Newbie

A newbie to a group that none of us wanted to join. I'm a retired healthcare professional, so I knew a lot about what to expect. I'm also a Triathlete who has completed an Ironman. What can I expect about getting back to training. I want my life back, and hope that this will really make a difference. Have been pretty inactive over the last year due to the fatigue and SOB, but worry that my rate has only been set at 130 and may be restrictive.. My EP MD states that I am only the second athlete he has seen with my problem, but he has been very supportive and he really does listen to me. Any thoughts out there about swimming open water or racing a bike in the aero position? A little afraid of crashing on the bike now.

2 Comments

Got my life back and more

by Theknotguy - 2015-02-05 03:02:38

If you use the search function in the upper right corner of the forum you can see previous posts about athletics. That may be helpful to you.

General discussion is you have to give the body time to let the PM pocket heal and incorporate the leads. The 4 to 6 week period is good for the typical lifestyle. After that it depends upon your body, how your body reacts to pain, what pain you can accept, and a bunch of other things. Your heart problems, other medical problems, and medication play a role in that too. You have to give your body time to heal. For that you can't look at a calendar. You may think you're ready but your body may be telling you otherwise. Just because you think you should be able to do something doesn't mean your body will go along with your brain.

Discussion for golfers is to be able to putt when it doesn't hurt. Chipping and light strokes at 6 weeks. Full swings have to be practiced using light swings at first and gradually increasing intensity.

I had a lot of trauma prior to receiving my PM. So it was 5 months before I started "normal" activities. It was 7 months before I even tried "normal" activities. I volunteer at a woodshop so I didn't go into the shop until 7 months. Then for only 2 hours at a time. Back at the woodshop, I came home with a lot of sore muscles and a sore PM pocket from both stretching and compression. I limited myself to three days a week, and if I got really sore, wouldn't go in for four days. I just had to listen to my body and let it tell me what I could and couldn't do.

Oh, I have to backtrack a little. At four months, was throwing the ball for the dog and threw it a little too hard. Pulled the leads and they hurt like hell. Ended up taking about six weeks before I could throw the ball without it hurting too bad. At the year mark, I could throw the ball as hard as I wanted.

Discussion on biking, having the PM, and having a shield for the PM boiled down to a draw. The PM can take a direct whack and survive but it will hurt like hell. After that discussion was if the shield would cause more injury, would it hinder your activity, would it really help?

It all boils down to what you determine to be an acceptable risk. We have had people on the forum who do skydiving with a PM. For me, I can't understand why someone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Then, watching the news the other night, someone asked me if there was a perfectly good airplane? Good point. Anyway, is mountain bike riding worth the risk of getting your PM whacked? For some people it's yes, others no. You're a big boy now, you shave and all that. So make your decision and live with it.

As for me, I can do 99.999% of what I did prior to having the PM. It hasn't really hindered my lifestyle that much. I can work in the woodshop, I can throw the ball for the dog. I can do everything else I want to do. So I've gotten my life back and more because I don't have to worry about my heart stopping again. I don't find my PM to be a hindrance.

Hope your PM implant and recovery goes well. I wish you the best.

Welcome!

by SaraTB - 2015-02-05 05:02:10

Congratulations on getting ready to get back to training! It's great that you have a supportive EP. Mine told me he has a marathon runner as a patient, who came back regularly, as his fitness improved, to get his settings adjusted. You should be prepared to make several visits to your EP, to try out new settings as you recover. It sounds like he's happy to work with you, which must be encouraging.

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