Thank you for this site!

Just wanted to express my thanks for this site. It has been a tremendous source of great information for me. I just had a PM installed a little over a week ago without much of a warning.

I have been struggling with Vasovagel Syncope for 18 years where I would have episodes that were pretty severe averaging a couple times a year. I have seen many doctors, prescribed different medications but nothing helped. I was sent to the autonomic department at the Cleveland Clinic as my last hope. During a tilt table test I passed out and my heart was stopped for 41 seconds. So it was decided to put in a PM right away.

It's been great to read about all the people that have been through similar things. I am an active crossfitter so I was very pleased to others here who are as well! So far so good with the recovery. Still hypersensitive to anything I feel going on within my chest/pulse rate but it sounds like I'll get used to that. :-)

6 Comments

Wow!

by lbdina - 2013-11-26 03:11:35

Wow, 41 seconds! Very impressive! Yeah, I think a PM is appropriate :o)

You sound like you have a great attitude. With VVS, you may need a few adjustments to your PM over time to help stop or lessen the severity of these attacks. Part of the syndrome is a rapid drop in blood pressure. All the PM can do is increase the heart rate, but Many PMs have rate drop response features that rapidly increase heart rate to help reduce the impact of dropping blood pressure.

I have had one event since my PM was implanted, but it came on much slower and was much less severe, which I attribute to my PM. My EP agrees totally with my assessment. By the way, I did NOT pass out, though I did have some dizziness, nausea and sweating. Much better than before the PM.

Best of luck with your new friend!

Lou

Plan ahead

by Theknotguy - 2013-11-26 06:11:22

It's great everything is going so good. I'm very happy for you.

I was walking my son's dogs when I collapsed. Woke up six days later in intensive care with a PM.

I'll suggest you would still take any support you can get. You're still in the "Oh wow" stage. Some statistics say up to 80% of people with PMs go into depression. So if your health care will pay for a psychologist that's a way to go. If you can find a heart support group in your area you might consider joining. This website is a help too. The support may help stave off post PM depression - maybe it won't happen but it's best to be prepared.

I'm doing OK with my PM and my mental attitude is doing very well too. But I've gotten a couple of hits from out of the blue - things I didn't expect - and the support groups have helped tremendously. The psych person warned me of a couple of things so when they happened I wasn't as surprised and could handle the situation very well.

Since you have 30 days for the PM and leads to be incorporated into your body you might want to take that time to re-evaluate your exercise regimen so you can hit the ground running when you're ready.

I'm really happy things are going well for you and that your mental attitude is so good. Hang in there. It gets better.

Theknotguy

back before you know it

by Tracey_E - 2013-11-26 11:11:36

Being in great shape before means you will bounce back a lot more quickly. It takes a little while to get used to the faster heart rate. I noticed it when I was sitting around the house healing. Once I got back to life, I was too busy to pay attention. And the longer I felt good, the more I trusted the pm to take care of me, until I got to the point I rarely give it a thought.

I got my first pm in 1994 so I discovered Crossfit long after I was first paced. Love it!!! I've been going 5x week for 2 1/2 years now. I have a few limitations but it's from my meds, not the pm. You will probably find you have more energy now that your heart isn't pausing. Do you track your benchmarks? Will be interesting to see how much you improve once you heal.

re:

by brushmore - 2013-11-27 08:11:38

Lou, thanks for that info. Very glad to hear about your experience. Your experiences are what I was told to possibility expect. I did not know about the rate drop response. That's something I'll look into with mine.

Theknotguy, thanks for the advice. I can see how that can happen so that's why I am doing whatever I can to keep a positive attitude.

TraceyE, thanks for the testimony, things like this really give me encouragement. I noticed the fast heart beats right away after the surgery and the EP turned down my resting heart beat from 60-50. I still feel coming on once in awhile. It might just be my imagination but I am sleeping better at night. I wore a 30 halter monitor and the only issues they found was slow heart beats at night. So maybe the PM fixed that?

Yes, I did keep track of my benchmarks. I am also interested to see how I do once I am back up to speed.

night

by Tracey_E - 2013-11-27 10:11:36

Yes, a pm will definitely fix a low rate at night, and it's not surprising that's helping you sleep better.

Speaking of benchmarks, we did Lucifer this morning. Thrusters are not my favorite but I feel like I've earned my pie and wine tomorrow :oP

Benchmarks

by gleesue - 2013-11-27 11:11:15

I keep track of all my exercise and can go back to 1982 and tell you what I have done each day and for how long. The great thing is that since I have had my PM, I have actually set several new world records. That's what I like to call them. They are actually my own records or personal bests.

There isn't a better place than the Cleveland Clinic. They have kept me in tune since 1991. My local doc sent me there because he said there was nothing more he could do and they are always doing new things at the Clinic.

Take it easy for a while and enjoy your new friend.

Jerry

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