waiting list situation

Has anyone been in a similar situation. I have had my present PM for coming on 13 years. I had been attending my local hospital for check-ups every month as the battery was getting low.

On my last visit the PM technician told me that my PM needed changed and that my check-up report would be forwarded to the relevant consultant. I have since discovered that the consultant has placed me on a waiting list for a replacement PM but while I await the replacement surgery I no longer receive monthly check-ups.

I am anxious in case my health deteriorates in the meantime, if so what is the best action to take.


3 Comments

Your health

by Tracey_E - 2014-10-29 04:10:55

At the end, there are two modes. One is elective replacement (ERI) and it lasts about 3 months. My guess is this is where you are. It is still fully functional at this point, like the gas light on the car. At the end of ERI, it switches to end of life (EOL) which also lasts 3 months. When it switches to EOL, extra functions are turned off and all it does is pace at a steady rate, usually 60. It keeps us safe but not much more than that. If you pace a lot, you will feel it immediately. If you only pace a bit here and there, you may not even notice the change. Regardless, you most likely have a few months, as long as 6 months, that it will continue to pace. They don't just suddenly stop.

Where are you that you have a waiting list? I'm going to guess Canada. Pretty much everywhere else schedules it quickly. It's not a long procedure, in and out.

Good answer - thank you

by becky2014 - 2014-10-29 05:10:07

Thank you for your reply. I was not aware of the 2 modes as in all my years of receiving pacemakers I have never asked doctors too much about the device - more or less what I could and could not do. I just accepted it and got on with things. I always kept well and had no problems. This time round though, I have to have leads removed as they have been there a long time (over 35 years) and there's only one working. I am not in Canada I am in Ireland. I am paced about 98% of the time.

leads

by Tracey_E - 2014-10-29 05:10:18

Ok, now I get the waiting list! Removing old leads is a much bigger surgery than replacing the box. My guess would be there is a shortage of qualified surgeons and that's what you're waiting on. Good luck!

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