New to this

welcome

by Tracey_E - 2017-10-21 22:45:22

If you read through the posts here from younger members, you'll see that your story is fairly common- no other health issues, the heart is otherwise perfectly normal and healthy, electrical problems out of nowhere. Ever get two tv's (phone, ipad, whatever) and one lasts years but the other goes wonky the week after the warranty is up? Sometimes electrical systems short circuit. Nothing we did caused it, nothing we could have done differently could have prevented it, and odds are you won't get a solid reason why it happened. You are fortunate that you were with your doctors when you flatlined. We have too many members who take months, even years, to get a diagnosis, or they pass out and are hurt before the doctors figure it out. You're probably feeling blindsided right now but take comfort in knowing your problem was found before you were hurt, before you experienced the frustration and fear of not knowing what is wrong. Now you have a high tech insurance policy, there to make sure your heart doesn't pause again. 

I've been paced since 1994, I was 27. I can promise you that very soon this will be your new normal. It may seem impossible when we're going through it, but we really do heal and move on and get to the point where we barely give it a thought. I'm healthy and active, there's nothing I want to do that I cannot. The pacer doesn't hold me back at all, it enables me to live my life and forget my heart doesn't beat the way it's supposed to. 

Hi...

by GnR - 2017-10-22 05:29:46

Your story sounds familiar! I'm 43yr old female who was diagnosed with heart block in January this year, PM fitted February. Diagnosis completely blind sided me as no history of heart conditions in family. Saw my cardiologist last week and all tests have come back negative. So we don't know what has caused this heart block and probably never will, just one of those things!

I've accepted my condition and live a much more active life than I did previously. I feel much more "alive" and looking back now I had felt pretty sluggish, low, tired, drained probably for years. I feel sooooooo much better now I have my PM buddy.

I am the same person I was before PM....I feel much healthier and just am so grateful I was diagnosed and treated so swiftly. You'll feel that way soon too once you've gotten used to it....I guarantee it. Live your life.  💜

Thank you

by Mugz1221 - 2017-10-22 12:08:06

Thank you all for responses. It's nice knowing others are out there who too were blindsided. I hope in time to be back to normal. My first appointment is Monday for 2 week mark. I guess in my smaller town I am the first to have presented with no health issues to needing a pacer. I am fortunate it was caught before anything could have happened. I love all the information in this group. So many people have done so much already for me just by your responses. Thank you all. 

Me too!

by Hulahoop - 2017-10-23 11:12:41

I'm 35, always got gold stars for my colesterol levels, so when I started fainting 2 months ago, and then flatlined in front of a doctor, was suddenly surrounded by intrigued cardiologists and the Pacemaker word popped up (along with "sudden death" and other dramatic vocabulary), my heart was the last place in my body I thought would be going wonky. I was diagnosed with complete heart block and had a dual pacemaker put in. (Still getting to grips with the right terms and technology)

I've been going along with it saying, I'm lucky, that's life, these things happen etc. But I'm still going through tests to see if there's any cause. Surely, your heart can't just stop working from one day to the next? The battery just ran out? What?

But apparently it can, so it's a case of accepting it and moving on. Receiving people's "oh my god! What happened to you?" Or thinking about every unhealthy thing I've ever done. Getting annoyed with my percussionist boyfriend when he taps the table while I'm eating because it interferes with my heart beat. Sleeping lots, fearing fainting attacks... Loads of crazy things.

But I guess we really are the lucky ones, and with time (as I keep reading, thank you previous posters) it will get normal and the docs will tweak my PM for my needs, and perhaps I'll be able to laugh about some of it... Who knows.

I'm really grateful for this forum and your post, if you need to talk just let me know. Hope yer well x

First check

by Mugz1221 - 2017-10-25 00:17:48

I went to my first pacer check. Said everything is great. In two weeks pacer usage at 2 percent.  They sent me home with Merlin. Hopefully all is well from this point on.