Some of the same..

I had my PM implanted 3 weeks ago today, and am feeling great..until the last 2 days. Now that things have settled down, the bruising is almost gone, the swelling is down and the incision looks great. I thought I was feeling great but started having in the past two days some of the feelings I had previously with head rushes when I stand up and some diziness. I am a very active persons who has run many marathons, lifts weights and bikes. Just curious if I should call my doctor to discuss, could be it just needs to get reset.?

3 Comments

Phase two

by Theknotguy - 2015-07-05 09:07:22

You've entered into the phase two of living with a PM. Like you said, scar healed, swelling down, feeling OK. But now, what will life be like with the PM?

About the same time for you, I had similar problems. Fortunately I was going through cardio rehab and was able to ask trained medical staff what was going on. Some of my problems were due to chronotropic incompetence. Other things were just learning to live with the PM. Still others were caused by my underlying heart problems. It took a while to get it all sorted out.

Regardless of what you read and hear, there is some adjustment to living with a PM. As time goes by you learn to compensate for the PM quirks and everything becomes "normal". So I discount coming up short of breath when I start walking too fast and my PM doesn't bring my heart rate up to speed quickly enough. I only notice it when I'm walking with someone who's natural pacemaker reacts more quickly than mine.

One suggestion is for you to talk with your EP or EP's staff. See if anyone will go into details. Or do they have someone who can get into details - in some places their called "social workers". Next question is if you qualify for cardio rehab. There you are working with trained nurses who can answer questions. Third is if the hospital or community has a heart support group. Fourth is if there is an organization such as Mended Hearts in your area and you can attend meetings.

Some of the things you describe may be nothing more than problems that can be alleviated by cardio rehab. Or they could be underlying heart problems. We can't tell from this perspective. Or it could be you're in phase two and now have to learn the quirks of living with a PM.

Otherwise it appears you're adjusting very well. I hope things continue to go well for you.

Also

by Artist - 2015-07-05 10:07:42

You might also need to have your PM settings adjusted.
Normally there is a period of adjustment when you have follow up doctors appointments, your PM is interrogated to see how it is performing and you discuss your symptoms.
They can tell you if the rate responsive feature is turned on and that might need tweaking. If it is on, your PM card should have an entry that says DDDR. Most PM recipients go through a period of fine tuning their PM settings and working with adjustments to various cardiac medications that commonly cause feelings of weakness and dizziness.

Recovery

by PeteFindlay - 2015-07-05 12:07:27

Having had absolutely no symptoms before having my PM, I actually noticed an increase in head-rushes and the like for a couple of months after - certainly more than before PM. Nothing major, and nothing close to a full faint, but noticeable. They gradually decreased and went away altogether of the following weeks.

They say that the leads in the veins and the heart don't interfere with blood flow, but whatever the reason, it might just be part of the body's recovery and adaptation process from what is still a traumatic, invasive surgical procedure.

If it persists, it's worth raising with your clinic at your next follow-up check. If it's causing concern or getting worse, then give them a call earlier. Some simple adjustments to the initial default settings can make life a lot more comfortable, depending on your individual circumstances.

I had minimum setting wound down to 50 from the default 60 after 3 weeks, because I couldn't sleep with my heart being driven so fast! Instant improvement! I'm pretty fit and active, so had a naturally lower resting heart rate.

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