First time pacemaker surgery on 10/20/16

10 days post op

by Cajun Girl - 2016-10-16 01:27:27

i had my pacemaker inserted 10 days ago - I had bradycardia (slow heart beat) and syncope.  I have been an RN for over 45 years - mostly home health.  I knew what to expect in the recovery phase, at least I thought I did.

3 weeks before my pacemaker I had a loop recorder inserted, so this time I was not buying the "no pain" with a local and begged for general anesthesia - which I did receive.

The loop recorder removal required an incision as well as the pacemaker insert incision.  The post op pain has not been bad.  A nurse told me to put ice on the area.  I usually take a bag of frozen peas, set the bad in a ziplock bag and use a small towel to wrap it in.  It is lighter, conforms to the bodies shape and can be recycled.  I always keep a few bags in the freezer.

I went to my one week check up and my cardiologist thought I was depressed.  He said I no longer needed to use the sling.  I sleep the same way now as I did with the sling.  I put a flatter pillow down my left side to support my shoulder and upper arm, place my left arm across my upper abdomen and a small rolled face towel under my wrist to keep proper alignment.

i went the next day to have my dressings removed and was experiencing tachycardia (elevated heart rate).  He put me on a beta blocker, biastolic.

I followed up with the psychiatrist and she has temporarily increased my long time antidepressant and added something for anxiety.

On my allergy list - big and bold - is medical adhesive - yet I was covered in dressings.  Now all the skin is red and blistered - I will need to go back to the wound clinic on Monday.

i am tired constantly and can sleep 16+ hours a day.  Of course I have other medical diagnoses that don't help, i.e. Fibromyalgia.

I am 67 years old.  I am not the norm.  I am sure there are many here who have had a non-eventful recovery and are living happily ever after.

I wish you the best with your procedure and recovery.  Although our stories will all be different, the fact is we all had to have a pacemaker.

Trust in God to see you through.  You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

questions

by Tracey_E - 2016-10-16 10:24:23

Welcome! Glad you found us. 

You won't be able to drive, lift or raise the arm above shoulder level. Other than that, if you feel up to it, go for it. I was out walking the day I got home. Be sure to use the arm (within those limits) because you don't want your shoulder to get frozen. 

I found it helpful to sleep hugging a small pillow. This kept my arm down and kept me from rolling onto my sore side. 

Showering and washing hair, depends how they close it. I had glue this last time which can get wet. Washing hair is a little tricky one handed. I had my stylist do it the first couple of times. 

If you feel up to it, you should be able to go back to work in an office fairly quickly. You may find you're tired, maybe try half days first to test the waters. I didn't feel that bad, but I napped a lot the first few weeks. 

Take a top to the hospital that buttons rather than pullover. You won't want to be stretching to pull a shirt over your head. My doctor recommends this for two weeks, but for sure when you come home. 

Ice, ice and ice again the first few days. Makes  a big difference in swelling and pain levels. 

First time pacemaker surgery

by prosk2008 - 2016-10-16 10:44:10

my thanks to angry sparrow, Tracy and Cajun girl for taking the time to comment and offer me your thoughts and advice. I am intrigued by how you and others cope with this new reality of arm movement limitation and sleeping! Does this mean you sleep for weeks on your back only and avoid involuntary turning over or lifting the arm? And, is there some kind of cover you can get to keep wound dry while showering? 

As to devices, I have not been told what kind of pacemaker device I am getting? Does it matter in terms of performance and how it is monitored or adjusted? or just leave that to the doctor?

by the way, my pacemaker is for sick sinus syndrome and I was totally asymptomatic, had no episodes of any kind as a warning, so to believe the pacemaker is a "solution" is a leap of faith -- though I know now from all the Zio monitor sessions I did this summer that there is an issue and it will not repair itself so this is designed as prevention, but it is still hard to believe I need it. Hence the concern about how this will alter my work and exercise capacity. 

Really Isn't Bad at All

by Lurch - 2016-10-16 10:46:40

As the others have said, it really isn't a tough procedure.  We all went through the worring stage prior to implantation, then most of us came out on the other side and said, "that's it!"

My procedure (I have a single lead ICD) took about 45 minutes.  Following that I was taken back to my hospital room.  I stayed in bed for about 45 minutes just because I wasn't sure what I could and couldn't do.  I then got up and started walking around the room, then the hallway; I can't stand to sit still...

