New PM recipient

Hi, all!

This is my first post.

On 1/4/17 I had an incident while wearing a LINQ monitor, that turned out to be a 13-second heart pause. We decided this had been my fifth such incident in 4 years, and we went ahead and implanted a Boston Scientific Accolade MRI EL on the 6th..

I was worried about my recovery, as it took almost 9 days for the arm to feel better, but after two weeks, it was back to normal - mobile, no longer itching, no longer being babied.

My problem is that after surgery I began to have chest pains which have not resolved. I have sharp pains in random places (left, right, inside, surface) and I have dull pains (in the chest, the back, the throat). It happens randomly, some days all day, or other days, I may feel back to normal, for as much as 48 hours. It's always alleviated by rest.

My pacemaker is fine - particularly now that we've adjusted it (lowered threshold to 55, and voltage from 3.5 to 2.5). I'm not worried about the pauses at all, just confused about where the other symptoms have come from.

My question - does this sound like part of the healing process, or something different and not related to my heart pause, which is now fixed?

Thanks for any advice!

-Chris

2 Comments

You need a doctor

by Gotrhythm - 2017-01-23 15:44:15

I can't diagnose and wouldn't try. I agree you need to have this looked into by a cardiologist and/or an electrophysiologist.

I would add, if the rest of your heart checks out okay, do not be satisfied with "Your pacemaker is working fine." It probably is fine, but different hearts react differently to being artificially paced. The settings for the PM need to be tuned to your heart, specifically.

If you don't get help from your doctor, seek a second opinon.

New PM recipient - follow-up

by ChrisDallas17 - 2017-02-10 14:27:24

Follow-up: I think I was also having zings and zaps. I had already passed many tests of blockage and muscle function with flying colors, so I was confident in everything except the electrical system!

I ended up just being more patient with the recovery, which turned out to be a good choice. The various chest pains and pressure started to improve significantly about a week after I made my post. By a month after the surgery, I was back to feeling normal.

In my case, it was a longer recovery than some, even though I am relatively young and in-shape (48 and athletic).

Thanks for the replies, it really helped not to feel alone!

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for being a couch potato.

Member Quotes

I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.