My Brother

So I am here on the behalf of my brother who is far from internet savy. He had a pace maker/ difib put in about a month ago. His recovery has been up and down and from what I have read that seems to be the norm. My question is about his feet, which is the reason they installed the device. He had been having major issue for about a year from losing a lot of weight to being tired all the time, then in November he noticed that his feet were off color. They looked a little blue and then in December they started to turn almost black in some spots. Spots on his feet look similar to what black mold looks like. This is when the docs did the push for the device. Everyone in the family expected the spots to go away after in implant but they haven't. I want to know if anyone has had similar experiences or has any info.

Thank you in advance,
Worried little sister

2 Comments

Difficult

by golden_snitch - 2014-02-28 09:02:52

Hi!

Hm, this is difficult because what you are describing doesn't sound typical for a heart rhythm problem. I am wondering whether your brother received the device because he was having such low heart rates that his whole circulation - when the feet turn blue or even black, not enough oxygen rich blood gets there - was affected? But then you are saying that it's not only a pacemaker, but also a defib. This leads me to assume that he has some stage of heart failure and is at risk of sudden cardia arrest, and that this heart failure probably caused circulation issues.

Another thought is circulation problems in the feet can also be caused by diabetes. And since those black spots are not disappearing, this might be worth to take into consideration.

Sorry, that's just a few ideas. But since I have no idea what you brother's diagnosis is, it's difficult to help. Hope someone else, who can help you better, gets back to you.

Best wishes

Inga



Hi

by Casper - 2014-03-01 10:03:20

Hi Imcarey,

That was my first thought as well, please have him checked for diabetes.

You're a good sister!

Casper

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