new guy with questions

Hi I discovered this site this afternoon and boy am I glad I did..quick history:me-old guy (67) LOL had a pm implanted in conjunction with aortic valve replacement surgery on 4/22 about 6 weeks ago. My recovery has been slow but steady but I have been acutely fatigued and very low on energy since I got home from hospital. Wife says "be patient" and it seems this fatigue thing is pretty common based on the other comments here. Wish my doc (or someone anyway) would have warned me, Im NOT complaining-all the days are good and I relish my time with my children and grandkids even more now...starting cardiac rehab next week -which Im a little nervous about since I have done ZERO exercise since my operation-but Im sure it will be OK...I go in to cardio docs office in a few weeks to have my unit "checked" but I don't know what that means-there has never been any mention to me of "numbers" settings either high or low so I'll be asking about that...perhaps my open-heart surgery eclipsed the pm implantion which is why I know very little about my PM (Medtronic Adapta DR) I hope that's a good kind..their website is a little "over my head" and technical.....anyway, Im excited to find you folks and I'm thinking I may learn more here from you guys than my docs LOL

3 Comments

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by NiceNiecey - 2014-06-12 09:06:14

Welcome, Stormin Norman.

Sorry for your recent troubles and I'm sure you're right: open heart surgery definitely eclipses a PM!

Your wife is right: give it time. You will adjust to the many changes you're experiencing.

Spend some time on this site every day and you'll learn a lot prior to your next doctor's appointment. And don't forget the SEARCH bar, the gray, horizontal bar on the top right of this page. As you think of questions, you may want to search for the answers.

All the best,
Niecey

welcome

by judyblue - 2014-06-13 03:06:08

I have Metronic Advisa DR (not sure how that differs from yours)- no problems with device.
I think my energy returned about 5 or 6 months after and I only had the pm inserted- no open heart.
So listen to your wife (you should be doing that anyway) and be patient. Glad you found us; I would be lost without this site. I think my husband is jealous of all the time I spend on it, but he is grateful I have the help.
let us know how you are doing.
Judy

Welcome to the club

by KAG - 2014-06-13 11:06:16

It does take time to heal and adjust, but once you do you should be able to feel pretty good. It would be helpful if you fill in your profile info. It helps when you ask questions if we know something about your condition.

I have a Medtronic too, they're all good. Extremely reliable devices that do exactly what they're programmed to do. Sometimes you need to get your settings tweaked to optimize your PM for your activities. The only reason for tweaking is if you're not feeling good, get tired, get SOB, when doing your normal things. Remember that when you go in and they tell you that "every thing is working fine" they're saying the PM is doing exactly what it's programmed to do.

Get a copy of the PM interrogation report. It will have all your settings on it. That way you can use the info to ask any questions you might have on this site. You found a great place to get help and support.

Most important enjoy your life!
Kathy

You know you're wired when...

You run like the bionic man.

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