Symptoms at end of Battery Life

The Good News

by Narelle - 2017-03-25 02:17:56

Hi Carol,  I just wrote you a response but my connection failed and I lost it.   I'll try again.

If I didnt know better I would of thought that you were me writing the post!!   I had my PM replaced 2 days ago.. I was on 2 monthly checks and reading the same thing and I told my cardiologist that this is riduculous I cant plan my life and I was freaking out about going into safety mode.  After I saw the surgeon he said could go any day now so we changed it.  He said to me that I didnt want to go into safety mode - I would feel it, not be able to do much and wouldnt like it one bit. 

For 20 years before getting a dual chamber my pacemakers were set at 70 beats a minute just pounded away, I couldnt walk up hills without huffing and puffing and feeling my chest was going to explode and my heart was going to jump out of it..   So my advice for this week while your waiting for surgery is stay calm, take it easy, meditate, breath deeply, and do some yoga and easy walking (no hills). 

Now for the good news and something to look forward to..  - this new pacemaker feels absolutely amazing - even though Im still resting until I can move without pain, put my own bra on and wash my hair, Im really looking forward to see how it performs - going to head out tomorrow and walk up some hills.  It honestly feels like Ive upgraded to a luxury car - it is so smooth... Even though I thought my old pacemaker was awesome this one just feels so much better.

So good luck with the surgery and you wake up feeling awesome.

Cheers Narelle 

Battery end of life

by LondonAndy - 2017-03-25 09:05:40

I think good advice from Narelle.  Not sure if this helps any, as I have only had a pacemaker for 2.5 years, but at the first annual checkup I asked the technician what I would feel when my Medtronic DDR dual chamber reached the "low battery" point at end of life (of the device, not me!) and he kindly simulated it by changing the settings for me to experience it for a few minutes.  I am 100% paced following surgical complications when I had a mechanical aortic valve inserted, so my pacemaker is particularly critical!

I walked down a corridor for about 30m, and all that I noticed was my heart felt heavy.  No dizziness, but he did say that it would no longer respond to demands for higher rate pacing, so am sure it would be difficult to do more than gentle walking.  

My Medtronic does not buzz or anything as an alert for low battery, so I thought useful to experience this stage, though of course I anticipate shorter gaps between checkups as the device gets closer to end of useful life. 

I'm so Appreciative❤

by Carol - 2017-03-25 11:39:25

Thank you so much to Narelle and LondonAndy for responding to my post.  Your comments helped me feel a little calmer today while await my surgery.  I tend to be somewhat of a "Nervous Nellie" and truthfully just don't like how this feels.  The pacer nurse told me "I wouldn't like" how I would feel if the pacer goes into EOL mode (you made me chuckle on that one LondonAndy).  I told him " no big deal, I know what slow HR feels like I can deal). Ha! What I hadn't anticipated was that the Medtronic in EOL mode turns off all unnecessary settings and is just pacing in the ventricle.  Feels pretty crappy- almost like a pacemaker syndrome. The good news: I did manage to sleep last night with the help of 1/2 Ativan tab.

So thanks again for taking the time to post a response.  This site was a godsend after getting my pm back in 2007 and is proving to be just as amazing all these years later.  So, I'll take things slow, try not to freak out over feeling almost every beat, until I can get my new and improved model next Thursday!!  Peace!

battery--EOL

by zawodniak2 - 2017-03-25 11:53:23

Same thing happened to my first PM after 7 1/2  years.  My heart rate stayed at 65 bpm no matter what my activity level was, I could feel more fatigued each day until the PM was replaced. Fortunately, my EP and Medtronic tech were on top of my situation and I was in the "END of LIFE" or "ELECTIVE REPLACEMENT MODE" for just a few weeks---not quite sure how long as it was a gradual deterioration of my energy.  I am 100% dependent on the PM and the last few days before replacement, I felt very fatigued just walking at a slow rate!  After outpatient replacement---"VOILA"----back to normal.

