Deteriorating Mental Health Implications post-implant

You are not alone by any stretch

by MartyP - 2017-09-08 00:02:16

While I'm a lot older, 73, I also struggled with anxiety and depression after I got my PM on May 27th this year.  It doesn"t affect everyone, but many do have the problem for a while .... the good news, either it may resolve by itself, if you are really struggling, talk to your parents and doctors about seeking help.

So I knew what the feeling was like as I had those same feelings 30 years ago.

Knowing what it was, I found a good psychologist who I've been seeing for about a month.

So after about 5 weeks, the depression and anxiety are just about gone and I'm back to my same old self.

Don't be afraid to get help ... what has happened is that your brain has gotten a chemical imbalance and that can be helped.

Its to some extent understanding that your body has somewhat let you down and that your heart can't cure itself.

The PM gives you a really super chance of living a long and healthy life.

The PM is your life long friend, once you get to that point the anxiety and depression should go away.

Stay with us here and ask any questions that you may have and keep us informed as you begin to get better

Thinking of you 😀

Decline after PM

by Good Dog - 2017-09-08 08:07:38

I think that it is important to understand that there could be one or more explanations for your decline in motivation. I would certainly agree that depression post-implant is very common. I experienced it until I reached out to a cardiac nurse. She had many guys that were my age call me to explain how normal their lives were after receiving their implant. They came from all walks of life and were all young men (as I was) at the time. Hearing from them made me feel so much better. You could say, Normal again. I think that the defining moment really came when I realized that I could do anything anyone else could do. I needed to find that out for myself. That my life was not negatively impacted in any way. On the contrary, my life was better without worry of more problems. That was over 30 years ago. 

So you should know that having a PM should not change your life in any way. Yes, you do have to get it checked periodically, but who doesn't go to the doc periodically. So there is no reason to think negatively, You will live a long and normal life in every way.

The other possibility (albeit a slim possibility) for your lack of motivation is that you need to have your settings adjusted. You should at least have them checked. Be sure to tell your doc/nurse exactly how you feel. If your pulse is too slow, it can certanly cause you to have some brain fog. However, it may all be just psycological, I can't know, but in either case you can work your way through this and restore yourself back to normal. Maybe a new normal. A better normal. Just hang in there, because it always gets better. Just keep stiving for it.

Sincerely,

David

Get Back to the Gym

by Grateful Heart - 2017-09-08 09:56:57

Baby steps....just get there.  Start off slow with an easier routine but GO.  You know what to do.  Like you said, no more excuses.  You know when your body is active and moving you feel better.  I drag myself with all kinds of aches and pains to the gym and I am much older than you, but I always feel better when I finish.

Work on yourself and then your motivation for schoolwork will fall back into place.  Body, mind and spirit....it all works together.

A pacemaker is there to help you.....not defeat you.

BTW, I would be giving my sons the same advice if they were in your shoes.

Keep in touch.  You can do this.

Grateful Heart     

Not sure about this

by Lorimomx3 - 2017-09-09 01:30:00

Hello, I am 46 years old and have a signifiant family history of sudden death in my family. After wearing a holter monitor for two weeks because I was getting dizzy spells my dr. found I had had 3 episodes of my heart had paused for 7 seconds. Long story short I had a pacemaker put on Thursday. I thought it would be put in and I wouldn't even notice it was there. I can feel it pacing my heart when it "kicks in" and it is a creepy feeling. I told my dr. this and he just says it will get better with time. Is this correct? Not sure I made the right decision getting this. 

You don't have to solve this by yourself. Find somebody to talk to

by Gotrhythm - 2017-09-09 19:21:03

If not your mom or dad, a teacher, or counselor. Ideally it would be someone knowledgeable about pacemakers but talking to anybody would be better than trying to get through this by yourself.

Tell somebocy you're in trouble and don't know how to get out of it. You need an advocate, someone who will be on your side and help you figure out what you need, and/or how to get some expert help.

My first thought is that your pacemaker might need adjustment. Most pacemaker recipients are older and the settings that work for us, wouldn't be appropriate for you. So a starting place would be the doctor who implanted the pacemaker. 

I know it feels awful to see your grades sliding and feel unable to rise to the challenge. Don't beat yourself up. Everybody needs some help sometimes. The smart thing to do is to ask for it.

