pacemaker op

I am having my pacemaker fitted in 5 weeks time and even though I'm a little nervous, I will also be glad to not be dizzy and sick all the time.
What I'd like to know is, do you feel better straight away in regards to the dizzy and sick spells?
I've also been told to have about a week off work, I work in a call centre so it's not exactly an energetic job!
How long will it be before I'm back to normal health wise?

3 Comments

depends

by kmom - 2014-06-23 09:06:46

I think on dx etc. I know once I got my PM I felt better immediately! but I had SSS and afib. I was dizzy and lightheaded all the time. so it definitely helped. however there are others that it's taken a long time before they get feeling better again. Sometimes with Heart Block, the improvement isn't noticed as fast because they felt fine before. Where you said you were dizzy then you should notice improvement right away providing the dizziness is from the heart condition that PM was prescribed. (there are a lot of different reasons for dizziness that have nothing to do with heart) I work in a call center too and was able to return to work a couple days later. I actually had a week home after but that was because my supervisor blocked me out on the schedule for a week. I could have returned a few days later per even my doc. If they put you on any pain meds you don't want to drive until you're off the pain meds. as for me the first night (in hospital) I had I think a Tylenol #3 after that it was just Tylenol or against my dr. ibuprofen because it worked better. you might be ok with the ibuprofen he didn't want me on it because of possible bleeding issues because i'm on a blood thinner as well for a-fib. Be sure and ask for an ice pack when you return from the procedure. it helps with pain and inflammation. They may send you home with a sling on the side of the PM do NOT I repeat do NOT use it accept only at night and only if you have a tendency to raise your arm above head at night. You want to be careful about raising your arm ABOVE head or shoulder area but do NOT baby your arm. you DO need to keep using it--just not lift anything or raise it above head for a 2-4 weeks. (if you keep it in sling or not use it you will get frozen shoulder which is very painful and another issue you don't want) I left my sling in hospital when I returned home the next day--kinda wishing I hadn't cause I found myself constantly raising my arm at night ha oh well but really you don't need it anyway. Good luck and let us know how you do. There are a lot of really great folks here so welcome!

My Symptons

by johnnyc - 2014-06-23 10:06:30

My symptoms due to my heart periodically skipping 2-3
beats were feeling faint and passing out once. After one week I had no more symptons. I have now been 4 months with no recurrence. It may be possible to return to work after a week. Probably 2-3 months before you are physically back to normal.

varies

by Tracey_E - 2014-06-23 10:06:46

We are all different. My hr was very low before the pm- had been in the low 40's then dropped to the 20's- so I woke up in recovery and immediately felt the difference. Most of us feel a lot better and are back to our usual schedule within a week or two, just moving more slowly and still tired. 4-6 weeks is average for full recovery, to be able to sleep however you want, bend and stretch without soreness, full energy.

You should be ok to go back to work after a week, but if you don't feel up to it don't be shy about asking for more time.

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