Simple questions

Was wondering how the recovery was after its done and can I go back to excersing right away? And how many people are there about my age have one and why? My doc sayes I have a slow heart rate . I also have sleep apnea, high blood pressure controlled with meds an I do use my Cpap an borderline diabetes. They always blame your weight tho.

5 Comments

age

by Tracey_E - 2014-12-09 04:12:41

Hard to say how many are here your age since we don't know your age ;) But! We have members from teens to 90's, from newbies fresh out of surgery to paced 30 years or more, so it's safe to say there's someone your age.

They can blame weight for diabetes, bp and apnea, yes, but a slow heart is unrelated to physical condition. It's usually caused by electrical, not structural problems. No amount of exercise or taking care of yourself is going to fix it. One thing to ask about, tho, is your bp meds. Some of them have the side effect of slowing down the heart.

age

by Tracey_E - 2014-12-09 06:12:16

I'm 48 and also on atenolol. It does slow the heart down, but if you are passing out it sounds like it isn't the cause of your symptoms.

Good for you doing WW and exercising! Hopefully this will give you more energy and make it easier.

Everyone varies with recovery. Most are sore for a few days but get back to feeling mostly normal by the end of the first week. Still tired and sore, but able to get back to a regular schedule. How old are your granddaughters? If they are little ones, you'll have to be careful about them jumping on you and bumping it for a few weeks.

Keep the questions coming! Information can help nerves.

Age and other

by lucook54 - 2014-12-09 06:12:19

Well I am 54 and I'm scheduled to have this done dec 19. I have sleep apnea, controlled high blood pressure , borderline diabetic an yes overweight which I'm working on with weight watchers exercising and metformin . I passed out twice in 2 years an my heart flutters an flip flops most of the time. I take atenolol which does slow the heart rate somewhat. An it's so close to the holiday. I just want to enjoy this time with my granddaughters without pain , that's why I was asking about recovery an such an what any of you think. I am as you can read really nervous about this whole thing. Looking forward and thank you for all suggestions an help.

You'll be ok

by Grateful Heart - 2014-12-09 08:12:35


It's normal to be nervous before any surgery. The anticipation is the worst....we've all been there.

Get through the surgery first but if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, the best suggestion I can give you is find a Diabetes Education Center in your area if there is one. They will teach you what you need to know about diet, etc. For diabetes, it is all about the carbs...the refined, processed carbs. The white stuff but even whole wheat breads are high in carbs (and therefore sugar).

If you limit those types of carbs and stay with fresh fruits and vegetables (natural, high fiber good carbs) you can turn this around, get off the metformin, lose weight and lower your blood glucose. Just by carb control. You have to put some work into it but it is worth it.

I don't know how much weight you need to lose or what you blood sugar number is but Weight Watchers is a good start. It will get you on the right track but diabetes education will take you further regarding carb control.

I have done all that I have suggested to you so I know it works. I have lost 70 lbs. slowly, over a few years and yes, I still have more to go.

Good luck and feel free to private message me if you have any questions. You can do this.

Grateful Heart

Surprised they didn't discuss

by Theknotguy - 2014-12-09 11:12:56

Surprised they didn't discuss with you pre or post surgery.

Standard is 4-6 weeks no lifting of arm above shoulder on PM side. No lifting anything over ten pounds (or a gallon of milk) with the same arm. Don't worry, you'll forget, just don't make it a habit.

Light exercise at first, just keep the arm moving so you don't get a frozen shoulder. Walking is good, just don't push it. Main thing is to keep moving without pushing it.

Your bio doesn't give age, type of PM, or if you have any other problems so can't answer if people your age have a PM. However we have people less than a year old all the way up to their 90's so I'd guess we have people your age with PM's.

The biggest thing they want is for the leads to be incorporated into your body. After 4 weeks you can start doing more strenuous exercise. Since I'm a walker, went from a mile plus to over two miles. Didn't push the speed, just kept moving.

Biggest notice if you are doing something wrong is pain. So if you start to hurt, you're pushing it too much. Only you can judge that. I pulled my leads tossing the ball for the pooch. Took about three weeks for that to settle down. With pain, drink water, take tylenol, use cold, dry compresses.

They may have to tweak PM to get it working the best for you and that just takes time. So what is true now, may not be true after they tweak the PM. Then, of course, you'll have to figure out how you feel with the new settings. Be sure to get a printout of your PM report at each reading.

Hope things continue to go well for you.

You know you're wired when...

You can hear your heartbeat in your cell phone.

Member Quotes

I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.