Lead Pulling and Crossfit

Hey everyone, this is my first post to the site after just receiving my pacemaker a week ago today at he old age of 33. I have spent so much time reading on this site that I have actually been able to accept things now where just a few days before I thought this was a life sentence.

A quick background... just yesterday I was told to walk over and talk to a lady at church who has had a pacemaker for "years". THAT WAS A MISTAKE! She obviously has had nothing put pain and trouble with hers since she got it. Said she cant use her arm for hardly anything. So I was instantly depressed and had to get back home quick to this site.

my question... before this I had just started competing in Crossfit competitions and really feeling like I was hitting my stride in the sport. Now Im told not to lift my arm above my head. I know this is part of the healing process and in about 8 weeks my EP (20+ years experience), who is a tri-athlete himself, wants me back to competeing and giving it 100%. Im afraid he is just telling me that. Wont the leads always be pulling at my heart when I raise my arms? Just while doing basic movements now I feel as if im going to pull my heart out. Will ever be able to raise my arms and not feel the tug at my heart and "truly" be safe to give it 100% or will I be like my lady from church?

Will

12 Comments

No, no, and no

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

You will be able to lift your arms, you will be able to go back and do crossfit, and you will be able to get back to a "normal" or an even better than "normal" life.

Sorry you ran into a lady with nothing but negative views. It's a real downer. But, now you've see what can happen if you let a negative take over your life.

If you go back through the forum you'll see people are leading very "normal" lives and, in quite a few instances, a much better than normal life. We just have a piece of equipment under the skin that helps us keep the heart going when needed.

I'm finally back to leading a life that is 99.999% of what it was pre-PM. My only restrictions are the underlying heart problem and some problems left over from broken and cracked ribs. The PM itself isn't a restriction.

It's good you have an EP who is willing to let you go back to exercising and competition. It's great that he is encouraging you.

I'm pretty sure TraceyE will be on in a little bit to tell you about her lifestyle. She isn't being held back in the least by having a PM.

Welcome to the club. While you're healing you can work on training schedules. Just remember to keep it light at first. It's a big world out there. Go out and enjoy it.

tugging

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-06 04:04:12

Ignore church lady!!! She's the exception, not the rule. She either had a really bad time of it or she could be one of those people who enjoys having problems and milks it, makes it out in her mind to be worse than it is. There is absolutely no reason why she'd lose the use of her arm. I dunno her deal, but that will not happen to you. I wish you went to my church. I've had a couple of people about to get a pm told to come talk to me, also. It was fun watching their eyes bug out because neither of them had a clue I had a pm. :)

I've been doing CF for 4 years now, no problems whatsoever. There are quite a few of us here who are wod addicts.

The leads will not tug on your heart! The healing restriction is purely precaution until the scar tissue grows around the leads in the heart. There is a recent study that shows that patients not given restrictions had no more incident of dislodged leads than patients told to keep the arm down. When I got my first one 20+ years ago, I was not given any restrictions.

The leads are attached to the heart wall and run through the vein. There is slack at the other end which they coil behind the device. That means that even if you give it a good knock (btdt), the leads don't pull in the vein. The only risk to the leads is if your placement is close enough to the surface that they can be pinched when you clean the bar. I assume your surgeon took this into consideration when he said go for it. Trust your dr.

One more note. If you do happen to hit it, and I've hit it hard enough to bruise up the area on top of mine twice now, the pm is titanium. We aren't quite so tough, it hurts like heck but it doesn't damage the pm. There used to be a video of a boy on Heartbeat International's website who was shot in the chest. The bullet lodged in the pm and saved his life, and didn't stop pacing. Nothing we do is going to damage it.

There's no reason why you can't plan to compete next year. When you do, please post pictures in the gallery. I love it when the active pictures fill the page.

ha!

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-06 04:04:16

knotguy and I were posting at the same time. I'm a little predictable!

Thank yall!

by wljonesaa - 2015-04-06 05:04:25

Ive noticed you two, knotguy and tracey, a lot in other posts. You are both great for being active in this. Like most everyone else i felt like my life was cut in half on top of be given a life sentence. Im learning mostly through here thats not the case. Im using my pacemaker 5% of the time due to heart block which i thought was awful till reading your stories and seeing you were 100%.

