Going in to get PM in two days

Ok here I am a 39 yr old woman who went for a tilt table test just to rule it out. Dr said he expected nothing from the test. after 20 minutes I passed out and when I came to the Dr told me that my blood pressure never dropped but my heart just stopped several times and the one where I passed out I had stopped for 7 seconds and because of lack of oxygen I went into a seizure. Now in two days I am scheduled to go in and get a pacemaker. I am terrified. I don't know a lot about all of this and found this site and have learned a little bit but feel like I am going into this completely dumb and uneducated. Sorry for babbling here is my question, How do I calm down and accept this? I am having SO MUCH anxiety I am just so scared. Has anyone else felt like this? Thanks for the help and advice in advance.

10 Comments

scary news

by bluebowtye - 2014-12-01 02:12:21

Hi Gina,

Welcome! You have taken the first step and that is wanting to learn as much as you can and this site is the best! Many of us found out suddenly and without warning that we had something wrong with our hearts and needed a pacemaker. It is very scary for sure, but it is not the end of the world. Not sure of your diagnosis, but from your post it sounds like you have some sort of heart block. This is an electrical problem in your heart and has nothing to do with the plumbing side. For many of us, it just happens. There is no known cause, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. It happens to people of all ages, regardless of physical condition.

Heart block (mine is 2nd degree Mobitz II) can cause syncope (fainting). That is what happened to me. I was sitting on my couch doing nothing one night and I felt myself blacking out and the next thing I knew my husband was screaming he was calling 911. Thank goodness I wasn't driving. After lots of tests I learned of my diagnosis and 5 days later I had my PM. Mentally it was very hard to get used to but coming to this site and talking to others going through almost the exact same thing helped more than anything. I also found the more I learned about my condition the easier it was to accept.

Please ask any questions you may have. There are lots of nice very knowledgeable people here and we have all had those types of feelings and it is completely normal. I wish you all the best as you begin this new chapter in your life.

Take care,
~Sheila

Hi Gina................

by Tattoo Man - 2014-12-01 02:12:50


..............19..29..39..49.........109...??

Yes it can be scary,...and it is the waiting that adds so much to your anxiety. I had a PM as an emergency ...so had little time to worry....but I was still scared..

You live in a big city and will have access to good care...that is good.

Gina ...please keep us all here at PM Club up to date with how things went.

It WILL be ok...

Keep your family and loved ones close..they are the ones who mean the most to you.

I have your date in my diary.

Tattoo Man - UK

Life surprises you

by Theknotguy - 2014-12-01 04:12:58

Welcome to the club. I'm sure you don't feel like joining, but here you are.

If you look around the site you'll find a lot of people who were leading normal lives and suddenly they needed a pacemaker. Happens more often than you think. Kinda means you're normal. We have everyone from babies up to people over 90 years old. You are about a third of the way in.

For people with PM's you'll find that most of them lead fairly normal lives. In fact some lead better lives with the PM than they would without it. We have people with PM's who are skiing, sky diving, scuba diving, running, biking, running marathons, doing triathlons, swimming, just about anything you can imagine. After getting over the adjustment, the usual 4-6 weeks where you aren't allowed to lift the arm on the PM side, not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds with the PM, you can get back to leading a "normal" life albeit with a piece of machinery that will keep you alive.

The PM is an amazing piece of machinery, it never gets bored, never goes to sleep, never takes a day off. It just sits there quietly until it is needed, then it springs into action. It records all of your heart events - which is great because your EP can see if you have any other problems. While you may see some posts where people don't think their PM is working, really it is. The newer PM's can actually step in and mitigate some heart problems that couldn't be treated very well with medication. Like I said, amazing.

As for your mental state, kinda normal. Some, like you get the advance warning. Others, wake up in the hospital with people telling them, "Surprise!" Either way it's a shock. Question now is how to react to it. There are a lot of people out there who are willing to help.

I was one of the ones who woke up in the hospital. So after I got my life arranged I ended up talking with a psychologist who specialized in trauma and heart problems. She was a help. There were other groups who helped too.

What to do now? First, as you are doing, is information gathering. Most important information is that most people do very well. Second is to see what you want to do moving forward. For some it's just returning to normal albeit with a new piece of equipment. Third is learning about living with your PM. For some it's a major change, for others it isn't that much. Probably the most important thing to do is to keep your thinking positive. May be hard to do, but try to do it anyway. Just take one day at a time. Don't try to take it in all at once.

The most important thing is that you now have a future. Hang in there. Life gets better!

I Get Ya

by Runningmama - 2014-12-01 08:12:20

I am 34, a busy super mom, runner, etc you get the picture. And just like you, one day, the episodes came calling. I never got the tilt table test, a holter monitor showed my heart block, stage 2 type 2 mobitz, no known reason, just here it is.

