Introduction from Aussie newbie

Hi, my name is Julie from Sydney Australia and I'm 42 years old.

I thought I was a pretty normal healthy person, going to the gym 4 times a week and walking my dogs everyday, although I have been having fainting attacks for about 4 years. On Saturday I was on the bus, going to meet 5 girlfriends for lunch, when I fainted on the bus, they called an ambulance and in the ambulance I flat lined for 10 seconds. On Saturday afternoon they inserted a wire temporary pacemaker and did emergency surgery on Sunday to insert a permanent Pacemaker.

My husband is currrently overseas skiing in Japan. My mum has come down to look after me but it's all a bit of a shock, to go from what I thought was a 'normal' person to this.

So I was pretty relieved to find this group last night, as it's always nice to know you are not alone. I am sure I will have lots of questions but at the moment I'm just trying to recovery from surgery and do my exercises. I look forward to hearing other people's stories.

13 Comments

Welcome!

by bluebowtye - 2015-03-04 05:03:40

Hi Julie,

You have come to the right place! Many of us have found ourselves in your situation, perfectly healthy one day (or so we thought) and then the next all of a sudden we find out we have an electrical problem with our heart and need a pacemaker.

This group has helped me so much. Last year, I was just sitting on my couch doing nothing and fainted for no apparent reason. Scared my husband to death. He called 911 and after a second episode on my way upstairs he called again and they sent the paramedics. Like you, I was exercising every day, eating right (most of the time) and could not believe something was wrong with my heart of all things. I did not have any symptoms prior. After lots of tests I was diagnosed with 2nd degree Mobitz type II AV block and less than 2 weeks later I had my implant.

I have completely adjusted and my life is pretty much back to where it was, without the worry of fainting again! One thing that really helped me mentally was the fact that I learned electrical problems just happen to otherwise healthy people for no reason. They really don't know what causes it. Some people are born with it. It has nothing to do with your lifestyle, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. Luckily, there is an easy fix - a pacemaker!

I wish you the best of luck as your recover. It took me a good month to really start feeling good. Some days were better than others. My advice is go slow and listen to your body. We all heal differently. You will find many caring, knowledgeable people here who have all been through it and since I did not know anyone with a PM that really helped me a lot.

Take care!
~Sheila

forgetting

by Alma Annie - 2015-03-04 05:03:49

Hi Julie,
I am from Adelaide and have had pm nearly 4 years. Different problem to yours, but now 100% paced in atrium. Like you to start with I had many concerns, totally unfounded and helped so much by this site. Getting too close, ie standing in front of a pa system played up the pm a bit for me. So when we went to a children's concert and our seats were very close to speakers, husband said we had better move due to pm. Oh yes I have one don't I. In other words I had forgotten about it.
You are still very much a normal person, and with the help of pm your heart is functioning normally.
It is early days for you at the moment but you will get used to it.
All the very best,
Alma Annie

Fairly normal

by Theknotguy - 2015-03-04 05:03:57

Your story is fairly normal for a lot of people on the forum. There we were minding our own business, next thing we know we're waking up with a pacemaker. Welcome to the club.

A couple of good things to keep in mind. 1) You have the PM so at least some of your heart problems have been taken care of. 2) Most of us lead normal to better than normal lives post PM. We just have this little machine that helps us.

I can do 99.999% of what I did before I had the PM. The only thing I can't do is get a private pilot's license. And that's FAA regulations not a limitation of the PM. And, if you've seen how much money it takes to keep airplanes flying....

There is nothing around the typical Canadian, UK, Aussie, or American house that will bother a PM. So a lot of warnings you read about PM's are put there to give the people issuing the warnings peace of mind.

You will get a lot of misinformation about your PM. This forum is a great place to get questions answered.

Travel is OK. I made it through airport security checkpoints in the US and the UK without any problems. Showed the security people the pacemaker card just in case.

For most of us, life, post PM, is very good.

I hope everything continues to go well for you.

