I feel my PM...???

sometimes

by Tracey_E - 2020-07-27 10:05:03

It's not normal, but it's not uncommon either. It can continue to settle in over 6 months up to a year so it should get at least somewhat better than it is now. I can't see mine anymore but I can feel it when I shower. 

Visible Pacemaker

by Marybird - 2020-07-27 12:18:11

I always thought pacemakers tended to be more visible (usually as a bulge) in thinner people, depending on how much fat was in the area where they were placed. I had a slight bulge visible for perhaps the first couple months after I got my pacemaker, but I think that was some tissue swelling  that subsided after that. I can't see that bulge anymore, but I can feel it very well when I touch the area gently. I don't expect that will go away. 

Mine is 100% visible

by crustyg - 2020-07-27 13:24:10

Fairly thin, not particularly well muscled (I weigh 70kg, 1.76m), mine is 100% visible by the pool.  But I have the EP - larger battery - model.

No one comments on it.  And I wouldn't care or be insulted if they did.

I was incredibly lucky to grow up around folk who weren't entirely normal - mid-thigh amputee (saw him swimming without his leg), taught to SCUBA dive by lady with *TWO* false legs (both below knee) that had locked-on fins - watching her remove her normal legs by a dive site was a real treat, two colleagues born with a missing hand (apparently one was a whiz at tennis), bought a SatNav in our local car shop from a front-of-house guy with a missing hand etc.  All true, nothing made up.

I don't think world+dog notices these days since the TV success of the Paralympics and the Invictus Games.

Visible pacemaker

by AgentX86 - 2020-07-27 14:27:31

The first few months I had a lot of swelling. That went away but my pacemaker and leads are still clearly visible. There isn't enough tissue over it and the leads to compress. It's a hard lump. My leads are still a bit sensitive to direct pressure.

The important thing is to leave it alone. There is a problem known as twiddlers syndrome and it can be quite dangerous.

Visible pacemaker is

by Aberdeen - 2020-07-27 15:52:58

Just over 2 months after having a CRT pacemaker mine is visible and if I move my arm back you can see the outline. Having said that it is less visible than a month ago. Try not to touch it and be gentle while washing it. I was also told to avoid power showers spraying directly on to the site.

not as skinny as I used to be

by dwelch - 2020-07-28 03:56:40

Not skinny at all anymore, but when I was 19 and got my first one and they were a lot bigger then, it was a bulge you could easily see, but even then nature likes to smooth things out on the body so it will do some work to smooth it out.  But depending on the device and how thin you are it may show, just like the scar shows...

In the grand scheme of things it is what it is.  

Two months in you are still recovering from the implant, just give it time, it will become less sensitive over time but may always be more tender than your other shoulder.  You will get used to this and protect it, just like other tender parts of your body.  And your body will pad it and smooth it out, how much cant be determined ahead of time.

Esp with it being partly visible.  You know how some folks cant look at a loose tooth when their kid wiggles it.  Some folks freak when you put your fingers on each side and wiggle the device.  Try it out next time someone asks how did it go, can I see it...or ask if they want to see it...Have fun with it, it is part of you.

Even with me not skinny now if I put my hand on the pacer side vs the other side I still feel it as if it is a bulge, but in the mirror you dont see it unless I put my fingers on each side and move it.

Feeling the Pacemaker

by Marybird - 2020-07-28 13:30:22

Even after 13 months it still feels a little bit tender when I gently touch the area where the pacemaker is located. Though I've gotten used to the thing, and am grateful it's working so well, it still unnerves me some to touch it. Maybe it's like my belly button in that regard, I don't like touching that either, LOL. 

It seems to move over a bit, or becomes a tad more prominent, or something, when I lie on my right side. I can feel the edge of it right against my left shoulder, but it doesn't bother me there. In either case, I'd just prefer to leave it be to do its own thing, and touch it as little as possible. 

Don't think there is any worry that I'd be a "twiddler". I can't imagine grabbing the edges and twisting or twirling it around. I see it's also advised NOT to do that on medical sites.