New recipient/member

Hello Everyone! May I just introduce myself? I'm Glyn, a (very young) 53 yr old man from Chester in the UK who a week ago received a Pacemaker.
This came as a bit of a shock at first being a very fit and active person. However, due to bouts of light-headedness, I decided to visit my Doctor who was a tad concerned that my resting beats per minute was dropping to the low 30's!

Everything appears to be going well - shoulder discomfort practically gone and movement improving every day. I have loads of questions to ask though, just for starters - when does 100% movement actually return? when can I comfortably carry a rucksack, go swimming etc?

Anyway, won't pester anymore for now. I look forward to exploring this great site and contributing very soon.

Thanks, Glyn.

7 Comments

Hi Glyn

by IAN MC - 2014-05-22 05:05:01

Welcome to the PM club . I am a very, very, very,very young 75 yr old from the UK and have had a pacemaker for 3 years.

It comes as a bit of shock to most of us at first ,especially if we are active people which many of us are.. It is normal to go through a brief " Why me " phase before we realise how lucky we are and move on.

In terms of getting back 100 % movement, 6 weeks is the normally accepted time as, by then, the PM leads will be well and truly held in place by scar tissue.

Obviously you can walk ,run and lead a pretty normal life ln the first few weeks but until you've hit 6 weeks avoid lifting heavy objects ( more than 10 lbs ) on the PM side and avoid lifting your arm above shoulder level.

Doing the butterfly stroke in the pool would be a definite No- No in those first 6 weeks but gentle exercise in the pool before then will be fine. There are some keen swimmers on here who may comment.

As for the rucksack , the same rules apply. If you can comfortably get it on without lifting your arm above shoulder height , and if you don't carry a load of bricks there should be few problems. You may need some sponge padding between the strap and the wound though.

Best of luck

Ian

Welcome

by Marie12 - 2014-05-22 07:05:21

Glad you found this site. It will be a tremendous help to you as you recover. I am a very young 54 year old from Canada. I had an ICD/Pacemaker combo implanted 10 months ago. My Pacemaker isn't active but the surgery is the same.

Ian is right, for six weeks you need to take it a little easy but after that you will find most of your range of movement range is back. You may find biking on any bumpy roads a little tricky. I found my ICD moved quite a bit even when driving in a car over rough roads. It took about three months for the ICD to find it's real home and feel secure.

Good luck in your recovery and please visit often.

thanks for the welcome

by Glyn_UK - 2014-05-22 10:05:08

Thank you very much Ian for the welcome and support :)
I know what you mean about the 'why me?' phase - I must admit feeling a bit that way when the cardiologist first mentioned the 'P' word, particularly as I have always tried to maintain a good level of activity and fitness as well as being quite a healthy eater. I now realise that it's nothing to do with that at all.
Regarding exercise, I think cycling will be top of the list as I can cram most of my stuff into a waist pack and pedal away with virtually no impact whatsoever on my chest/shoulder area. As soon as the remaining swelling has settled I'll try using a light rucksack for shorter hikes.
I've 'frozen' my membership for the pool for now as I really want to make sure everything is 100% before I continue swimming.

Thanks again, Glyn.

Hi from NI

by Dawnie - 2014-05-23 09:05:25

Hi Glynn...I had my pacemaker 5 weeks ago in Northern Ireland. I was told not to swim for 3 months but I'm back at the gym and the dojo where I practice karate. I was told to wait 4 months for karate but have an excellent experienced sensei who is working a very gentle programme for me and it's fine :) so far so good...I'm doing the race for life on 1st June :)
I still have a bit if discomfort but I just go with how I'm feeling...I'm hoping I'll eventually know what's normal :)
Best wishes for your recovery and getting your life back :)

Inspired by support

by Glyn_UK - 2014-05-24 01:05:22

I'm getting great inspiration from the messages here an on other threads and can't thank you all enough!

Dawnie - I'm amazed you're continuing Karate, I thought any kind of contact sport (especially where there's a chance of a blow to the shoulder) was a no-no?

...

by Glyn_UK - 2014-05-24 01:05:52

I'm quite excited as tomorrow I'm going out for a 10 mile hike over the hills in North Wales with a friend who's offered to put any gear that I can't fit into a waist pack into his sack - which is very good of him seeing as it looks like we might have to carry wet-weather gear!

It'll be the first walk of any distance for about 3 weeks, I contemplate being quite tired tomorrow evening!

Ok Buddy - You and I are in the Same Boat

by ChrisD - 2014-05-24 10:05:27

I too am athletic and 53 and had increasing difficulty running. I found that my resting plus was also in the 30s and the highest HR I could get while exercising was about 80. I was diagnosed with AV block and SSS and in went the pacemaker. The first two weeks seemed Ok but I am struggling some now. (Read my post from a few minutes ago). With respect to the shoulder mobility, I seemed to have gotten much of it back - it has been a month today - but I have been taking it very slowly. Good luck Glyn and I look forward to following your progress!

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