But to to verify... :) this tugging sensation i have should go away?

tugging goes away, pt 2

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-06 06:04:00

It's just the scar tissue pulling, not the leads. Our bodies get a little annoyed at having a hunk of metal in there but over the next months scar tissue will grow around the device and form a tough pocket. If you overdo it and end up sore, try ice. It's temporary!

Btw, we did Fran with a twist today, they added 800m runs after each round. My 18 yr old daughter just got back (I go in the am, she goes after school) and my time was only 1 min longer than hers, go me! I'm the world's slowest runner, she usually kicks my butt on run times.

The tugging goes away

by Theknotguy - 2015-04-06 06:04:04

The tugging feeling goes away. After the PM pocket scar heals, the more you are active the better.

I "pulled" the leads after the PM scar was healed by throwing the ball for the dog a little too hard. It hurt like hell and I had to take it easy for the next six weeks. But that was all.

Now I can throw the ball as hard as I want. Bailey (the dog) got so tired yesterday he had to lay down and catch his breath. See, I've got the PM and I'm doing so good I wear out two dogs. On Friday we take a 2 1/2 mile hike in the AM and another in the PM. The dogs sleep really good on Friday night. A tired dog is a happy dog.

Sometimes the PM pocket hurts. The other night I lay on my left side and it was a little sore the next day. But, other than that I can do any exercise I want.

You've got a lot of living to do. Go do it!

Just a thought

by Grateful Heart - 2015-04-06 06:04:17


Maybe you can help church lady.

Next time you see her, let her know about this site. Maybe she thinks she's supposed to feel crummy.

Grateful Heart

Go for it!

by admin - 2015-04-06 06:04:55

I don't have much to add in addition to what TraceyE and knotguy, have already said. I attend boot camps 3-4 times per week and have been doing so for 2.5 years. I have a pacemaker and artificial pulmonary valve. I'm 47. If I can do it, so can you. Joining the gym was the best thing my wife did for me.

Blake

RE:

by wljonesaa - 2015-04-06 08:04:02

Tracy, that's awesome! My last Fran was 7:12 Rx, i was disappointed mostly for not hitting "7-11". Adding that run would have been tough yet so great! Ha

But yeah, grateful heart, everyone with a little heart helper needs to know about this site.

Fran

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-06 09:04:00

I got Fran under 7 one time, but it was not rx and I haven't done it again since. I have a tank that says "I rx the warm up." The runs were hard but the break made the thrusters easier, go figure.

It will be interesting to see how much your times improve once you heal. You may find your stamina is better now.

I wonder if church lady has had physical therapy. Sometimes people don't use their arm enough when healing and the shoulder freezes. If that's the case, therapy would help get her range of motion back. If it's the placement getting in the way, they can reposition it when they replace the battery next time.

CrossFit

by PeteFindlay - 2015-04-07 07:04:12

Another CF junkie here!

Just to echo what's be said already. I'm 11 months in and have no issues whatsoever with any movements (apart from muscle-ups - but that's not a pacemaker limitation!).

I found it took a good few weeks extra to get back to a comfortable full range of motion and strength when I started back after the 6-week restrictions. I just took it steady, working on mobility first, before adding weight. Dips in particular will work that scar tissue and the surrounding muscles - but I just worked up steady, dipping from a box to start with. Full depth weighted ring dips are no problem now, though. As with anything, if it hurts, ease off a bit. As a CFer, you'll know the difference between 'hurt' and 'aching' - and the muscles will ache! - so just listen to your body. Any front rack was my biggest concern before, but hasn't turned out to be any worry. My PM is under the muscle, so doesn't get in the way at all.

At 50 years old, I credit CrossFit with getting me in the best shape to cope with the surgery, and getting me back up to speed afterwards.

Yet another crossfitter

by brushmore - 2015-04-07 10:04:54

I've been doing Crossfit fro 5 years and got my Pacemaker a year and a half ago. I have made some modifications to keep from damaging the pacemaker such as using dumbells and kettle bells for certain things but those modifications have made me stronger.

I really thought that the pacemaker was really going to put a damper on my Crossfit participation but less than three months after the implant I got a PR on my nemesis, Fran! I even did this using dumbbells which actually made it much harder! That really gave me a new perspective on things.

You know you're wired when...

You trust technology more than your heart.

Member Quotes

As for my pacemaker (almost 7 years old) I like to think of it in the terms of the old Timex commercial - takes a licking and keeps on ticking.