Teenagers with pacemakers?

Hi everyone!

 

I am 18 years old and have recently been fitted with an ICD this year (2017). I feel like I am the only young person out there with a pacemaker at my age!! 

 

I know that there are far more teenagers out there with ICDs and pacemakers than I realise however it seems like no one shares anything online about what it’s like to cope with an ICD at this age. 

 

I’d love to find more young people with pacemakers and maybe create a group for younger people to chat and provide support to each other, as it initially felt quite lonely and might help people who were in my situation.

 

thank you and any comments would be appreciated! 

6 Comments

Welcome!

by Tracey_E - 2017-09-25 10:07:56

Glad you found us! There are other members your age here, hopefully they will say hi. Some are new, some have been paced since childhood. There are others like me who are old enough to be your mom now but were in your shoes once. It's lonely and scary, for sure. 

Have you found this group? 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6220852980/

Hello MyAlee and yes there are young people on this site :)

by MartyP - 2017-09-25 10:12:39

On the top right, next to the word "Logoff" is a magnifying glass.  If you click on that a search box will open and if you put in the "young" a bunch of postings will come up about young people.  Take a look through them and I'm pretty confident you can find some others just like you.

Also while many young people are still young, many of the people on the site were your age or even younger when they got their PM.  They are older now and will certainly remember what it was like when they were your age. 

Perhaps it may have some semblance of truth that "Wisdom Comes With Age"

Ask any and all questions you may have, there are wonderful people here who can help.

Marty - 73 years young !!

Hello!

by skhaneshan - 2017-09-25 23:13:26

Although I'm not as young as you, I'm 27 years old and I would be happy to chat :) My name is Sera

Me too!

by RandomICD - 2017-09-26 17:58:31

I was 18 when I had my ICD implanted, (and 2 when I had my first pacemaker). Check out the Somerville foundation 

 

Feels great to know I'm not alone!

by Swimmer96 - 2017-09-26 22:20:54

Hi There,

I had a pacemaker placed in late feburary this year. I was 20 years old and actually turned 21 two days after my surgery. I ALWAYS feel like I am alone, and people are always telling me "you are too young to have one". It gets annoying trying to explain my condition and why I have one, everytime I meet someone new. I felt alone until I found this website that my doctor told me about. Life gets better over time! Good to meet you!

 

too young

by Tracey_E - 2017-09-26 22:55:44

Hearing we are too young is one of my giant pet peeves!!!  I've been paced 20+ years and still hear it on a regular basis. (so yeah, be prepared to keep hearing it for a looooong time lol) We aren't too young to have these devices, we are too young to live like an old person and not feel our best when there is a simple fix. That makes us JUST THE RIGHT AGE. 

I don't really talk about it. Not that I'm embarrassed by or ashamed of it, it's just that I don't think about it that much anymore. It's a part of me. I'm  healthy, I'm active, it doesn't come up in conversation. You'll get to that point too, where it fades into the background. 

You know you're wired when...

You always run anti-virus software.

Member Quotes

Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.