Another question for my wife

So I posted a few times and have gotten great responses. My wife ended up having to get a two wire pacemaker two weeks ago. Did need some voltage adjustments and the doctor took care of that yesterday. But it's been almost two weeks and she continues to feel really tired and dizzy. At one point it was hard to breathe. We did go into the ER doctors medical assistance advice. They did a full CAT scan of the chest to double-check things and all numbers and vitals and everything's looking great. But she's in an overall fog and just really really tired and borderline dizzy at times. She does spot check her pulse and everything's good and her blood pressure is good too during those times. Has anyone else had experience of this after pacemaker? Is this something that might go away? Is it just the body adjusting perhaps? Thank you guys so much for your time this club has been great. My wife and I both look at these. And the one who's the nerd who uses the phone to log in :-) take care. Preston

2 Comments

It takes a while:

by Theknotguy - 2018-02-03 16:36:40

It takes a while for the body to adjust.  Unfortunately we live in the Mickey-D world where we can walk into a store, order what we want and walk out with the items.  No waiting, no muss, no fuss. But the body doesn't work that way.  And, of course, we have people post that everything is marvelous which doesn't help either.  Everyone is different.  

After I got  my pacemaker, it was three months before everything started to settle down.  At or about eight weeks my heart had, for lack of a better term, a temper tantrum.  It was tired of being ordered around by the pacemaker and decided to go on a bad case of afib with RVR.   Took a trip to the ER to get everything settled down.  After that, things started getting better.  At five months things had changed to where I could ask my EP to turn on one of the features my pacemaker had.  I think it was another six months after that before I had him turn on yet another feature.  It just takes time.  Now I'm four years with my pacemaker and getting along fine.  Still have dizzy spells occasionally but that can be attributed to other medication I'm taking.  

Most EP's don't want to make changes at first because they want to see what the heart will settle into and that takes a while.  How long depends upon you, your body, and your heart.  Also if they keep making changes, they'll never know what is working and what isn't.  It's really hard to just sit there and wait, but you don't want to make too many changes and you don't want to run out of options.  I'd get a bump or a thump and think the big one was coming, but when nothing would happen I'd just shrug and go on. Like I said, the waiting was the hardest.  

As for tired and borderline dizzy at times - well, that can be a holdover from what caused her to need the pacemaker.  When people start to get sick from having heart problems, or any other problems, they cut back in their activities.  Then after they get the pacemaker they try to go back to a previous activity level conveniently forgetting they haven't been at that level for a while.  And, of course, the body just isn't up to it yet.  

So, yes, the adjustment does take a while for some people.  Hang in there.  Life does get better.  

Hope everything else is going well for you and your wife. 

This may sound strange...

by Gotrhythm - 2018-02-04 15:58:15

Everything others have said is good advice.

I'd like to add one more piece. It sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but have your wife notice anytime her symptoms seem worse, then do whatever she's doing as hard as she can with the object of making them even worse. (Be ready to sit down, even on the ground if neccessary, to prevent a fall.)

The reason is simple. Doctors can't treat what they can't see. Being able to show the doctor what you're talking about is worth a thousand words.

Sometimes people feel very fragile and tentative after getting a pacemaker. If you're worried, ask you doctor what level of activity is safe. But a pacemaker should make you more able, not less. Hearts are meant to work and it's good for them to work hard for a period of time. Trust the pacemaker. It's not going to quit on her, and it's not going to let her heart quit.

You know you're wired when...

Your license plate reads “Pacer4Life”.

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