Scared PM is scheduled for 10/24

Scared - You have Reason

by donr - 2019-10-09 00:14:05

You are entering an unknown land - Some stranger w/ a very sharp knife is gonna muck around in your one & Only Heart.   You will be lying there helpless while this is all going on - totally out of control.

Look up the safety numbers on this procedure - well over 99.5 % successfull.  Now compare that w/ the "Horror" stories you read here & recognize that darned near every one in here has had some sort of something go awry - that's about 38,000 out of several million - & we are all still here to talk about it!   Also, darned near all of us hafe gone through the procedure more than once - we are just a long-lived tough bunch of old (and very young) birds.  This procedure is - according to the guys on the handle end of the knife - a "Minor procedure."   But privately they will admit that for the patient there is an authorized significanty great amount of justifiable fear. 

From the history of your immediate family, I'd say there is more to fear from doing nothing than from going through with it.  Although you did not specify how your relatives died from "Heart Issues."    Bradycardia is just what the PM was origin ally invented for, so you are on the fight side of technology & of history.

Read enough in here & you wiill realize that the only way your life will change is for the positive - unless you operate a big air driven jackhammer for the Texas Dept of highways breaking concrete.  If that is the case, go look for another job!  This is no time to be WORRYING about what you will be doing 6 months from now.  Just trust me, there will be very few changes in your life LONG TERM.   The immediate problems you will have post-op vary so much person-to-person that no one else can predict them for you.   Pain?  I never took anything stronger than Tylenol.  Mobility?  I was back at work two days later building a house - not using my left arm, however.  Others have a lot of pain.  Only you know how you react to pain.

I would say that at 43, you are doing this for those grandbabies, not for yourself.  Just keep tellinmg yoourself that & write us a note when it's all over & you are back home.

Donr

New PM

by Kettlebell man - 2019-10-09 00:50:26

We know exactly how you feel. Just had mine put in two weeks ago. and yes, you feel like your life is spinning in circles right now. But from what you said in your initial comment, your life will be much better after PM is put in. It’s very scary at first, but I can tell just after two short weeks of having it, you will be very thankful. And talk to family, friends about it. It helps 

Scared PM is scheduled fir 10/24

by NewGirl75 - 2019-10-09 08:11:13

Thank you all very much. While I am still very nervous I do feel better about this. I am also very thankful I found this support group! 
Kelly 

Understandable but little need

by AgentX86 - 2019-10-09 08:42:56

The way I saw things is that the alternative was a stopped heart and syncope, perhaps permanent. Add in the permanent relief from my Aflutter symptoms and it was a no brainer. No, I didn't like to have to make a choice but it was fantastic to be able to. My brother didn't get that chance.

Instead of dwelling on the pacemaker, think about what your life would be with and without it, knowing your situation now. You can only play the hand you're dealt. Thinking otherwise is a bottomless dark hole. Not a place worth investigating.

nothing to fear

by dwelch - 2019-10-13 23:35:18

I know that doesnt help.

The pacer is there to keep you alive, and return to normal, or in some cases create normal from where there wasnt only abnormal.

I have had pacers for over 30 years, am on number five.  Heart problems from birth, only found in my pre teens though.  My sports and other activities should have killed me before I got my pacer at 19, in hindsight, pretty lucky I guess.

There are multiple parts to this there is the physical, the surgery the getting through that first month, eventually you WILL forget it is there until you bump it or its time for an appointment.  Second is the mental, and this is different for everyone, but there is an adjustment, some folks fear the tech (dont trust it), some worry about their imperfections, some fear the tech in that they are scared of every pacemaker warning they see, which is on damn near everything from coffee makers to toothbrushes (yet its just legal ink, easy to print, but several nines 99.9999....% irrelevant, very few products to fear (do you work on power lines, power generators as in say hoover dam, or power transformers, etc?).   The mental can take longer than the physical.  In my case the pacer smoothed out my heart beat so much that I felt empty inside and didnt think my heart was beeting.  Took my pulse constantly for months.  Was always working BTW.

Your biggest problem with a pacemaker and grandbabies is that kids like to climb on adults, get comfy in their lap, etc.  And those tiny sharp elbows, hard heads, etc.  Youll get a hit to the pacer from time to time, wont hurt the pacer in any way, but youll feel that sting for a bit.  It happens, worth it though to have a child in your arms or in your lap or sitting on a couch with you, etc.  

Pacers really are easy to live with, the first few months, you wont believe us, but you will settle in and some time that first year it will become a part of you and it is smooth sailing from there on.  New pacer every 10 years give or take, the recovery is only physical at that point, so a matter of weeks.

I understand

by angkbee58 - 2019-10-21 15:47:30

I know your mind must be racing with all kinds of thoughts. I had my pacemaker inplanted this past February. I am 59. I was scared my life was going to be horrible after getting one. Actually, it has been amazing since then. I never realized how bad I felt until I felt so good after my recovery. I have more energy to do more things in my life. We never back down from a challenge. I work out at a gym for one hour or more 5 days a week. I am able to walk more than 10,000 a day. I have not been short of breath or endurance since recovering. I will admit, it was a bit painful because I was given no pain meds. But that was ok. I took some Aleve and it kept the pain from being so awful. Sleeping on my left side didn't happen until about 4 months later. I thought I was going to go crazy not getting to sleep on that side. You will do fine and you will be amazed at how much better you feel. You have every right to be scared. I was scared. I couldn't quit thinking about it and researching it online. I hope you have a good experience. Just know that everyone's experience is not the same. Some people have an awful time and others like my husband don't experience much pain or discomfort. It's a individual thing.

PM is in

by NewGirl75 - 2019-10-27 23:09:02

I am now 3 days with my PM and all in all my heart feels better. No dizziness or shortness of breath. Still In a lot of pain but I do believe Worth it. Heart races at times so I am definitely going to get with the EP about this but I am hopeful about the future. Thank you everyone!!