nervous in Vermont

Good evening. I am Kathleen, and I am scheduled for an echocardiogram on Thurs, and a pacemaker soon after.

I have been feeling lousy. I also have arthritis, (inflammatory) and was scheduled for foot surgery as I have a torn tendon, but that is on hold because of my heart issues. I have had a lot of periods of pauses, 2.5 seconds, and my heart dipped to 24 a few days ago, during the afternoon when I was up and around. I felt like heck, I'll tell you. Out of breath, etc, dizzy, faint, pale, and nauseated. I have pulsatile tinnitus as well, so I hear when the heart beat is not right.

I will be having this procedure soon, and I was wondering if it is normal to be sent home afterwards right after the surgery? They told me I could have general or local with light sedation. What do you all recommend? I'd rather not have general.

How long after will I feel pain? I also have no energy, and have been sleeping every afternoon. I really feel older than my 58 years, and want to feel better to play with my grandson Jim. Can you all offer some insights, especially on what to expect, and also if I should ask to stay the night after the surgery. I don't want to be alone as my husband has no medical background, and I am afraid if something goes wrong, a wire comes undone etc.

Yikes! Thanks. Scared in Vermont

4 Comments

Kathleen

by Good Dog - 2016-03-22 11:03:27

I have had my PM for 30 years and I also have tinnitus. I was 38 and also felt like I was 80 before my PM was implanted.
I am very pleased to advise you that the PM procedure is going to be a very positive experience for you. It is not a very difficult or invasive surgery, which is why you have a choice of sedation. I would choose a local and light sedation, but that choice is personal and should be based upon your comfort level. I was given that type of sedation for my initial implant and choose it for each of 4 subsequent battery (generator) changes. I think that recovery is better (quicker) with a light sedation.

You will have some minor discomfort in the area of the implant (incision) as you would with any minor surgery, but that can be minimized with rest and pain med,s (again, your personal choice). It should not last long. The pain is moderate for a few days and very minimal thereafter until it heals completely over a few months. You will be asked to minimize the movement (the extension above your head) of the arm on the side your PM is implanted for a few weeks to a month. That is to prevent the leads from being dislodged. It is very unlikely that can happen, but nevertheless, a usual precaution. You can return to completely normal activities after 3 weeks to a month.
You should not need to worry about much else here as these procedures are very common and seldom come with any complications. The best news is that you will begin to feel so much better almost immediately, that you will wish you had this done sooner. It is a very gratifying result 99.999% of the time. You may need to return to the doc a couple of times in the beginning for minor adjustments. It is extremely important for you to advise your Cardiologist exactly how you are feeling so that any issues can be addressed through those minor adjustments. The goal is for you should feel completely "normal" again. It may happen immediately or after a few adjustments. Everyone is different. Then you will go on to live a long and completely normal life. When I say normal, I mean it literally. When I first received my PM I couldn't walk 50 feet without being out of breath. Six months later I was playing competitive basketball with my pulse above 180 bpm. That is how dramatic the results can be. Monitoring of the PM's are done remotely, so you will only visit the doc once every year or two. The monitoring takes only a minute or two, so it isn't even an inconvenience. Monitoring simply insures that everything is function correctly, and gives the doc info of any irregularities that can pop-up along with remaining battery life.
If you follow this site, remember that most of the posts you see here from folks with problems are in the 0.001% of people with PM's. The other 99.999% have no significant issues at all.
So not to worry. The sooner you put this behind you, the sooner the quality of your life will improve.
I wish you the very best.
Sincerely,
David

getting a pacer

by Tracey_E - 2016-03-22 12:03:15

I've had both general and local with sedation. Definitely go with the sedation! I don't remember a thing from either one but recovery is like night and day. With general, you're on a breathing tube and groggy for hours after. With sedation, you breath on your own and are mostly awake and alert as soon as they stop it.

I spent the night but doctors vary. In the morning, they did a quick pacer check and xray to confirm the leads were still in place then sent me home. You'll be fine at home with your husband! The odds of a lead coming loose are very small, but in the event it happens you'll feel like you did before you got it so it's not an emergency.

Pain, we are all different. I found it more uncomfortable than painful and was fine on Tylenol. They gave me something stronger but I only took it a few times at night. Ice helps with swelling and pain.

All of the symptoms you list will likely go away as soon as you have a normal heart rate again. This is a very simple procedure with great results when the only thing wrong with us is a slow heart.

Oh......... BTW

by Good Dog - 2016-03-22 12:03:32

I have to think that if they feel you should spend the night, then it must be necessary (for monitoring and/or adjustments). If not, then it isn't necessary. I doubt that they will want you to spend the night after the surgery. However, if given the option, I would opt to not spend the night. However, that is a personal choice if given. Whatever you are comfortable with.

Local

by Parrothead57 - 2016-03-23 04:03:13

I got a local with versed for twilight sedation. The procedure was quick and pain free, just a little pressure and pushing around the site. I did spend the night. There was some minor ache around the incision site for a day or so but nothing some OTC tylenol didn't fix. Overall it was a positive experience for me.

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for being a couch potato.

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My pacemaker was installed in 1998 and I have not felt better. The mental part is the toughest.