Aussie

by DMB262 - 2015-03-05 02:03:38

Hi I'm from Tasmania and this site is a blessing Julie I'm week 3 and these people are amazing and give good helping information.. We will get there.
Good luck
Donna-Maree Burr

Jann - are we twins?

by Jewels - 2015-03-05 03:03:09

Your message made me laugh and cry, you are right about us being very similar but you don't know how much.
I am known as the queen of research.
I may need some counselling about not being able to persue my dream of being an Arc Welder - but hey, life goes on :-)

I will definitely be following on advise from the Doctors, definitely don't want to have to go through the surgery again. I am doing my arm exercises but just up to shoulder level and no higher.

BTW, so glad to hear you feel great. I am hoping for a speedy recovery as I have a trip to the US (USVI, BVI, Atlanta, Dollywood, Nashville and Memphis) with my female friend in five weeks time. She is being very understanding (she is about 14 months post surgery for spine bone cancer) and fine with taking things slowly.
The main problem is that we were both going to do the driving, as it might be a bit of challenge driving on the 'other' side of the road (not in USVI of course). In Australia (not sure about US but for Travel Insurance reasons I have to adbide by Aussie rules) - they won't let me drive for at least a month but most likely 3 (worst case scenario is that they will never let me drive but I'm a glass half full person, so I'm trying not to think of that).

Same Here

by robomom - 2015-03-05 05:03:14

All our stories sound so familiar. I am a 68 year old active, healthy female. I too had fainting spells upon exertion. My primary physician sent me to a cardiologist who scheduled me for a stress test which led to a heart cath which showed no blockages. One week to the day after the heart cath I had another fainting spell after being stung on the head by a wasp. Back to the cardiologist who then scheduled me for a tilt table test. I flatlined during the test and before leaving the hospital had a PM in August of 2014. I feel good and am now over the "mental" side of the PM. It took awhile for me to get over the idea of a device keeping my heart beating. I am doing all the things that I did before, playing golf, exercising, housework, gardening, etc. This is a great site to express your feelings and also know that you are not alone with your experiences. Thank you all!!

Thank You

by Jewels - 2015-03-05 07:03:58

Thanks for the comments, it's much more reassuring hearing real stories from people (rather than just Doctors info). I've had pretty good day today, so hopefully things will continue to improve.

Hi Jewels-I'm new too

by Jann - 2015-03-05 08:03:46

Just read your story and it amazes me how familiar it is to mine, except that you are in Australia and I am in Canada. I was home on a December (2014) Saturday morning right before Christmas, having wee intermittent dizzy spells (which I so often previously dismissed to my long work hours and hectic, active lifestyle), but they were persisitent so my husband (who was at work at the time) sent my son over to me, to take me to hospital; where I had an 11-second flatline, followed by exactly what you had - a wire temporary pacemaker and then surgery on the Monday to insert my permanent Pacemaker. What I have is referred to as Ventricular Standstill. While in ICU, I was googling like mad on my phone (I admit it!) to help me get my head around it (I love facts & detail), I found this site-and while I didn't join at that time, I read through it like mad on various topics and found the people, their stories and support to be exemplary, and the best therapy ever - even though I wasnt online telling them that! So I joined just last week - feel absolutely fabulous (about 10 weeks post surgery), and feel very lucky. I am certain you will find the same, and I dont feel like I have any limitations or restrictions, other than I can't be an Arc welder, so I have learned to live with that :)

Wish you all the best, my only advice (other than reading what all these great people tell you!) follow all the Dr's rules regarding limiting movement (arms) so your leads and unit can mesh securely - this will be the basis for you to get back to your gym & activities in just a few weeks! Cheers Jewels!

Blubber here warning

by Jewels - 2015-03-06 04:03:21

What a great post and to think you were travelling after 2 weeks. I, myself, have been told I'm pretty stubborn, so I think in 5 weeks who knows what I can do (except lifting my arm of course!).