                 Rodger

Thanks Rodger!

by Carol - 2017-03-25 12:07:02

There's nothing like the support and experiences of those that have been through this to help those of us that have not.  Thanks for taking time out of your day to offer support- I guess I'll have an excuse this weekend and the upcoming week to just take things slow and pamper myself 😉

Post Op Day 5

by Narelle - 2017-03-27 22:26:10

Hi Carol,  Was just thinking about you, not long now till you feel so much better.   Last night I was able to sleep on my pacemaker side and on my tummy it was bliss, the swelling has gone down and I was able to wash my own hair and put my bra on.. Just a little bit of pain and stiffness in the site. I walked up a couple of gentle hills and it felt great.  

One thing I didnt do was ask the doctor for a script for a pain killer stronger than paracetamol to take at home, recommend getting something for the first couple of days to take the edge off. I managed on paracetamol but would of been more comfortable with something stronger.  Like Panadiene Forte. (we need a perscription in Australia for this)

Look forward to hearing how it all goes.  Wishing you well.    

You're so sweet

by Carol - 2017-03-28 16:12:40

Thank you for thinking of me!  This morning I went in for my pre-op visit- had blood work, chest X-ray, and ekg done.  

My procedure is scheduled for 7:30 this coming Thursday.  I am my own worst enemy when it comes to heart issues- well to be honest, I'm a nervous Nellie about most health related things.  But, I am so tired of this asynchronous thumping in my chest that I just want them to fix it.  May I ask a couple of questions?  Is your PM behind the pec muscles as mine is?  Did they put your PM settings back to the way they were before you had the generator replaced?  I had such a difficult time the first time and I dread that they would change settings on me.  I've sent a question Timmy pacer lab but haven't heard back yet.  Thank you again Narelle

Oops darned auto correct

by Carol - 2017-03-28 16:14:27

That should read "to my" not "Timmy" lol

sounds about right

by dwelch - 2017-03-31 00:27:21

That is exactly what the pacer does, to save power it locks you at 65, can sustain this for a number of months.  It certainly gets your attention and then gets the docs and you get a new one.  But it also saves power.

I am heading into pacer number 5 in a few weeks, at least two of the prior ones went into safety mode, and it sucks for a few weeks, but you get through it, deal with the anxiety and cancel any hiking trips you cant do it.  (I am switching to a three lead from a four lead 30 years with a pacer my enjection fraction is at 35 as a result, only half way through the life of number 4).

Sadly my doc says that insurance companies are now requiring that the pacer goes into safety mode before they will authorize a replacement, where before they can tell when you are really close with the few month inspections and perhaps schedule the surgery around a wedding or other things you might have coming up in the next few months.  So I expect more folks that might not have dealt with this, will deal with this.    

It is a normal part of life with a pacer, call it your new pacer year or whatever, the safety mode thing, the get the surgery thing, the recovery thing, a few more visits than normal then into the annual visit thing for another 7-10 or more years before you do it all again. 

Replacements are easier than the initial implant, in theory no new leads so you dont have to spend then night, in and out go home.  The pacers keep getting smaller although this last one I got is hardly larger than the connectors so not sure if it can go smaller at this point, wee bitty compared to my first one.

Hows the new pacemaker?

by Narelle - 2017-04-03 20:19:50

Hey Carol,  so sorry for the late reply...   Yes they did put it back in the same spot and I checked with the technician when I came out of the aneasthetic if he used the same settings, I also had a chat to him before to make sure.    I had a few weird sparking pains so waited for the surgeon to come see me before I went home, he told be the muscle pocket had calcified and he had a bit of difficulty getting the old one out and felt I was having nerve pain from the patch up job.  Swelling has gone down now, but 2 weeks later I still cant roll onto my side without a bit of pain.   Gravity is my enemy this time around I can see and feel the box without my push up bra on. LOL..   Hope all went well, looking forward to hearing from you. Cheers Narelle.