Symptoms with PM Battery End of Life

Battery end of life symptoms

by LondonAndy - 2020-06-27 15:37:48

I have a Medtronic Ensura, which was fitted in 2014, and when I went for my first checkup I asked the technician what would be the symptoms of battery end of life.  I am 100% paced so wanted to know everything!

He said that all the advanced functions get turned off, eg rate response, and it just operates in basic mode.  He then set the device to do this and asked me to walk down the hospital corridor slowly.  I felt ok but my heart felt heavy. I wonder if this explains your symptoms - when the pacemaker would normally kick in more, it isn't doing so?  

Also, ordinary batteries are quite funny, and a good shake can revitalise them a bit!  I wonder if your battery is only just below the EOL threshold and drifting between EOL mode and regular operation?  But this is a guess by me - hopefully somebody else can shed more light!

Symptoms

by Gemita - 2020-06-27 16:55:51

Hello Yakkwak,

Excessive yawning and fatigue can point to many conditions, from some common ones like boredom, sleep problems, anxiety, yawning to get air into lungs, to more serious medical conditions.  

A family member has had a brain stem injury from an ischemic stroke and one of his symptoms has been excessive, loud yawning which can happen involuntarily even when out in public.  I was very concerned when it first started occurring until his neurologist explained to me that it was related to his brain injury.  

I am not suggesting you have a serious brain injury but the sudden fatigue and excessive yawning needs to be discussed with your doctors since the yawning could be of significance and either point to problems with pacing or problems with your heart and lungs.  I would get checked and have them run some blood tests.  

Cardiologist

by AgentX86 - 2020-06-27 22:19:14

My PM clinic is in my cardiologist's office too.  I could go to my EP but he's a major hospital in mid-town Atlanta (a PITA to get to - and in the middle of BLM "protests" right now). It's not unusual to have a cardiologist take care of the PM, rather than your EP. However, if your cardiologist, or anyone else, isn't taking care of your needs you really need to go somewhere else.  It is important to take care of this before it becomes an emergency.

Thanks

by Yakkwak - 2020-06-27 23:41:49

Thank you all. I am now experiencing what feels like a whole lot of benign PVC's so I have placed a call to the EP.  Appreciate the feedback. This forum is a blessing.

Went into End of Life Mode

by Yakkwak - 2020-06-29 19:38:48

Had an interrogation this morning.  It confirmed what I thought; my PM went into end-of-life mode.  Am scheduled for (3rd) PM one week from today.  Would appreciate any advice on how to deal with the awful feeling.  Any tricks to make this less irritating?  Feels like stuff moving in my throat and chest.  Is anyone familiar with why working with one lead feels so uncomfortable?  Thank you.

unipolar

by Tracey_E - 2020-06-29 20:48:20

I didn't understand the technicalities of it, but if they switched it to unipolar, it feels AWFUL! They did that when my lead went bad and I didn't even leave the office before begging them to switch it back, every beat felt like a little spark. EOL is uncomfortable if you pace a lot, it's no longer responsive and going up and down as needed but rather pacing at a steady rate. If you have av block, then the heart is no longer in sync. The top is doing its thing but the bottom is being paced at a steady rate, not in sync with the atria. Safe but not fun. Take it easy until next week, don't do anything to exert. 

end of life

by dwelch - 2020-06-30 10:43:25

You should take your pulse now before you get the new one.  A couple of times now I have gone into the saftey mode.  it locked me at 65 bpm or so, (take a full minute against a clock dont use a moinitor, etc, no shortcuts) and couldnt climb the stairs at work, etc.  would wipe me out half way up. 

The "good" side effect of being in this mode is that you may/should feel it and indiciate that you should call someone.  You have months but you feel it every day and the scheduling person certainly heard from me when she was telling me three weeks, I called a few times to try to get that bumped up and if I remember right was successful.  If you dont feel it then you may burn through those months.  Not so when I started this so long ago, but these days they do or should do some form of testing (these days this take home box) every month or so to confirm the battery status.  The estimates are bogus until they say weeks go to, so you cant really go by the estimate from the laptop.  I my experience they increase visits or tests the last couple/three years of the estimated battery life.