Showering

Tomorrow I will be getting a pacemaker implanted. I have heard many different stories about what will happen after surgery but I would like to know if any other young people have had pacemakers implanted (late teens (17) to early twenties) and what their doctors told them about how long the stages of their recovery would last but most importantly, when will I be able to shower post op??

7 Comments

Some tips

by Theknotguy - 2015-10-23 01:10:12

Sorry I can't answer the 17-20 answer. I'm way past that. Can't answer the post PM showering question as well as you'd like but, can give you a tip.

You don't want tap water running on the unhealed wound. That can lead to infection. They should give you instructions about that sometime either before getting the PM or after you have it.

When I could get to showering, I'd use a wash cloth to cover the PM wound. That would keep the water from spraying directly onto the wound and make it hurt. Post shower, I could just pat the wound dry. I think it was five months before I could let shower water onto the wound. It had completely healed over well before that time, but the area was so sensitive that water sprinkling on it would hurt too much.

Early on, cold, dry compresses would help with the pain. Tylenol would help too.

Keeping myself hydrated helped quite a bit too. I was drinking 1/2 liter per 33 pounds of body weight at first. That seemed to help a lot.

Hope everything goes well for you.

ice

by PacedProfessor - 2015-10-23 02:10:02

I forgot to mention...I used ice over the dressing for 3-4 days when it was bothering me.

Shower

by wired-in - 2015-10-23 02:10:08

I had mine put in on a Wednesday and the doctor said
I could shower on Saturday .The doctor said I could let water run over the wound just don't rub it. They will tell
you before you leave the hospital ,and it probably depends on how they close you up. I think they glued me shut and used a bunch of steri strips. recovery lots
of ice and TV and pain meds for the first few days((easy on the pain meds)) do what your doctor tell you no matter how good you feel. Its been five weeks for me
and I am 44 and I feel great , so if you are 17 maybe it will be sooner for you, but I have one more week till I can left my arm over my head so be it I don't want to pull a lead and go through it again .
best wishes and good luck

recovery

by PacedProfessor - 2015-10-23 02:10:11

While everyone is going to respond differently, I am finding that as a young person (31), I have experienced differences in recovery from what I had researched and heard. I think it is primarily because much of the information out there is focused on a different age group.

I was able to shower 48 hours after the implant in my left upper chest. My doc used two layers of sutures and I had steri-strips which fell off within a week.

I had some pain medication in the hospital and went home with one to two days worth of Percocet. I could have gotten by on Ibuprofen, but I can't take NSAIDs. I am three weeks post procedure and have had an amazing turnaround with my symptoms.

I have found it hard to not overuse my left arm in daily activities. I went to change my tire yesterday and I had to remind myself that wouldn't be wise. :)

My experience has been great and the recovery much easier than I thought it would be. I hope you have a similar experience.

Cheers,
pp

Showering

by Geezer - 2015-10-23 02:10:58

I had my pacemaker put in this past Tuesday. Spent one night in the hospital and came home Wednesday morning. I showered the very next day on Thursday. As others have said, you don't want to get the surgical area wet because of the risk of infection. Here is a trick my doc gave me that works great. Get a role of plastic wrap (Glad, or some other brand), the kind of stuff that is used to cover leftovers before putting them in the fridge. Cut off a section and place it on top of the surgical area and pat it down. It sticks well during the shower and comes off easily afterwards without sticking to the sensitive area. Good luck!

Showering Is Not Difficult

by PJinSC - 2015-10-24 01:10:35

I used plastic wrap and surgical tape to cover the incision site and was able to shower easily.

Opsite

by Alma Annie - 2015-10-25 10:10:03

It is a Smith and Nephew product that EP had nurse spray on my wound. It totally waterproofed it and lasted 2 weeks so I was able to shower normally, and wash hair and the like.
Alma Annie

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