Pre surgery anxiety

You will be fine

by Good Dog - 2016-07-03 13:53:02

I have had a dual chamber pacemaker for 30 years. Please be assured that getting a PM is not a big deal. It is a safe and easy surgery and the results are very gradifying. You will be pleasantly surprised when it is over and wonder why you were so anxious. The recovery is also very quick and easy. A small incision and you are back on your feet almost immediately. It is customary for them to advise you shouldn't raise your arm above your head for a month (the arm on the same side as the PM). It is highly unlikely, but possible that you could displace the lead by doing so. I think is is really the only post-surgery precaution other than keeping the incision area clean.

I do think it is absolutley normal to be anxious before this or any other surgery. But again, you will be pleasantly surpised.

I wish you the very best!

David

it's one of the easiest procedures on the body

by techiej - 2016-07-03 14:01:50

I got my PM last year @ 56 and having had 6 other surgical procedures over the prior 2 years I can tell you it was definitely the easiest on the body and recovery was the quickest.

Obviously I don't know how your procedure will be done, but with me they used a local and propynal (sp) to knock me out rather than full anesthesia.  This way there was less impact on my body.

I checked in about 9AM, the procedure was @ 1PM and I had dinner with my wife in my room (procedure took just over an hour and then had to go to x-ray).  In fact, I felt better right afterwards then I had in the prior 6 months or so. As soon as I finished eating they had me walking as much as I cared to before going to sleep.

The next morning - after they checked the PM - I was discharged and was allowed to WALK out of the hospital - didn't even need a wheelchair. 

It's normal to feel anxious and to overthink everything before a procedure and especially having to do with the heart. The only advice that I can give you is to try to do things that are relaxing and enjoyable that will occupy your mind and to try and not have any down time.

Also, IMHO, I wouldn't use the FitBit to check your HR.  If you really want to track your HR with a device you should use a pulse oximeter (the thing that they put on your fingertip to check your HR & oxygen levels).  But after the PM even that may not be accurate. The best way to check is the old fashioned way - fingers on your neck (best way) or on your wrist.

Pre surgery anxiety

by clubhopper - 2016-07-03 20:40:57

Hi Again and thanks for your responses!  It did help to lessen my anxiety and it's good to hear from someone who has gone through this.  Of course ever since I got the diagnosis, I think my heart is getting worse and going to stop any minute.  Well 3 more sleeps and the surgery gets done, and, hopefully, I  will do as good as you have.  Again, thanks for your responses.

Pre surgery anxiety here too😳

by Joro - 2016-07-03 23:16:44

 I am also new to this club! My device will be implanted in 10 days ! And I am also very anxious !  So thank you for your post and to all who responded... You helped ease my mind a little ☺️

Good luck clubhopper! We will have to compare recovery progress in a few weeks! 

Understand

by Pm - 2016-07-04 03:30:23

hi.  Just had my pm put in 3 months ago.  Dual leads.  I, like you was a nervous wreck.  Told the doc I won't let him do it unless he puts me totally to sleep.  He agreed cuz he saw how agitated I was.  So, general anaesthetic,  took just a bit longer to recuperate, but...and I meant but....the whole procedure was a no brainer.   Try to take it easy.  It was so simple and quick - procedure and recovery.  If I ever have to do it again,  a local is all I would need.  Was up and about a few hours after.  Had a good late lunch together with my hubby and returned home the next morning.  They gave me a sling to wear just so I wouldn't raise my arm above my shoulder by accident.  Didn't use it for long.  It took me a bit of time for my heart to start beating regular.  It still kept missing, or doing an extra beat.  But a few small adjustments and I was great.  Doctor explained that sometimes our natural pm "argues" with the new artificial one to try and take over, but it soon settles.  Adjustments is totall easy and you don't feel anything at all.  You hold a wand over the pm site and your doc fiddles around with the computer till he gets it corrected and off you go.  So, all that being said.....you will be just fine.  Try to relax.  Good luck.