Go read a history...

by donr - 2017-09-10 11:03:00

...BOOK about that great doctor, Napoleon Bonaparte.  And all this time, if they even talk about him in school, you thought he was a general & Emperor of France!  Check out obe of his greatest medical quotes - it was said in about 1806, & goes like this..."In battle, the mental is to the physical as three is to one." 

Same applies to medical, especially with respect to PM psychological issues.

Oh, I might throw in another interesting observation, this oine courtesy of a counselor in California who lived right on the Pacific Ocean beach, south of Los Angeles.  "You cannot want something for someone else!" 

So, I ask you - "What do YOU want?"  I'll give you a few lines of blank space to think about it.

Ok, I'm back.  Go read Grateful Heart's comment above.  She is spot on - except - a wise man once said "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."  He was WRONG!  He should have said "A journey of a thousand miles starts by getting out of bed!". 

That's where you are right now - in bed.  Decide what YOU WANT.  I think you have... so get YOURSELF out of bed, right now & take the smallest of baby steps that YOU can force yourself into & start that journey.

ONce upon a time,a long time ago, well before you were born (I'm soon to be 81), for another reason (Not my PM) I faced the same problem.  My first baby step was shaking my can of shaving cream 20 times before using it.  Sounds silly, & worthless, I know, but it was a start on the road to real functionality. 

Why was that silly step so important?  Because it was something I NEEDED to do, but didn't WANT to do, that I forced MYSELF to do.  Now go back & read Napoleon's maxim I stated above.

Donr - an old soldier

Me again

by Gotrhythm - 2017-09-10 14:30:29

You know what they say about free advice? Still, I feel like I need to weigh in again. Donr is right. But you are clearly acheivement-motivated. I'll bet if you could do as he says, you would have already done it, right?

It can be difficult to tell the difference between feeling terrible because you feel terrible, and feeling terrible because you are depressed.

Feeling dull, and lethargic, and not wantling to do anything (i.e. lack of motivation) is sometimes a symptom of heart issues. Particularly when you are perfectly healthy in every other respect.

On the other hand, lots of people do struggle with depression as a result of heart issues.

You need to sort it out. You probably can't by yourself.  Why?  Because both depression and heart issues can make it hard to think clearly and to take the action steps you need to take.

You need an advocate. Someone who is completely on your side, who can help you find the next steps. And to give you a swift kick in the pants when you need it. :-)

Thank you for the advice, everyone

by dt2000 - 2017-09-11 04:39:06

Hi everyone,

It's me again. Thank you for sharing all your experiences and advice with me -- I really didn't know what to do or what to ask my doctor during my next appointment, but I have a better understanding of what to do and ask now.

I'll try my best to take your advice to heart Grateful Heart -- I've definitely gained more weight and my physical appearance is definitely not up to the standards that I would have expected of myself last year. My gym membership itself is near expiration, and I don't really have the confidence to come back anymore. I'll just take little steps first and just stick to cardio and body weight-based resistance training at home. :)

Gotrhythm - thank you for the wonderful advice - I actually do have my priory leader, a counsellor at school and even a teacher who has had cardiovascular surgery herself who I can talk to-I just haven't had the heart to talk to them about this problem, as it's been a problem that I thought I could tackle alone. I am seeing my cardiologist in a few days: I'll ve sure to bring this up to him. If he does make adjustments and nothing changes, then I'll ask my parents if I could attend some counselling. I'm willing to take medication such as antidepressants if it means that I can get back to being like my former self, before I had a pacemaker implant.

Donr - I'll be sure to read Napoleon's maxim whenever I have the time, and like I said before, I'll be sure to take baby steps in order to get back up and running. :)

MartyP - thank you for pointing me towards what I suspected was symptoms of depression. I'll see if my pacemaker needs adjustment first, but if nothing changes after that then, like I said before, I will consider seeing a psychologist.

DavidM - thank you for this. I've found it difficult to talk about my pm to anyone, mainly because no one around my age would normally have to get one implanted, and even then there aren't really a lot of people who I would know have a pacemaker.

Thank you again, everyone, for the very kind and supportive comments and advice -- I will definitely be a regular on this website, knowing that there is a community of people with the same condition as myself who are willing to reach out and help me. :)