Just a newbie

Hi,
I just received a double lead medtronics pm two days ago at 39... Not quite how I was planning on rolling into my 40's! I had a 15 second pause because of a high Vegal tone. All of the doctors kept saying that going to the dentist is worse than the pm surgery so I feel that admitting that I'm sore is wrong. I'm a high school PE teacher so I know that I'm out of school for a few weeks. How were your recoveries and when does lying flat feel good again? Thank you for taking the time to welcome me to this club.

9 Comments

Welcome to the club

by Theknotguy - 2014-11-23 10:11:55

Welcome to the club. But I'm sure you didn't want to join.

We have babies with PM's, we have 90 year olds with PM's. So you're about a third of the way in.

It's not wrong to admit you're sore. Soreness depends upon how the PM was inserted and your body. Being a PE instructor your muscles may be tighter with less fat so everything gets stretched out more. That's gotta hurt. Also some doctors are rough.

You've got the 4 to 6 weeks that you can't lift your elbow above the shoulder on the PM side. You also aren't supposed to pick up anything more than 10 pounds with your arm on the PM side for 4 to 6 weeks either. Don't worry you'll forget. When you pull the leads they'll hurt like hell. You won't do that for a while.

After that it's mostly how you feel. We have people on the forum who go out and run races two weeks after they have their PM implanted. Others take longer. Mine took longer because I had a lot of trauma before I got my PM.

You don't want to do any throwing with the PM arm for 4 to 6 weeks either. Mostly you'll have to watch about pulling the leads. Like I said, when you do, they'll hurt like hell.

Lying flat depends upon your body healing. Once again it depends. Some quickly, some longer. It took me a while but then again, I had a lot more trauma. Just kept trying until I could do it.

During your recovery you'll want to keep moving. Light exercise. You'll want to keep the arm moving on the PM side so it doesn't get stiff. Any time I moved my arm they would yell at me. So I didn't move it and it got real stiff. Had to do extra exercise to get it loosened.

Don't look at it as though your life is limited. We have people on the forum with PM's who are skydiving, skiing, swimming, scuba diving, running triathlons, marathons, all sorts of stuff. You're mostly limited by what you think you can do.

I can do 99.999% of what I did before I had the PM. I'm not allowed to pick up 90 pound 4x8 sheets. I may exceed the 100 pound per arm weight limit. After that I can do just about anything I want.

Hang in there. Life gets better.

High vagal tone?

by NormaLou - 2014-11-24 04:11:39

I hate showing my ignorance, but would someone explain to me what a high vagal tone is? I have never heard of this before.
Thanks.

Welcome.

by civilcy - 2014-11-24 10:11:12

I too just got a pacemaker last week because of high vagal tone. Luckily mine never lasted for 15 seconds, but I had pauses between 5-8 seconds several times a day. I'm 33, so it could have just been a matter of time before the pauses reached that long. Like what was said before everyone reacts differently. I never had a problem lying flat, but sitting still for long periods of time bother me.

So now you know

by Grateful Heart - 2014-11-24 12:11:40

The Dentist visit isn't so bad after all.

It takes time to recover and we are all different. You'll see improvements week by week if not day by day. Keep moving your arm, just not above your shoulder for the first 6 weeks or so.

Of course you will be a little sore. You just had surgery!

It probably pulls at the site when you lie flat. Try putting a flat pillow under your arm for support so it doesn't tug.

As a PE teacher, I'm sure you'll bounce back soon.

Welcome.

Grateful Heart

Welcome Newbie

by NiceNiecey - 2014-11-24 12:11:51

You are for a PM but hopefully, as a P.E. Teacher, you'll be able to encourage and educate your students and colleagues along the way.

As the Knot Guy said, everyone heals and recovers at a different rate. Your experience will be unique to you. Don't feel weird about calling your doctor or making a couple trips to the ER in the first few weeks if you think something shouldn't be what it is. We all did it!

This is a great time of year to be off work and recover. Enjoy the holidays and don't feel a bit guilty taking it easy. You don't indicate whether you're male or female but if you're a woman, DON'T OVER DO IT. The holidays can really wipe out those of us that are female and for a number of newbies, the process of getting a first PM is exhausting.

Hang in there. You will feel better in time.

High Vagal Tone

by civilcy - 2014-11-25 03:11:42

The doctor told me that the vagal nerve (which has a link between the digestive track and the heart) has a high tone. So whenever I get indigestion or an upset stomach it would block the lower part of my heart from getting the signal to beat.

Two weeks out and waaaay better...

by rjsully - 2014-11-25 06:11:41

I am 42 and just had PM exactly two weeks ago. I had soreness too and I don't consider myself a "wimp'. I've had three children without using any kind of pain medication and I gotta say, I hurt after my PM! Of course it's a different kind of pain, but pain nonetheless. So don't be ashamed! I took extra strength tylenol on schedule for about the first week. I couldn't lay flat until just a couple of days ago. I am a left side sleeper, so I had to prop myself up with about three pillows so I was elevated. Laying on the couch with the back supporting my left side helped too. Now, I'm good to go! The only bother is if I accidentally bump it, or if one of the kids jump up and hit it, so I am protective of the site still.

Thank you all

by Bean19 - 2014-11-25 10:11:30

Thank you everyone for taking the time to share! I truly appreciate your insight and the whole don't reinvent the wheel approach. I have two kids (10 & 5) who love to run and jump and bounce everything around them, myself included. Just last night the five year old reached up to my incision and patted it asking how my boo boo was. I'm with you rjsully about the need to be protective...silly me I thought I would need to protect it from strangers and crowds. Happy thanksgiving everybody.

3 weeks After Implant

by SilverBump - 2014-12-09 12:12:25

Hi Yah'll! I'm new to the site. I wanted to say that I had a Bi-V put in in April of 2014 and three weeks later I was riding my horse. Most times I forget it's there and keep on going! I feel lucky to have it, and feel much better since the implant.

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