It is ok to be anxious

by green18 - 2016-07-04 09:10:13

I am just under 2 weeks post-implant.  I am not sure I can separate the anxiety I felt over the procedure from the simple shock I was going to have a pacemaker in my 40's.  It is totally understandable that you feel this way.  It will be fine.  A procedure like this is intimidating and I won't say it was no big deal but it also wasn't really painful.  I think everyone's experience will be a little different but I can say with certainty it was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

I actually was pretty sore for a few days.  I would say about day 10 is when I really felt about ready to resume strenuous activity but day-to-day life was back on track almost immediately.  I had a lot of bruising and a lot of strange things like discomfort in my throat, strange feelings in my heart, and aches in the chest.  None of it intolerable, just more of a constant reminder that something had been placed in my body.  Every day was a little bit better.

Make sure you both jump on here and let us know how it goes.  It is interesting how people react to it if they know so there is no place better to turn than a group like this that has walked in your shoes.

Good luck....it will be fine!

Pre surgery anxiety

by clubhopper - 2016-07-04 09:27:51

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words!  What bothers me most are the symptoms that come and go - palpitations, lightheadedness, chest tightness and are they getting worse?  Sometimes I feel like nothing is wrong and and the next minute I am thinking I should be calling an ambulance.  Symptoms seem to be worse at night when I first go to bed, and then, of course, it is hours before I get to sleep.  Joro, do you feel this way as well?  Is this how everyone else felt leading up to surgery?

Pre-Surgery Anxiety

by Good Dog - 2016-07-04 14:07:33

Clubhopper,

For what it is worth; there is almost no chance that anything bad will happen to you before you get your pacemaker. You see, one of the most common characteristics of those of us needing a PM is that our condition will not likely kill us. No, it will just make us feel like we might die. Or it might make us feel so bad that we might want to die. So you can rest a little easier. They generally don't implant a PM to save our lives, but instead they do so to give us a shot at a normal life.

The reason you are getting the PM is so that you can have a normal life back. It is impossible to live a normal life when we feel weak, light headed and/or dizzy most of the time. 

So stop worrying that you will die before you get the pacemaker. You won't! The good news is also that if after you get a PM it malfunctions (which btw is almost unheard of), you won't die in this case either. We all have what is called an escape rhythm that is an extremely low pulse (20 to 35 bpm) that keeps us alive. It doesn't allow us to enjoy being alive, but it keeps us from dying.

You can also relax from the standpoint that if you were in any danger your doc would have already had you admitted to the hospital.

I remember my grandfather being sick in bed for months at a time back in the late 1950's with his heart block. I was very little, but I still remember that. He got his first pacemaker from the Cleveland Clinic in the early 1960's, which gave him his life back. Thing is, back then he needed a battery change almost very year. We are fortunate it is 2016!

I wish you the best.......................

David 

Anxiety

by Joro - 2016-07-04 22:43:08

Clubhopper.... I have had palpitations & LBBB for 3 years which is now constant. I have noticed a lot higher heart rates with activity and chest pain in the past few months. So I've been trying to stay calm and not be overly active u til I get my device in.

Thank you to all who posted ... So grateful for this site !! 

I was a total wreck!!

by Jax - 2016-07-04 22:52:27

The procedure was not a big deal. I woke up feeling pretty good.  I ate a grilled cheese sandwich about 10 minutes after I woke up.  The prep does take awhile but I didn't think it was terrible.  I've had my pm for 4 yrs and feel great.  Relax -- it'll be ok.  To us it's a big deal to them it's another day at the office. 

Brand New Pacemaker

by clubhopper - 2016-07-06 21:38:30

Thanks to everyone for their positive comments  about my pre surgery anxiety - you were all a big help!  And you know what, you were right -  surgery was a "piece of cake".  Got to the hospital this morning for an 11:00 a.m. check-in, total nervous wreck of course, got hooked up to an IV and was scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. surgery.  However, I got lucky, and the person scheduled for 12 noon was late so I got in at 12:20.  Was back in recovery at 1:30 and released at 2:45.  I was mostly asleep during the procedure, felt no pain whatsoever.  Its 8:30 p.m. now and still no pain, just a bit uncomfortable, and totally exhuasted.   The worse part of the whole thing is when you find out you need a pacemaker and then waiting for the surgery. 

Great news

by Joro - 2016-07-09 23:58:17

Clubhopper, 

I'm so glad to hear that your procedure went well! I hope mine will go just as smoothly on Tuesday !  You're right that the waiting is the hard part 😟

Good luck with the recovery!