Questions

Hi everyone! I have a few questions..... 1st, I was a member on this site and for some reason had to re-register. Has anyone else had that issue? I also noticed my previous postings were gone as if they were erased (I only posted a couple of times with questions, some nervousness, and relief at how well the surgery and recovery was going, nothing scandalous lol).

The original reason I was going to post a message was to ask if others were being awakened by their pacemakers during sleep? I recently returned to work on light duty (3rd shift patrol) and used to sleep well during the day; however, the past week I've noticed I'm awakened almost hourly. I'm wondering if my heart rate is getting below 50 and my pacemaker is kicking in, waking me up? Also, how long should I expect it to take for my left arm to feel better? And how long typically will it take for the tenderness to be gone from the incision site? I am supposed to return to full duty on the 11th (4 weeks post surgery), and I haven't even tried putting on my vest yet as I'm sure it's going to be uncomfortable. Thanks in advance for any answers!

Janet

6 Comments

Login

by Jane S - 2015-07-04 05:07:42

I have had the same problem with re-registering, not sure why, had to do my profile again and like you lost previous posts.
My wound healed well and I have totally normal movement, but even now 5months the are certain point that if too much pressure is applied are still very tender. Just keep up the gentle movement no snatching up heavy objects or flinging things around. Gave my arm a good wrench tossing bags on to the passenger seat when getting in the car.(UK). One day you realise that you are just doing things with out thinking.
Jane

questions

by Tracey_E - 2015-07-04 06:07:37

We did some server upgrades recently and in the process, some posts were lost.

Not sure why you had trouble with your username. Login is generally by email address, not username. Did you try your email address?

Waking up, could it just be getting used to your schedule again? It's most likely not the pm kicking in. It doesn't work in beats per minute, but rather per second. To keep the math easy, let's say you're set at 60bpm, that's one beat per second. Any time you go a second without a beat, it kicks in. When it does, it makes a tiny signal that mimics what your heart should have done on its own. The heart responds by contracting (beating). You shouldn't be feeling any of that. How low were you before? My rate went from 30's to 70's, so I was awake a lot those first weeks because it felt like racing. It wasn't racing, but it was twice what I was used to.

Everyone varies in healing time. Some feel great in a week, some take several months. 6-8 weeks is probably average to get back to full activity with no soreness, so 4 weeks to be back in the vest might be a little premature. Can you stay on light duty a little longer?

Tracey
Moderator

Lost Forever

by donr - 2015-07-04 07:07:19

During the server upgrades everything was lost forever from at least 11 May to 15 June.

Posts
comments
registrations
photos uploaded
Private messages sent & received
high button shoes
snakes belts
hens teeth

EVERYTHING

Donr (Moderator)

Ok that explains it!

by Jkm736 - 2015-07-04 08:07:50

I registered probably in between May 15th and when things were lost; I tried by my email address and put in "forgot password", but it didn't recognize my email. I don't have to go back on the 11th, and if I don't feel capable, I won't, but we are also short handed right now and very busy so unless I am extremely uncomfortable I will probably at least give it a try. Thanks for the information on the pacemaker; this all happened so fast that although I have done research, there is still a lot I don't know yet about what my pacemaker does. I do have one more question if anyone else sees this - my doctor said my pacemaker was "on demand", To me that sounded like it would only be at work if I had another "pass out/heart stop" moment. When I went in for my first check up with the pacemaker company, she said I was pacing 42% of the time in my upper chamber and 1% in the lower chamber. Does that sound right? I'm sure I definitely could have misunderstood and already have a list of questions to ask my Dr. when I see him again.

Thanks again!

Janet

on demand

by Tracey_E - 2015-07-04 09:07:18

Almost all pm's work on demand, which just means it kicks in when we need it. For you, this is any time your pulse drops below 50 bpm, which apparently is 42% of the time. See explanation above about seconds. It's set to watch the delay between beats, so it won't let you go longer than that without kicking in if needed. I pace 100% of the time. Don't get too caught up in the numbers. There is no right or wrong percentage, whatever it takes to feel good is the right amount.

Possibilities

by Janenotarzan - 2015-07-06 02:07:34

Perhaps you sleep on your left side? With a left side PM, this can cause pinching, discomfort, or muscle pain, which could be what's waking you up.
Have you been checked for sleep apnea? There is a definite link between sleep apnea and arrhythmias. Another likely cause of hourly awakenings.
Best of luck in your healing and your duties to serve and protect.
Janenotarzan

You know you're wired when...

Your signature looks like an EKG.

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