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Moving ON
I've had my PM for 1 month now and the bruising and muscle pain are gone. I've done my first transmission and was told that all was well. My question is, does the anxiety / worry / concern go away. Physically I don't feel too bad and really think I'm recovering and doing ok, but my thoughts and worry is what I want to move away from. Thanks.
7 Comments
Adjusting to a heart devive
by Dove1 - 2019-05-01 23:10:54
100% paced, 100% worried. This is a computer with a battery. Be realistic, any heart condition serious enough to warrant this treatment can mess with your mind initially. It gets better with time and is perfectly normal to think about it alot in the first year. A good sense of humor helps too! Hang in there!
Adjusting
by AgentX86 - 2019-05-01 23:50:50
Wrong way to look at it. I'm not just 100% paced but also dependent (not even an escape rhythm) and 0% worried (well, maybe 1%). My pacemaker is great! It could easily be worse. My brother died from SCA, which a pacemaker could have prevented. He didn't know. I did.
worry
by Tracey_E - 2019-05-02 09:46:19
Worry is normal but we can't let it rule us. We are dependent on computers all the time. Pacemakers are ridiculously simple compared to the technology needed to keep a plane in the air yet most of us hop on a plane and don't give it a thought.
I found the best way to stop thinking about it was to stay busy. Go outside and take a walk, work in the yard, hike, get on a bike. Fresh air and adrenaline are great medicine. The more we do, the better we feel and the easier it is to trust the pacer to do its job. The busier we are, the less we have time to think about it. One day you'll realized you barely think about it anymore. We all obsess at first, that's totally normal. But it doesn't last forever.
Scary stuff!
by shirley d - 2019-05-02 14:01:20
Yip, scary... it is your heart! soooo it is normal to worry, but not to obsess.
You mentioned you were feeling better. Perfect! In a couple of months, that may change to feeling great!
With my first pacemaker, I was hyper-vigilant and worried about every little twinge. It was not a good experience!
This time I decided I would find and focus on the positives and though only 2.5 months into it I am sickeningly pleased with myself.
I also teach and am pleased to be able to get through a busy active day filled with the little successes and many frustrations that make the job something to look forward to. You know how that goes from personal experience.
Try finding the little successes that make each day worthwhile.
Best of luck and happy pacing!
There I was walking down the hiking trail
by Theknotguy - 2019-05-02 16:13:22
There I was walking down the hiking trail with the two dogs. We were having a great time. Turned the corner to go on the exit trail, everything went black. Woke up in the hospital six days later with a pacemaker already implanted and working. Surprise!!!
So, yeah, had the anxiety / worry / concern not to mention being sent to a rest home to recuperate, then having to go through all sorts of therapy to get back to "normal". I think it was nine months before I got out of the car and walked across the parking lot without thinking about my pacemaker. Then I found this forum so I had more reminders about having a pacemaker. It was over two years before I finally stopped thinking about my pacemaker all the time.
So, yeah, eventually the anxiety / worry / concern does go away. For me being on the forum helped because a lot of the "what if" questions were answered without me having to ask. I also saw a psychologist who specialized in heart trauma (Yes there are people out there like that.) and she was a great help. I feel I thought about mine more than most because of the trauma I went through before and after I got to the hospital. (The EMT's broke all the ribs on my right side and collapsed the lung giving me CPR.)
If you feel the anxiety / worry / concern is taking over your life there are professional people who can help. If it's just idle curiosity and you feel good otherwise the answer is, yes the anxiety / worry / concern does eventually go away.
My best wishes for you and I hope your adjustment to the new life is going well.
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Member Quotes
I just want to share about the quality of life after my pacemaker, and hopefully increase awareness that lifestyles do not have to be drastically modified just because we are pacemaker recipients.
It's up to you
by AgentX86 - 2019-05-01 22:57:43
You have control over your attitude but perhaps counceling would help get your head straight? My attitude was that this thing is going to not only let me live but make my life better. It did. No regrets.