confused about what I will be able to do post PM

I was a collegiate swimmer and now a 38y/o triathlete who has competed in the Ironman World Championships. I've recently been diagnosed with Neurocardiogenic syncope and have been advised to get a PM. I've been reading everything I can when I came across this site. I'm weighing my options at the moment and am concerned if I will be able to return to the level of exercise that I have been accustomed to. Thank you for any info/advice.

5 Comments

A lot of PM info is wrong

by Theknotguy - 2014-01-21 11:01:38

A lot of the PM info out there is wrong. We've got people who are working in power plants, sky diving, swimming, running marathons, bicycling, working in nuclear power plants, operating sintering furnaces, a lot of other stuff.

Question that I can't answer is how much stress the competitive swimming will put on the PM leads. It won't hurt the PM, but the leads are another question. The running and biking shouldn't be a problem as we have people running marathons.

After 90 days you can return to 99 percent of the activity you did before having the PM. The leads will have become ingrown in your body and can't be dislodged. Or if you're doing something that moves them you've got a lot more problems than just the leads.

Perhaps you can get some other posts about the activity involved. But, based upon other posts here, you shouldn't have to be held back by the PM.

Theknotguy

You have to be realistic...

by donr - 2014-01-21 11:01:38

Note: As thsi was being typed, the first two were printed.

...in looking toward the future. There are too many unknowns to tell you exactly what your new "Normal" may be. So look at the future in terms of uncertainty, but never giving up HOPE. A couple homilies here.

1) In a 1949-50 war flick, Richard Widmark uttered these words to a young Marine: "Hope is the mother of all men." This young Marine had been severely wounded & faced a uncertain future. (sound familiar?)

2) In about 1806, Napoleon uttered this Maxim of War: "In battle, the mental is to the physical as three is to one."

3) Sometime in the recent past, I said "Right on, Nappy! It's also true in recovering from cardiac events."

Since you are a teacher, (I peeked at your bio) your assignment is to figure out how these three apply to your case.

I assume that you went to the Kona Coast for the Ironman competition. You may not make it back, but only YOU can really influence that outcome. The syncope part of your diagnosis may well affect the SAFETY of you swimming in the open ocean. That's between you & your Cardio. Biking & running will also depend on how much YOU determine you can do. We have all sorts of runners & bikers (self propelled bikes, not Harley Hawgs) in here, but I don't think any world class types.

If you just happen to fall into the "Best of all possible outcomes," the world will be yours to conquer. You may have to start w/ all the newborn babies, but it's yours to go as far as your willpower can take you.

As a non world class athlete, I'll tell you this - you do not want to ignore the PM option. Driving, swimming , running, biking are all hazardous to your safety in the event you pass out while doing them. Get the PM, THEN consider the future. BTW - they did talk PM, NOT ICD, didn't they? Makes a BIIIIIG difference.

Enjoy January in South Bend

Don

pacing

by Tracey_E - 2014-01-22 08:01:38

NCS can be caused by drops in heart rate and/or drops in blood pressure. The pm will only fix the first one. Meds can help with the second, if that's even an issue for you. The pm will make sure your heart doesn't pause or plummet. If your problem is 100% heart, not bp drops, then once you heal, you should be able to do whatever you did before. We should avoid full contact sports and we can't deep sea dive (shallow is ok). Other than that, we can do what we want.

its a tossed salad

by BillMFl - 2014-01-22 11:01:16

Lots of variables. You should still be able to do a lot, but you may have to alter your preferences. I got my first PM at age 60. I was a competitive athlete all my life and my cardio had to yell at me to stop during my treadmill stress test. I wasn't even breathing hard running full out at the steep angle. But life did change. Gave up heavy lifting because it very much irritated the area near my PM. Pain, swelling etc. But 6 months after my PM I was hiking up over 12000' in the Rockies in snow and ice wearing heavy gear and freezing temps, breaking thru the crust up to my waist and loving every minute. PM didn't slow me down a bit and I basically forgot it was there. So you may have to pick and chose whats doable or not. I agree with Don that competitive swimming may be your biggest hurdle. But there will still be plenty of extreme sports regardless, you just won't know until you get there. Some of it can be more mental than physical depending on the symptoms you may still have later on. The PM doesn't solve everything and it may be a while before you know for sure.

Hi

by Casper - 2014-01-22 12:01:09

Hi Scooby!!

I just sent you a private message.

Casper

You know you're wired when...

Your ICD has a better memory than you.

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