I received my pacemaker 3 weeks ago and would like to proudly report that I just completed a four mile run on my treadmill right before checking in with the club for the night, so LIFE IS NOT OVER. You know what is over? Episodes. Like Knotguy says, life gets better.

I felt so much anxiety leading up to the surgery, my panic attacks needed their own paychecks. And I won't lie and say it has all gone away, we learn to accept, live, and get better. I am still working at accepting, but getting back to normal helps.. I just had to move forward, one foot in front of the other, get it done, and get better, then rebuilding and getting back to normal started and it feels great.

The dizziness, mental fuzziness, passing out, tiredness, etc those are gone. I have more energy, etc and looking back I've realized how bad I felt and for how long...I cheated myself and my family out of alot of life, now I can start giving and getting it all back and then some thanks to the little "gadget" living in my right ventricle.

Do your research about pacemakers and what kind you're getting (single chamber, dual chamber, etc) I have a Micra TPS ( I became a pacemaker researching addict leading up to my surgery)...

And the pacemaker club is like a light house, it has became my safe spot in all this, you're in the right place.

Take care and let me know how it goes.

Thanks

by GinaR - 2014-12-02 02:12:59

Thank you everyone. I am trying to stay calm sometimes that is impossible but still trying. I am sure that after it is done I am gonna feel a fool for being so anxious. I am so grateful that I found this site and all of you. It is very nice and comforting to talk to others who understand me and my soon to be new life. I hope that I will feel better like many of you have said you have. Talking with my mom we have actually trace the fainting spells and fatigue back to 25 yrs ago. but just in the last year ha it gotten worse. I will be so happy if I get to have a much more active life and enjoy my children and soon to be first Grandchild. I will keep everyone informed and if not me on here my husband will post for me. Thanks again and wish me luck :)

Almost a twin

by Bean19 - 2014-12-02 11:12:39

I'm 39 (40 in a few weeks) and I am now almost two weeks past my pm surgery. I had had some episodes and had a monitor on for two weeks. I was scheduled to do a tilt test and heart MRI but ended up with the pm (dual lead) before insurance even answered yes to the other tests. My monitor showed a 15 second pause with zero heart conductivity. Within three days of the monitor company calling my cardio doc I was in surgery.

I'm still stumbling at the fact that I'm a very healthy mom, wife, PE teacher who's life is absolutely in a pause moment because of a pm. I am trying to trust every stranger (who weirdly are becoming a different type of family) on this site as to their experience and the fact that soreness leaves and life returns sooner than you think but longer than you want.

I look at my pm as a solution to a problem and isn't it wonderful that we live in this day and age where we have the technology to not only detect a problem but also have a solution.

Best of luck!

Second Chance

by Busdriver - 2014-12-03 02:12:52

Gina, all surgery is scary. While I was being prepped for my pm, one of the OR techs told me that many people have later told him that going to the dentist was worse than having a pm put in. I would have to agree! Also, he said that technically, pm implantation was not "surgery" but is considered to be merely an "invasive procedure." Six of one and half a dozen of another, right? My heart rate slowed down to 35, and the doctors and nurses were watching me like hawks in case I "crashed." After the device was safely implanted, I felt like a new person. The day I was released from the hospital, I walked around walmart like a kid in a candy store! I had so much energy and it was great to walk without having to find a bench to sit down because I felt like I was going to pass out. I know that you will feel the same way. You will feel like living again, living life to the fullest everyday. I am only 55, and I am so glad my pm does what a handfull of pills could never do, which is make me feel like getting up, getting dressed and living life. I have been taken off over half my meds because the pm has resolved many issues I was having, including pre-diabetes. My life with a pm has improved, and I KNOW it will do the same for you! Make plans NOW to do things you couldn't do before! Here's your 2nd chance to live a great life! God bless and keep us posted on your progress!

Acceptance

by Grateful Heart - 2014-12-05 04:12:47


The way to acceptance is to educate yourself about your condition and device. It's normal to be scared in the beginning and it will take a little time.

Baby steps....you'll get there.

I hope you are on your way to recovery by now. Let us know how it went.

Grateful Heart

how are you now?

by rolson - 2014-12-07 03:12:47

I hope you are feeling better. Being sick makes you feel more anxious. I so hope your are better since getting pacemaker. You will have more questions, we are here if you need is.
Robin

on the mend

by GinaR - 2014-12-07 04:12:57

Hi everyone I am on the mend. Today is 4 days post op. A lot of soreness and been very tired. Hoping this week to get more energy and back to the normal that I knew long ago. Thank you everyone. I am excited to see what life has to bring now.

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