I've emailed Dollywood to try and find out what rides, if any, I can't go on. I had watched a TV shows of the best roller coasters in the world and wanted to go on Wild Eagle. I now know that new rollers coasters can use massive magnets to break - even though this will 'only' cause the PM to go into fault mode, I'm not sure I like the idea of feeling like I'm having a heart attack on a ride. So I would prefer to go on PM approved rides I think (although I will be disappointed). I suppose my Cardiologist will have something to say on the matter too.

At the moment I have been told no drinking for 3 months; drinking is actually quite a big part of my life, I don't drink Monday to Thursday, but hubby and I and friends love to catch up for wine and cheese or dinners out (or food/wine festivals). I know it's temp but it is over my holiday time and I'm going to the Caribbean - I want rum! I'm hoping he will re-consider and I might be allowed to have a couple. What sort of guidelines did others have to follow?

For some reason I keep crying a lot though - even in TV shows about monsters. I just read your post to my Mum and cried - she told me to get offthe site. Anyway I think it's good for me. And I couldn't agree more about Robomum, my Mum is about the same age but I'm not sure I would describe her as fit and active. But I would like Robomum to be my inspiration for a life that just keeps getting better.

BTW - have a great time in Munich Jann!

Smiling! (& wee warning-babbler here)

by Jann - 2015-03-06 04:03:34

Jewels and Robomom (and all!)....I SIMPLY LOVED reading your posts! I forgot to mention (honest! LOL!) ...I am 48, so its very cool to read that at 68 Robomom still rocks and is so active and healthy! Thats where I am headed! Look out world. And its so good for Jewels to hear that too! I was out for dinner at my favourite restaurant last night (fabulous food, piano bar) I love it because the chef/owner will come out of kitchen, join the Piano player with his guitar and play anything anyone wants to hear (and very well I might add!) 2 of the wait staff sing - its marvelous; I am a good customer so he came to greet me (to greet us-a dear girlfriend and I) - you know - "havent seen you for so long! how are you! hug, hug" - and tells me.....are you ready....in November he passed out in the Dentist chair.....and YUP-you guessed it. Pacemaker. I almost fell over. Other than this forum (and my Grandmother), I truly didnt know anyone who had a pacemaker, so it was quite a bonding moment!

Jewels in the USA,right! Have FUN!! So many wonderful places there. You will love it! I am happy to share anything I can with you, if it eases your trip and mind, being a neighbour to the US and fellow North American, maybe I can answer some questions if you have any. And let me share this; I travelled to New York City 2 weeks after my surgery (business trip); I got cleared by the Dr and PM clinic, and just wore a sling while travelling which helped remind me not to do anything silly, and so many people were awesome and held doors, etc. Everything went fine; I was very aware of my new titanium friend and treated it with the respect it deserves - and all went absolutely fine. I believe deep down, that trip also helped me prove to myself just how determined one can be (my husband uses the word stubborn! Imagine!) and that life really is just the same as it was - except that I feel even better!

So Cheers, I must go, leaving for Munich tommorrow so I may be offline for awhile :) ....Can I sign off by saying its SO NICE chattin with you :) !!!!

living with pm

by ballydhanoa - 2015-03-11 10:03:05

living with pm is very good. i can mow run faster than my healthy friends. i play cricket do more work than my healthy friend can do.. i never feel i have pacemaker in my body. i live my life freely as this is extra life given to me by this device.. so enjoy and dont think about it the more you think more will be problems for you

hi julie

by ballydhanoa - 2015-03-11 10:03:27

hi julie i am 22 years old male. i received my first pm at age of 13 i was suffering from complete heart block and had cardiac arrest once at hospital during TPI and i am thankful to doctor who saved my lives. rigyt now i am on my second pm replaced just 6 month before

Hi Ballydhanoa

by Jewels - 2015-03-12 03:03:39

I want to live my life fully; can I ask if you go on roller coasters with big magnetics? I want to just go on roller coasters and not think about. I recently went to Disneyland and it really is the happiest place on the world, I want to go back and go on everything.

You know you're wired when...

You have a new body part.

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