I'm scared

I'm having my surgery this Friday at Virginia Mason in Seattle, Wa. and I don't know what to expect. I have really bad anxiety and a low tolerance to pain.

13 Comments

Scared

by Zia - 2014-08-23 01:08:23

Of course you are, but there's really no need to be. You'll probably get many different answers here because we all had different experiences. If yours is like mine, no problem. The surgery is very small and I had what they called "conscious sedation" and local anesthesia. This left me with very little pain, and a little hangover from the sedation. Healing was also pretty minor, sutures that dissolved and dressing that fell off after a few days. I've heard some horror stories about complications, but they seem to be pretty rare. The main thing you need to do is get some good answers from your doctors about what to expect and why you need this thing in the first place. Here, some docs are really helpful and some may need some pressure from you, but remember YOU are the patient/customer and you have a perfect right to know what's going on.

I wish for you the very best outcome.

Not that bad at all....

by Lurch - 2014-08-23 03:08:13

I had my ICD/PM installed in May of this year. It really was a piece of cake. To give you an idea of how the day went:

Reported to hospital at 5;30am, checked in, signed a million or so papers and was taken to a room (this would be the room where I would be for my entire stay). They had me undress and put on one of their lovely gowns!

Nurse came in shaved my chest and groin (in case they had to do an emergency procedure). Another nurse came in and started an IV. Anesthesiologist came in and asked me the same questions I had answered on some of the million forms I had completed while checking in. Told me and wife what to expect. Came back a few minutes later and told me that they had to adjust the schedules for procedures and now I would go in at about 9:15 versus the previous time of 8:30am.

About 9:00am Surgical Tech came to the room and wheeled me to the procedure room. They moved me from my hospital bed to the procedure table, made some small talk and plugged in the juice that would put me to sleep.

Next thing I remember is them moving me back to my hospital bed, telling me anything went fine and rolled me back to my room.

My wife was waiting there and said the doctor had already been in to see her. This was shortly after 10:00 am.

I laid in bed for about an hour, waiting for the juice they gave me to wear off and had some breakfast! After that, I was up and walking around the room. The Tech came in and conducted an "interrogation" of my unit (they put a disk over the PM/ICD which activates its "wi'fi" connection) declared that all was good and left. He gave me a book that described the unit and what I should and shouldn't do.

I really didn't want to spend the night, there is no way you can get a good night's rest in a hospital!!! But, I think they needed the money...

Next morning they took me down to X-Ray to make sure the lead was still where they left it. I got dressed and went home.

You are sore and tired for a couple of days (its that juice they use to put you under), but energy returns pretty quick. They gave me some pain pills, but I only took two during the first two days, then none since then.

Limit the use of your left arm (nothing above the shoulder) and no lifting stuff for two weeks. At week 5 or 6 I went body surfing with my Grandson.

I see you are using Virginia Mason. My BIL was going there for Renal Failure; it is a very good and well thought of facility.

Over 200,000 people in the US get this procedure each year, so they pretty much have it down by now.

I know it is easy to say "don't worry," but it really isn't that bad...

Please read through some of posts here, do a little research if you are into that (there are actually videos of the procedure available which I watched before having mine installed) and start making a list of the questions you want to ask your Doctor. I have to make a list or I forget by the time I meet with him...

Good luck, ask us any questions you may have, and please keep us informed.

Hi Wolffie.......

by Tattoo Man - 2014-08-23 03:08:22


........I also wish you the very best. People have such different experiences...before..during..and after the PM procedure.

Zia has put it well.....

If you are so scared then , like me , you might elect to have a 'General'...it don't mean that you are a weed, just that you want them to have an easy patient.

Some will disagree with me.

All my best wishes...Tattoo Man

Millions have had it done.

by azviking - 2014-08-23 03:08:25

This is the first time for you so you are apprehensive, but not for the doctor and the medical team. Millions of pacemakers have been implanted and the technology has been perfected.

