Time off after surgery/Pec insertion

Hello People of the Pacemaker community!

I am due to have my first pacemaker fitted in December, a little daunting as a previously fit 26 year old!

I was wondering what peoples healing experience was? How long did you have to take off work? I work with in outpatients and my patients range from 10-270lbs on a daily basis. I know my surgeon will give me a guide on this, but I was trying to get a heads up and peoples thoughts!

My other question was if anyone had a pacemaker fitted under the muscle. I have a very sporty physique and have read here and on other forums that the pacemaker can be uncomfortable on skinny individuals, especially us ladies with all our straps!

Thanks heart people! Look forward to hearing from y'all!

4 Comments

Pacemaker implant

by golden_snitch - 2014-11-06 02:11:01

Hi Judebee!

I have had both, a subcutaeneous implant and a subpectoral, and currently have my pacemaker subpectorally. I definitely prefer this type of placement, but it does take a little longer to heal and it hurts more at first. The muscle needs to adapt to the pacemaker unit that is placed under it, so in the beginning I had quite a lot of muscle ache. When I had the pacemaker implanted under the skin, I had some discomfort for maybe two weeks, pain only for a one to three days. With the subpectoral implant, I needed quite strong painkillers for about five days, and was sore for 3-4 weeks. Nevertheless, even though recovery takes a little longer, I'd always do the subpectoral implant again.

Good luck for your surgery!

Inga

Let your doctor know

by Theknotguy - 2014-11-06 04:11:33

I'm sure you have or will let your doctor know about your active lifestyle. It can make a difference about what kind of PM you will receive. There are several postings by members who are active in sports and having a PM that reacts to your active lifestyle helps.

I have a Medtronics, but I don't think Medtronics reacts as well to acceleration as some of the others. It has an accelerometer but I don't think it is as good for sports. Just the same, I wouldn't give mine up.

Healing time. That depends upon you. Some heal faster, some slower. Since you are used to stressing your body through sports, I feel you'll heal faster. The no pain, no gain, attitude can be helpful but, at the same time, you won't want to push it to hard.

As golden_snitch said, you may want to opt for the subpectoral. It may be more uncomfortable at first but it may be better if you're more active. A lot less bouncing around. Some people have indicated the subcutaneous may make it feel like the PM is bouncing around or falling out as you exercise. I haven't had that problem but some people have.

Unfortunately there is no consensus on how fast you can get back out and start moving post implant. I've seen everything from a few days to six months or more. Then you read posts of a person getting a PM and they're out running a marathon two weeks later. The closest thing to a standard is the 4 to 6 weeks of not lifting your elbow above your shoulder on the PM side and not lifting anything over 10 pounds for that same time period. Doing a marathon right away is pushing it. I'd really like to have the body incorporate the PM before doing strenuous exercise.

I did a lot of lifting of wood, wood products, tools, etc. My doctor gave me a 90 day time frame. Because of trauma I received prior to getting the PM that stretched to seven months. My body had been beaten so it took me a lot longer. Mostly I could "feel" when I could try something. Then it was, "Well, if this doesn't hurt...."

You will want to keep moving - just not hard exercise at first. And, if you pull the leads before they are incorporated they will hurt like hell. So that's a good measure of what not to do. You'll probably do it, just don't make it a habit.

Another thing to watch at first is getting your PM site bumped. That will hurt like hell too. My PM site was real tender but now, a year out, I'm not as sensitive.

Based upon your bio, you should be able to do everything you were doing before getting the PM. Although it may take a year for you to get back up to your previous level. I also think there is a limit on SCUBA diving but you'd have to talk with other divers who have PM's and see what they say. We've also had people on this forum who have done skydiving. They used a slow open parachute. But why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane is beyond me?

Hope things go well for you. You've got a lot of living to do. Go out and enjoy life!

healing

by Tracey_E - 2014-11-06 08:11:10

Mine is also buried, both under muscle and under the breast. I was pretty sore at first but got by on tylenol after the first few days, sometimes something stronger at night. I was back to normal but moving slowly and carefully by the end of the first week. It was 6-8 weeks before I was back to the gym, about 3 months before I could do any movement, bend or twist any direction, lift heavy, without feeling the pull. I could do it sooner than that and it wasn't painful, but I could definitely feel that it wasn't completely healed so I held back. Now, I don't even know it's there and, like Inga, feel it was well worth it.

Restrictions on lifting over 20 pounds can be anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months, depends on your dr.

hi judebee

by Kmk01 - 2014-11-18 01:11:43

I'm 33 and 115lbs and i had my pm put in 19 months ago. I had 2 wks off work and went back under light duty. You will have some pain the first week because of not using your arm. I was able to lift my arm a little every day but don't force it, when u feel pain stop lifting. You don't want to let your muscles in your arm get stiff because you can lose range of motion.
After your surgery try to sleep in a recliner or prop yourself up. Get a neck pillow to put around your waist to prop your arm on while you sleep. I did this for the first 3 days I was home.
I wish you the best and a fast recovery.

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My muscles are very sore but each day it gets better and my range of movement is improving.