Am I always going to "FEEL" it?

Ok, I'm 28 and I got a pacemaker back in March of this year, and I am curious if any of you guys "feel" the pacemaker?? Mine is above my chest on the left side and the muscle that the pacemaker is on always feels weird....does anyone else have these kinds of things going on or am I just silly?

Thanks!!

4 Comments

You are not silly!

by ela-girl - 2007-09-17 03:09:15

Hi, aggietread!

l can tell you from experience that I, too, have "felt" my pacemaker and that you could be feeling it for a number of reasons. I know that right after my pm surgery, I was very focused on my new 'friend' and thought I was feeling it all the time. I think some of it was in my head because I was so tuned in to what my pm might be doing, but my EP and pacer tech did tell me this: if a pacer is going to feel the pm kick in at all, it will most likely be the ventricular beat because it is the 'strong beat' of the heart. Most times, pm patients also come out of surgery with factory settings that will get tweaked to you and your condition over the first few months. I have a dual lead pm and am 30 and had my pacer placed under the muscle into the breast and sewed down in the pocket. Sometimes I can just kinda feel it there. If your pm is working correctly, though, and you aren't having and problems, your pm should be your quiet little friend in your chest just doing it's job. It can take some time to heal, too.

Do call your doctor if you think something may not be right--they are there to help you. There is a lot pm recipients learn on their own from experience or from each other, so hang in there! Feel free to post whatever is on your mind...this is a great group of people on this site willing to respond. In most cases, someone here has "been there, done that!"

Happier pacing-
ela-girl

Not a worry

by peter - 2007-09-17 03:09:42

The sensations will ease off with time. Its normal and nothing to worry about. Relax

feelin it

by peacemaker - 2007-09-17 11:09:09

I have had my "friend" for 11 months I could still feel it
up to 8 months and even now and again. It is more a reassurance knowing it is there.
good luck.

I'm Feeling Ya!

by LucyCrawford - 2008-02-09 08:02:55

I had a pacemaker & deffibulator implanted Nov 2007 & mine is on the left side and bulges out . . so I feel it all the time!! But it always reminds me that it is there to keep me going & save me from another heart attack! Which is what I had in Oct 2007 & thank god I was already admitted into the hospital the night b4, because I actually died for 7 minutes.

I have beenn feeling good and I go for my 3 month check up next week!!


Lucy (my family calls me Braveheart)

You know you're wired when...

Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going.

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I consider my device to be so reliable, that I never think about a failure.