Pain

I had pm surgery on Friday 17th. Have found it very painful but just about bearable. INR was low so have been having blood thinning injections twice a day as well as taking warfarin. After having quite a good day today,i'm back in a lot of pain and as well as the pain being all around the wound site, neck/shoulder/chest, i am experiencing pain down the middle of my chest. Is this part of the healing process? I'm starting to get worried.

5 Comments

Recheck

by carolinagirl27 - 2014-10-23 11:10:59

I had my PM implanted 3 weeks ago and had a lot of pain as well after surgery too. It started to improve a few days after surgery.

Then approximately 4 days after surgery, I had intense chest pain (in the middle) that radiated up the left side of my neck and setled into my jaw, some shortness of breath, and fever. I was diagnosed with Pericarditis (inflammation of the heart sac). My cardiologist put me on Motrin and another anti-inflammatory med. I started having some relief a day later but then found out through an echocardiogram that I had fluid around my heart as well. Needless to say, I was readmitted into the hospital and had to have surgery repeated because my atrial lead detacheted from the heart wall and needed to be repositioned.

I would check with your doctor(s) about your symptoms/concerns. My doctor said my issues were extremely rare so I'm sure you are just fine but wanted to let you know so you can get everything double checked. I understand your worries. Hang in there!

Pain

by AnastasiaR - 2014-10-24 11:10:54

Thanks so much for replying. I think it helps to know that there are lots of other people out there in similar situations and frame of mind and,in a lot of cases, much worse off, which puts things in perspective. Thanks again.

Recovery time

by yukon - 2014-10-26 03:10:52

Hi There,
I had an ICD put in on the 21st and have found recovery to be quite slow. I had to fly "to the city" to have this done and I have found it hard to know what to expect based on the recommendations I have received along the way. The clinic suggested I wait to fly home 24-48 hours and so I thought waiting 4 days would suffice. It didn't and I am still in the city waiting to get the energy and comfort levels to manage a 2.5 hour flight and day of travel. Also, the nurse mentioned not moving your arm above your head or swimming/playing golf for a while. This seems absurd to me because I can hardly put on a t shirt. It made me think people are able to do these things and perhaps there is something wrong with me because I cannot. Although this is sore and the thought of going home to 3 little kids in the house scares the pants off me the wound is not infected and I do get incrementally better each day. What I tell myself is that our bodies are all so different and for some recovery will be a snap and others it may take some time. I feel exhausted more than anything. Incidentally when I get too tired it feels like a horse had kicked me in the chest. Or maybe a moose. What I tell myself it to take it easy and drink a lot of tea and be liberal with the naps.
Cheers.

pain

by lstacy - 2014-10-29 06:10:00

It is so good to hear others comments about the pain. I got my pacemaker two weeks ago, and thought I was supposed to feel back to normal now. NOT the case. While I'm getting better. I'm still very sore, am swollen and tired. I can breath better and feel slightly better each day. However, I think realistic expectations need to be given to patients after discharge.

pain

by lstacy - 2014-10-29 06:10:58

It is so good to hear others comments about the pain. I got my pacemaker two weeks ago, and thought I was supposed to feel back to normal now. NOT the case. While I'm getting better. I'm still very sore, am swollen and tired. I can breath better and feel slightly better each day. However, I think realistic expectations need to be given to patients after discharge.

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