrs old. But the dogs, parrots, chicken and duck do not take care of themselves. I thought I was behaving but since you wrote that, the exhaustion sets in after I do something..laundry, dishes etc so I will call the kids to come do that stuff for another week!
The flipping I think is the junctional rythym thing or the 3 sec delay (are they they same thing?) It feels like my heart is trying to turn over in my chest and that it stops beating for a bit.
I begged and pleaded to have the PM buried, but I do not think the doctor did. :( I did not have a choice to change doctors because I am "charity" through bon secours so I have to use the ones they provide.

Thank you again for responding. I don't know what to be worried about and what not to in myself and you have helped allay some fears.
Terri

Terri: Stop chasing...

by donr - 2013-11-02 11:11:33

...that dumb duck around the yard!

You do indeed sound like "Super Mom." Not having been through the surgery bit before, you do not know how it will affect you. I went through ab abortive procedure where all they did was knock me out & discover they could not perform it before even cutting me open. Just from te half hour under anesthesia, I felt like crap & got al pooped out quickly for a few days post -op. Don't be suprised.

As to "Flipping," I'm still not sure what you are describing, not having had a junctional rhythm or a 3 second delay issue.

Did you have that symptom BEFORE the PM? Doesn't sound like it from your discussion. This sounds like a arrhythmia called PVC - Premature Ventricular Contractions. I have it all the time. What happens is that the ventricles contract EARLIER than normal on a given beat, so they are not completely full of blood. Hence a wimpy beat. Then they fill a bit more for the next beat, since it is at essentially its normal time. Therefore it feels like a harder THUMP. Then there is a small pause while everything gets back into its normal rhythm. Most likely, you do not sense the wimpy beat just because it is not normal, so you think one was missing, but it was not, just wimpy.

Face it, we all describe this event differently. They are a "Not to Worry" event. the PM will not let you skip a beat, EVER, but it cannot correct for things that happen early, like the PVC. Next time you see your Cardio, ask specifically if you had any PVC's. The PM records their occurrence. Until you have PVC's by the tens of thousands & a lot of them consecutively (runs) you need not worry.

Hmmmmm - where is your PM? Well, here's how to tell. Look at your scar. If it's just below the collar bone & you can run a finger across the area JUST below the scar & feel the lump of the PM & its wires leading to the collar bone, it's NOT buried beneath the muscle, it's a sub-cutaneous implant. For that kind of implant, they cut through the skin, then cut a small pocket beneath the subcutaneous fat & the muscle & drop the PM in, just like a watch pocket on a pair of men's jeans. The wires are inserted going UP to the collar bone. All the work is done through that one little slit, so it kind of gets stretched a bit bioth above & below it.

The best to you this sunny Sat AM.

Don

You know you're wired when...

You run like the bionic woman.

Member Quotes

99% of the time, I totally forget I even have this device.