For me it was a quick, painless operation and a smooth recovery. .

azviking

Waiting....UGH!

by Grateful Heart - 2014-08-23 03:08:34


It's the waiting for the procedure day that is the hardest. Too much time to dwell on things. So look forward to Friday evening when you are on your way to recovery. :-)

All great advice from the above members so I will just wish you good luck and Prayers for you and your Doctor on Friday.

You will be fine. We've all been there.

Grateful Heart

Hi Wolffie,

by stricsm - 2014-08-23 06:08:45

My PM was installed on Wed (8/20/2014) due to a 2nd degree heartblock type II. This was discovered by my oncologist and the procedure was done shortly thereafter (heart rate 37bpm). My experience was very similar to Lurch's. One difference was that I was told up front that I would have a chemical stress test with contrast the next day to check my plumbing. That actually scared me more than the PM implant procedure.

Overall, the procedure was not as invasive as a colonoscopy except for the swelling. Pain is just a dull annoyance.

BTW, I passed the stress test and went home the next day (8/21/2014). I'm still adjusting to the PM.

Good luck with your procedure; I'm sure you will do well and feel better afterwards. Let us know how it goes.

tell them!

by Tracey_E - 2014-08-23 07:08:29

Make sure your doc and anesthesiologist know where you're coming from. They can give you stuff to help you sleep the night before, to calm you when you get the hospital. Better living through chemicals :)

Take A Good Shower

by NiceNiecey - 2014-08-23 11:08:38

My PM implant was basically an emergency and I didn't have the opportunity to wash my hair or preen as I would have liked in advance. After I was sent home the next day, my husband washed my hair for me in the kitchen sink and I loved him all the more for doing it. It's one of those activities we can't do right after the procedure because of the restriction of not raising the arm on that side above the shoulder.

Please check in with in a week and let us know how it all went.

Hello from a Seattle pacer chick!

by laughingarcher - 2014-08-24 01:08:42

Hi Wolffie, and welcome to the PMC!

Viginia Mason is a great hospital with a very experienced and well-regarded roster of doc's. You are in good hands!

Although I live in Seattle, I actually had my PM implanted in Greece while on vacation there! No, not a medical holiday (which I read are very popular due to the costs of medical procedures here in the States) but a sudden case of bradycardia due to 3d degree heart block, discovered (puff, puff!) while climbing Mt. Lycabettus in Athens.

All in all, my experience was pretty easy, once I got over the surreal part of being in a hospital room with eight ancient dying Greek grannies! I was given the option of taking a tranquilizer beforehand (seriously, they left it up to me!) which I did, and I had local anesthesia, so no general to wake up and recover from.

(Note: I am pretty chill and have a high tolerance to pain so I wasn't worried. If that's not you, then follow TraceyE's advice re: tell your doc's what you need and take drugs! ;-)

So I was basically awake during the entire procedure. I chatted with my surgeon, joked with the nurses, asked questions, and a short time later I was all done and back in my room. (I had complained about the moaning grannies... I couldn't sleep!... so they put me in a room with just two other, nice quiet patients.)

I had absolutely no pain during the procedure. There was some pressure and kind of some pushing and pulling, similar to how it feels getting a tooth pulled, but nothing hurt. After the procedure, the doc put my left arm in this amazing, eucalyptus-scented contraption to hold it still. Not a sling, more like a cast, which they took off the following morning.

After x-rays showed my two leads were where they were supposed to be, my surgeon told me to start moving, and literally grabbed my arm and started rotating my shoulder around! And then he made me walk down two flights of stairs to his office! Within 24 hours of the surgery! I not only found all of this to be hilarious, I found it comforting and reassuring that my doc (whom I googled later and discovered is the number one electrophysiologist in Greece, if not in all of Europe) was so confident that all was well.

Two days after my procedure (my Greek doc and my cardiologist here at home both insist pacemaker implantation is a procedure, not surgery) I got on an airplane and flew from Crete to Athens to Frankfurt and finally to Seattle. And I was totally fine the whole way.

