A new set of eyes looked at me.

Well it's almost been 3 months since I got my 1st pacemaker. I have not felt right since I got it so I went to another doctor. He looked over my records and said he would not have suggested a pm and that there are better ways to treat my issues. He turned my pm down to 30 and if all looks good in a month he recommends taking it out. It was put in to treat sick sinus syndrome.

So now I wait to see what happens next. its hard to tell if I feel better with the rate turned down since I am still pretty sore from my fall on Saturday.

Cathy

4 Comments

what other ways?

by Tracey_E - 2017-06-16 11:12:08

How else does he plan to treat SSS if not pacing? How much were you pacing? 

Pacing

by FitMomma - 2017-06-16 11:41:33

i was pacing 60% of the time but since they took me off my bp medication my percentage has dropped dramatically. It's only been 2 weeks that I have been off bp meds. They may have been the issue all along. I am set to pace really low right now, just in case, and we will see where I am in a month. I may not have SSS after all?

maybe not

by Tracey_E - 2017-06-16 12:08:56

Sounds like maybe you don't have it. If you do have it, SSS can only be fixed with pacing. However, if it was caused by the meds all along then yes, going off the meds could fix it, assuming you can find another one that works as well without affecting heart rate. There are people who get paced simply to be able to tolerate the meds.

Most bp meds are beta blockers. I don't do well on them so started on a diuretic this week as an alternative to beta blockers. Diuretic will not affect heart rate. So far, bp hasn't dropped much and all I do is run to the bathroom all day but no other side effects. The doc said that should get better after a week so we'll see. I didn't ask what the next option would be if this doesn't work. 

I would for sure want to get the bp straightened out before taking out the pacer. See how you feel with it turned down, see how alternative meds do controlling bp. 

update

by FitMomma - 2017-06-17 13:50:16

I feel like my old self again! So far the new pm settings seem to be working for me. My blood pressure is back to normal, no lightheadedness whenever I bend over or unload the dishwasher or the dryer or pick something up off the floor! I feel like me again! Its only been a few days so we will see how the next couple of weeks go. I have my first appointment with my new cardiologist on Wednesday. (My new EP is also a cardiologist, so was the former one.)

 

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Member Quotes

I just want to share about the quality of life after my pacemaker, and hopefully increase awareness that lifestyles do not have to be drastically modified just because we are pacemaker recipients.