Pacemaker and shoulder muscle

19 months since Sparky arrived and all the EP visits have been just fine - zero issues with the pacemaker, but I do have a question.

I'm right handed and the PM is on the left side in what I would guess is the normal kind of pocket maybe an inch or so below my colar bone and maybe 2 inches from my rotator cup.

Over the past few months, I've been expierencing some discomfort when I try to sleep on my left side as the edge of the PM seems to dig into the muscle between the PM and my shoulder ... so I've been only really able to sleep on my right side.

I've also experienced discomfort when bench pressing or other excercises that move the edge of the PM closer to my shoulder.

Any thoughts?  Anyone else had to deal with this concern?

Thanks

Marty

2 Comments

Muscle problems

by Theknotguy - 2019-01-04 21:45:56

I had a similar problem where I would have spasms in the rhomboid muscles just below the neck on the left side.  I also had had quite a lot of damage due to CPR.  Consequently, as soon as I could I started working with a licensed massage therapist.  

Point being here, that I worked with a licensed massage therapist who went back to her instructors and did some additional research to make sure she knew how to work with someone who had a pacemaker.  We have another person on the forum who had a bad experience with a massage therapist and is quick to point that out.  So there is a word of caution about working with a massage therapist who doesn't know what to do concerning a pacemaker.  If you do decide to use a massage therapist you'll want to make sure they are licensed and they are aware of what to do with a pacemaker.  

Like I said, I had a lot of damage due to CPR and it took several years for the massage therapist to work that out.  What we were able to find was the electrical signal that stimulated my heartbeat was also keeping the muscle nerves tight too.  Gradually as the therapist was able to work out the muscle stiffness, the spasms declined in frequency and then quit.  

I also had a lot of trouble sleeping on my left side.  Due to damage done during CPR it was over three years before I could even attempt to sleep on my left side.  Mostly it was due to muscle damage and swelling.  

Hope this gives you some insight into what may be going on and will be helpful to you.  
 

shifting

by Tracey_E - 2019-01-05 10:51:13

My pacer shifted from where it was put under the pectoral, so now the edge sticks out. Sometimes it catches on the edge of my workout bra, sometimes it shifts and is uncomfortable to sleep on my left side. My ep said it wasn't going to get damaged being that way. We discussed repositioning it and putting it back deeper where it's supposed to be but I decided it was more annoying than painful so I chose not to. 

Have your doctor check it, maybe do an xray to see if it's shifted. Mine drifted out of the pocket a bit on its own, just enough that the edge was out if I moved the wrong way, then I caught that edge while scaling a wall in a Spartan race. But I got over the wall and finished the race, and my doctor didnt tell me no more Spartans. I will, however, lead with the right side when scaling walls next time :oD 

You know you're wired when...

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