And you will be totally fine, too! :-)

Suggestions: * Beforehand, wash your hair and braid it or put it up if it's long * Shower and shave (you won't be able to get your incision wet for awhile) * Wear a button-up top instead of a pullover top * Don't wear a bra afterwards if you can get away with it. If you need to wear a bra, get one with nice wide soft straps, or put a piece of moleskin around the left strap * Bring an ice pack or ask for one at the hospital. Helps a lot with bruising and soreness, but don't leave on for more than 10 minutes at a time * Move things you need at home to where you can reach them without lifting your left arm above shoulder height. * If you normally sleep on your side or stomach, put an extra pillow under your knees to make sleeping on your back easier * Don't hesitate to ask for help from family or friends!

All the best! And please keep us posted! :-)

Judy

by Grateful Heart - 2014-08-24 09:08:10

Were you wearing a turtleneck? I wear a loose top with a v- neck or round neck and the Nurse will put the donut shaped magnet through the neck of the shirt.

Sorry but I'm still laughing. Did they tell you to take your shirt off or did you think it was necessary?

Grateful Heart

avoid this embarrassing moment

by judyblue - 2014-08-24 09:08:46

Definitely wear a button down shirt to your first check up!
I figured I would get a gown for the check up. Nope. I had to pull over my shirt and sit there naked from the waist up. I felt so stupid! I kept reminding myself he is a doctor, but he seemed a bit embarrassed too! Oh well.
These are all great pieces of advice. I wish I found this site before my surgery. But mine was unexpected like so many others on this site.
Anyway, good luck and remember thousands of people have had this surgery.
Judy

Tell your doctor

by Gotrhythm - 2014-08-25 02:08:01

Let me reiterate what TraceyE says.

Tell your Dr. I know having a PM installed isn't routine for you, but it is for them. Pacemakers have been around a long time. Your Dr and the hospital have learned how to help every kind of patient--including your kind.

Me, I'm a self-avowed wimp.:-) Having anything medical done to my body is upsetting. My mind might say "Come on, this is nothing," but my body says, "Oh no, it's not!"

My theory is, if it has to be done, I'm better off not knowing about it. I was frank with my DR and he gave me something that even though I wasn't truly unconscious, I felt completely at ease and I profoundly did not care what the DR was doing. I didn't feel anything they did. When I woke up, I felt g-o-o-o--o-d, I'm talking G-O-O-O-D, and I came down very gradually over 24 hours. I really didn't go through the pain and throbbing typical after the local anesthetic wears off. Tylenol was all I needed for pain.

The only downside was that the rooms were cold. I get chilled easily. If I had it to do over again, I'd make sure to tell them that too. I began to shiver so violently, they feared I was having a seizure. When they asked me what was wrong--remember, I wasn't really unconscious--I told them I was cold. I'm sure they would have appreciated knowing in advance. Still, no harm was done. I just waked up wrapped mummy fashion in about 8 blankets. :-)

In summary: they know how to help patients just like you. Tell them. They would prefer knowing in advance to having you trying to "be brave"--and letting the situation get out of hand before they realize anything is wrong.

And give thanks that there is something to do about your heart condition.

hope you did alright wolffie

by cabbie - 2014-08-25 02:08:31

I hope your surgery was alright, sorry I didn't catch this in time to wish you well. I'm just three weeks post-op so the experience is still very fresh in my mind. Actually I had resisted having a CRT-D implant at first, but once I made the decision I wasn't scared anymore. I just told myself that my medical team was doing their very best to help relieve my symptoms and to lessen the workload of my heart.

I was so groggy waking up in the ICU, and I recall at least four faces peering intently at me (all male - two cardiology fellows I'm think and the nurses on duty). I was knocked out for a few hours and I slept blissfully afterwards. I am an insomniac and even wanted to ask what they gave me as I slept like a baby in the ICU.

I hope it worked out for you. It's completely normal to freak out a bit at the thought of wires and a battery-operated device being implanted in your chest. It'd be weirder if you weren't scared I think.

You know you're wired when...

You know the difference between hardware and software.

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Yesterday was my first day mountain biking after my implant. I wiped out several times and everything is fine. There are sports after pacemakers!