Missed this forum

It has been several years since I visited this site. This group got me through my pacemaker problems and helped me stay informed and in the know of what to ask and when to panic. I became at ease with my bionics and life took over again and I drifted away from this site.  I have sent several folks to this site and I always knew they were there if I needed them.  Got my pm in 2001.  Doc told me next year I will need a new battery.  Not looking forward to that, but I pace 100percent of the time and of course I do feel better with it.

Doc already checked and my leads are MRI compatible and he said new pacemaker would be MRI compliant as well.  

Watch out if yours is not MRI compliant.  Went to hospital a couple years ago and they were taking me down the hall to get MRI after I had told them several times about pm.  My friend who thank goodness had stayed with me asked them where they were taking me.  Good thing she did because I had a lot of drugs and was not really caring what they were doing.  She stopped them and I was taken by ambulance to bigger hospital.  Just be careful folks... Sometimes those medical folks don't listen to us.  As I get older I am finding this is more common.

Ok.. enough for now.  Welcome to all newbies.  This is the greatest bunch of people ever and I have never had a question that they could not answer.

 

5 Comments

On the other side of that coin

by AgentX86 - 2019-12-16 16:09:57

It took me a month of chasing paperwork to get an MRI.  Even though I carry the card on me with the model and serial numbers of my PM and leads, no one would touch me.  I know what leppers feel like.  ;-)  And getting two hospitals to talk to each other was like pulling teeth from of a chicken.

Happy, satisfied folk don't post!

by crustyg - 2019-12-16 16:50:01

And as Tracey_E has pointed out before, PM/ICD patients who are successfully getting on with their lives often don't post here - they are too busy with living!

Thanks for coming back.  As a retired doctor with a relatively new PM, at the end of my second career (outside medicine) I am continually reminded that personal experience is almost always more useful/powerful than training and textbooks, so it's great when folk do have the time to contribute.

Thanks

by qwerty - 2019-12-16 21:41:54

I hope my new one fits better.  It has always been a huge lump.  I gained some weight but still too big to do any sleet shooting.

Oh. And for some reason that no one could ever explain.. mine was put on right side.  Makes recovery a little bit harder since I am right handed.

I laughed because my current doc says that was stupid!

Oh well... Too late to change now.  Thanks for encouraging words.  I will be happy ignoring it till he says it is time.

I got on the board today because I am sanding my floor.  The little electric sander instructions gave me pause, but these guys on here are great and relived my fears.  I should finish up tomorrow!

Thanks again

Pacemaker Club

by Gemita - 2019-12-17 04:30:52

Dear Qwerty,

Yes I am fairly new to pacing and to this forum and I must say the PM Club is a wonderful place to come for information and reassurance.  It fills in many gaps left by our hard pressed doctors who may not have the time to cover so much detail during our appointments.  I have definitely learnt more from pacemaker patients here on this forum than from my doctors.  Sad, but true.

The only criticism for me is that (?perhaps in part due to the technical complexities of pacing) some posts from members appear to go unanswered - they may get say 150 views, but "0" comments.  Equally some members do not always follow up on answers received to their posts. I imagine this puts many members off from posting/responding.  Not really sure what the answer is since I appreciate making a contribution and answering mail takes time and effort.

I hope Qwerty you continue to make excellent progress and that your battery change goes well next year.  I wish they could develop a battery that lasts forever - they would make a fortune!  I may need an MRI soon so hope for an uneventful procedure

same here

by dwelch - 2019-12-21 12:22:29

I found this club around the time I was getting device number four I think and then kinda faded away then device number five and I have for whatever reason tried to keep up.  We have lives to live, we only have so much knowledge and advice and comfort to give and have lives to live.

And its not just about giving at this site most/all of us are patients as well so we need to take a little back from time to time when it is pacer time for us.

Welcome back hope the new device goes well, my experience is they do keep getting smaller, but then I needed a three lead so its a little bigger, but compared to my first device 32 years ago these are all wee tiny things...

 

You know you're wired when...

Bad hair days can be blamed on your device shorting out.

Member Quotes

It is just over 10 years since a dual lead device was implanted for complete heart block. It has worked perfectly and I have traveled well near two million miles internationally since then.