Pain from pacemaker

My 23 yr old son had to get a pacemaker 2 months ago. It was placed under his pec muscle, but continues to give him a considerable amount of pain. He can't jump or run without it feeling like its bouncing around and hurting. Has anyone else who had it implanted under the muscle experienced this? He was a college basketball player and very fit, so this is an issue for him. Would appreciate any feedback that might help us. We have a follow up doctor appointment in a month.

2 Comments

Too soon!

by cb - 2014-07-03 07:07:58

I tried yoga 6 weeks after the pm last year....felt I moved the PM in my chest and it hurt....for quite a while after. Scary! If his muscle has been cut, it may require some time to heal, which is a process...and he is NOT the same as he was.( I will never be the same, and, frankly, the pm did NOT "solve all my problems" as I was told it would.)
I don't mean to discourage.....but the healing process takes a lot of time.....
good luck!!!

No Pain Now

by PeteFindlay - 2014-07-03 10:07:34

Hi,
At 2 months, I don't have any pain, even when moving quite vigorously. I can definitely feel there's something there, but it's more of a tightness in the muscle. It did ache a bit until quite recently, but not really now.
I used to feel some discomfort when I started running. After about 4 weeks, I started running again, and for the first couple of minutes, I could feel a 'bouncing' sensation in the muscle. It wasn't painful, and seemed to subside after a few minutes. Mine is sub-pectoral also, so no sign it's there, apart from the scar.
I took it very easy for 4 weeks, with the only exercise being walking (quite fast, but only walking!), then only running up to 6 weeks, and I've gradually been adding more movement and load since then. My first pull-ups and press-ups post-op were definitely uncomfortable, if not painful. If I hadn’t been steady with a progressive build up, I imagine they could really have hurt. But after 2 weeks, although I’m still building strength back, there’s no issue with pain.
As a 23 year-old sportsman, I could imagine that the temptation to get back to vigorous exercise early could be overwhelming. Maybe he's started back too much too soon? In which case I’d say ease off the specific activities which cause the pain for a couple of weeks, then re-start slowly.
If it's still really painful even when he's not exercising it might be worth checking with the doc or clinic before his scheduled follow up, even if it's just a phone call to put his - and your - mind at rest.
The above is based only on my own very fresh experience. I still have a lot to learn about living with a PM myself!
Pete

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