A few minutes later the representative from the device manufacturer came into my room, "interrogated" my device (a fancy term for hooking it up through a computer to check your settings, no pain, you just sit there while they lay a puck over your device), and a few minutes after that my EP came in to check on me.  The rest of the day I wandered around the hospital bored to tears.  My EP makes you stay overnight and has an X-Ray taken in the morning to make sure everything is still where he put it (I still believe he gets a percentage from the hospital ;>).  

It is actually a pretty boring procedure!  Good luck and let us know if you have others issues or concerns.

We're all different

by Artist - 2016-10-16 16:01:33

Post op instructions vary.  I was allowed to drive two days following my surgery.  My instructions were no lifting over 5 lbs for days 1-14 and nothing over 10 for days 15 thru 30. My EP was very upsst when he came into my room and saw that the nurse had placed a sling on my left arm.  They want arm movement so that your shoulder does not lock up.  I was instructed  to not raise my left arm over shoulder level for 30 days.  I washed my hair in a utility sink in my laundry room and could easily do that with one arm.  Sleeping was fine on  my right side or back and gradually I could also sleep on my left side.  My surgical strips could be taken off after 30 days and were practically falling off by then.  It takes about 30 days for the scar tissue to fully form around the tips of the leads so that they are completely anchored in place, but the incidences of leads pulling out are very rare.  After 30 days most limitations are off.  The only precaution I had was to not fire a rifle from my left shoulder.  That makes sense.  It would be painful to have some thing striking the pacemaker area. The pocket eventually heals so well that the PM is more firmly anchored in place. I am a 75 year old woman, go to a senior's exercise class, do assisted chin ups and repetative weight lifting and aerobic exercises. After awhile, most of the time people forget they even have a  PM.  My main reminder is the side effects of the beta blockers I am taking.  As you heal your PM will be interrogated and the settings tweaked along with adjustments in medications.  The goal is to forget the PM and get on with life.  You have come to the right place for support and information.  Best wishes. 

Welcome!

by FaithGrace - 2016-10-16 17:09:44

I'm glad you found this site before your surgery.  I didn't find it until afterwards, but now thinking about it, that was probably best for me.  I would have gotten too overwhelmed by the abundance of information here.  I just needed to listen to the information from my EP and focus on keeping a good positive attitude.  That really helped me through my surgery day. 

So that's my advice, be informed but don't worry.  Keep a good positive attitude, follow your doctor's instructions and you will be just fine!! All discharge instructions seem to be a little different, the others above have left some really good comments about what to expect right after surgery so I won't repeat them again. 

I will say a Prayer for God to give you Peace and remain calm.  I prayed for this for myself and know that it really helped me on the day of, and the days around my surgery.   You will do great and it will be so nice to have the surgery over and on to recovery!!

New also

by confused - 2016-10-16 23:20:23

I just had mine put in on Oct 12th so I'm just a few days in this new way of life.  First off I feel for you because I know how it was with all the questions and concerns before the big day.  That's why my user name is Confused haha.  I felt like I was going nuts just worrying about it all.  But now that it's over I'm really glad I did it.  It's not as bad as I was expecting other than being sore but each day that's getting better.

As far as the shower which was a biggie for me also I bought some waterproof shower bandages.  I put gauze over the site so it won't stick and then the waterproof bandages over that.  If you do it just make sure you put the gauze completly over the site because I could pull your strips off very easy!   So far no water has gotten on the site at all.  

I will say a prayer for you and keep us updated. 

Tammy 

Dressing and sleep

by Cajun Girl - 2016-10-16 23:48:32

With the dressing that was placed over my incision postoperatively - I was told it was water proof and I could shower.  I was afraid and chose not to.  I had my dressing removed 3 days ago.  My incisions were glued.  They put steri-strips on top and said I could get them wet and they would fall off of their own.  Tonight was the first night I wet them.

I am a side sleeper so being on my back was difficult.  I did that for about 4-5 days and started using pillows for props and turning on my right side.  Last night I slept a short time on my left side.

My biggest battle is with fatigue and fighting my life long problem - depression 😢

To sleep; and how?

by Jacquimeux - 2016-10-28 15:23:36

My doctor said to not raise my elbow higher than my shoulder. I had insertion on 10-12 btw. I used to sleep on my left side with my arm up. To convince my body to let me sleep on the right/back, I put a big pair of pillows behind me/to the left. This tricks my left side into feeling support.

Good luck, I has insomnia the first week on and off; but I get it once in a while normally.

Jacqui