Check up postponed

If you have a Latitude remote monitor that's connected it will warn your EP team

by crustyg - 2020-04-08 12:07:16

With any luck you have a large Latitude remote monitor sitting under your bed that flashes the network connection or 4G data dongle every so often as it keeps the connection alive.  Your BostonSci unit (you haven't specified which one) will be briefly interrogated every night by the Latitude unit and if there's anything serious it will report back to your EP centre and they will call you.

If not, then if you feel good and can do all the things that you could last week/month/quarter then probably your unit is working fine.

HTH.

I wish!

by MissFitts - 2020-04-08 12:20:04

No, sadly nothing under the bed other than the odd lost sock. 

I do feel fine, but was expecting the postponed appointment to be rather earlier than next April. Hence a vague unease. I shall have a firm word with myself.

PM clinic appointment canceled

by AgentX86 - 2020-04-08 13:16:30

If it's been two years since you've had a pacemaker clinic appointment a couple of more months isn't going to matter. If you're feeling good just schedule another appointment and don't worry about it.

Appointment schedule

by MissFitts - 2020-04-08 15:15:03

No, Agent, it is one year since my check up, not two years.  Two years since it was implanted.

So the appointment for April 2021 will then  make it two years between check ups, an extra year not a couple of months.

Nevertheless, if I suspect anything  untoward, I will speak to the department.

It's gonna be all right

by Gotrhythm - 2020-04-08 18:03:29

Do you have any sort of remote transmission capability? My pacemaker is nine years old so I have the old Merlin. It's not automatic, but should I have any questions, I can always send a transmission. In fact for several years, I was only seen once a year, and six months later did a remote.

In fact, I got so sick of being told, "your pacemaker is working fine" when I knew something was wrong, I went for more than a year without any pacemaker check at all. (Something was wrong--just not with the pacemaker.)

If you feel okay, there isn't much to worry about. Pacemakers really are tough and dependable. They give them to people with a whole lot less access to medical care than those of us in the developed world. I'm sure if you need to be seen in a pinch, you will be.

Transmi

by MissFitts - 2020-04-08 18:10:39

Thanks, Gotrhythm. No transmission, at least it has never been mentioned, presumably I would have been told if my PM did anything fancy.  Yes, I am sure I would be seen if I was worried and I asked. 

More things to worry about these days than a pacemaker which gives every impression of behaving itself. So I will stop worrying.

PM clinic appointment canceled

by AgentX86 - 2020-04-08 22:28:41

Sorry, I misread your post.  If you're on a one-year schedule (rather unusual having a PM for only two years) just reschedule your check for sometime this summer.  I have an appointment with my cardiologist in a couple of weeks and with the PM clinic May 1 but I'll just reschedule both for sometime in June or July.  I'm on a three month schedule with my cardiologist (one year with the EP) and three months with the PM clinic, though I can use the remote monitor for every other one. 

Anyway, you don't have to wait another year.  That letter was probably sent out by stupid software without the PM clinic's full knowledge. Just call them and make the appointment at a convienient time.

Good news

by Pacemum - 2020-04-09 04:52:27

I would take this as good news.  They must be confident with the pacemaker and the hospital are being realistic in respect of the time to catch up with the appointments.   They could bring forward the appointment if they catch up earlier.  It is better to be given this then to have appointments constantly cancelled.  I remember swine flu and having my daughters appointment moved to a later date about  3 or 4 times as they did not want her visiting the hospital during that epidemic. It is best to avoid hospitals at this time. 

Same here!

by arent80 - 2020-04-09 19:24:26

I had my PM put in 12/30/2019. I had my first X-Ray on 4/7/2020 but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. They are pushing it back to August. I've asked for it to be sooner as I don't want to wait another 4 months with all the issues I'm having.  Good luck to you and I hope your exam checks out just fine :-)

Delayed check up.

by MissFitts - 2020-04-10 13:25:59

Thank you Pacemum. Yes I hope the delay does indicate that they are confident with my previous results. Sorry to hear of your daughter’s repeated cancellations. AgentX86,  no doubt you are correct about it being an automated letter.

Arenas80, my first check up was about four months after insertion, so if you have to wait until August that is eight months. If you are having any issues it seems sensible to push  for an earlier appointment. After all, worrying cannot be good for you. 

I hope all goes well when you do get the check out,  very best wishes.xx 

My Appointment also Postponed

by Shaun - 2020-04-11 08:24:04

The NHS in the UK has only postponed low risk patients, so that in itself should be reassuring. I would have been much more concerned had my appointment not been postponed.