tenderness

I had my pacemaker implanted on July 10, 2015. I did not have my followup until July 20, so other than changing the dressing, I did not shower until then. The steri-strips took a while to come off, but they finally did about two nights ago. I have never had any discharge or any problem whatever, but the area of the wound and surrounding is still very tender to touch.

Does this sound normal? I was wondering if the large amount of time the wound was covered (initially by the steri-strips and the dressing, then later by the steri-strips) could have prevented the skin from recovering as fast.

Thanks,

Mitch

5 Comments

It was five months

by Theknotguy - 2015-07-29 01:07:02

It was five months for me before I could let anything touch the site. Had to wait for the swelling to go down, then had to wait for the skin to stretch out. Area was tender to touch the whole time.

Hang in there.

Hope everything else is going well for you.

welcome

by knb123 - 2015-07-29 01:07:40

Your description of your implant site sounds completely normal, Mitch. I received my PM in March 2015 and while it hasn't been uncomfortable for a couple of months now, the scar is still rather red. (That said, all the doctors who have seen it say it's healed beautifully...so I have come to regard my scar's redness as normal.)

You didn't mention seat belts, but many of us find that wearing it over our implant site can be a little tender. Various ways to address that. One I heard about is wrapping a terry washcloth around the belt where it would line up with your site and fastening it with masking tape.

Let us know how you do.

I was lucky

by MathTeacher - 2015-07-29 04:07:32

Hi,
Welcome to the pacemaker world. I was lucky. I iced my site at the hospital and at home, and it didn't really hurt much at all. I didn't need the seatbelt pad or the bra pad like I thought I would. I healed pretty well.

However, it has now been three months since my implant, and even though the scar looks great (just pink and not raised), at the end of the incision, I can feel a bump that is sore to the touch. I don't know whether it's the final healing of the pocket or if it's just where that part of the pacemaker is sticking out more (maybe where the wires are connected). But, as busrider said, "It is what it is," and it's really not that bad. I can sleep on my left side, too. Thought that would never happen, but it will. Things just take time.

Hope the pacemaker is making you feel much better than before.

Steri strips

by Wpw64 - 2015-07-30 06:07:27

I removed my steri strips after about ten days as they didn't look as though they would ever fall off on heir own. My would looks very neat and hardly red at all. Wearing strapless bras and a padded cover over the seat belt helps.

Thanks for the replies

by LiveFreeOrDie - 2015-07-31 10:07:16

Thanks to all for the replies! It certainly seems like my situation is normal, but this is all new at this point. I really appreciate this site!

Mitch

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