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Pain
- by mmccleary
- 2020-12-13 17:17:11
- Surgery & Recovery
- 1005 views
- 5 comments
Hello everyone. I am a newbie with a Medtronic 2 lead PM that was put in 3 days ago. I have stage 2 heart block, Morbiz II. I'm 67 year old female that is a little over weight. With the onslot of the heart block I have had very little activity because my pulse would drop so low and I would be exhausted. Since I have gotten the PM, I feel great with a normal, non erratic pulse.
My question is with the pain I am experiencing in the incision site. It is not hot, not red, not weepy through the steri strips, but boy, does my chest on the righ side hurt!!!! I can actually feel the device under the strips too, even though I know that is probably normal. But is it normal for this type of tender pain? I find I am over compensating with posture and I can only sleep on my back which is hard as I'm a side sleeper. Can this also cause discomfort acrost my chest and back? I did not recieve any kind of pain medication so I'm just taking tylenol every 4 -6 hrs and using ice. I can tolerate it if I know this is temporary, but just affraid something is not quite right. My check up is in 4 days.
Thanks for any feed back.
5 Comments
Pain
by AgentX86 - 2020-12-13 18:09:08
Welcome to the club which no one wants be a member.
Pain after implant varies all over the place. Some have virtually no pain (me) and others quite significant pain (you). Interestingly, I was the one given narcotics (Vicodin), though didn't use any. I went back to work the next day. Even so, I couldn't sleep in the bed for some time. I'm either a stomach or right side sleeper and either was excrutiating. Neither one was going to work so I slept in a recliner for some time. I was used to it because I'd slept in the recliner for five months after my CABG. Because we (all) vary so much in the amount of pain, our needs are going to be very different. You're going to have to figure out what works for you. I'm sure many here will chime in with what worked for them, which will be a starting place, anyway.
Don't worry, the pain should diminish significantly over the next few days, even. There will be some pain for some time but it should be quite manageable after a few more days and taper off into the background within a few weeks. Howeve, direct contact can be painful for some time. Mine hurt for about eight months if anything touched it. It also itched like crazy so it was a choice between pain and itch (I'll take the pain any day). There are a lot of nerves that get disturbed during the surgery so there can be all sorts of sensations anywhere in that general area until they knit back together (can take months).
You undoubtably have a singificant amount of swelling, which is going to exagerate the size of the PM. This will go down shortly too. Jut watch for signs of infection. Infections can be deadly serious. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution.
Since you're feeling so good, you have this knocked. Just put up with it for a few more days and you should be better than ever. Consider yourself fortunate. You'll have a new lease on life.
Welcome.
by Graham M - 2020-12-13 18:23:51
Welcome to the wonderful world of pacing. You've already said that you feel great, and I can assure you it continues to get better.
Although the surgery is fairly minor, it is quite invasive, and the pain is inevitable. I had to sleep sitting up for the first week, but by 10 days, the pain had gone, Like you, I was getting pain in other muscles which I guess is only normal. I could also feel the my pacemaker, and 16 months on, I am still aware of it, but I am getting used to it.
You are doing the right thing by taking Tylenol and using ice. Anything stronger is not really necessary, but it is important to keep your arm moving to prevent frozen shoulder. I was told to make circular movements with my shoulder, and keep as active as possible without lifting my arm above my head for the first 4 weeks.
I like your positive attitude, and wish you the best,
Graham.
Tenderness
by Persephone - 2020-12-13 19:32:57
Hi mmccleary, I also experienced quite a bit of tenderness at the implant site that took a good while to resolve. Take good care and remind others not to hug you too hard, yet. Sleep when you can and take it easy on yourself. Glad you're feeling great otherwise...it will continue to get better from here.
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Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.
Pain
by Sisterwash65 - 2020-12-13 17:57:25
Hi, MMcleary...I think 3 days out some pain at the incision site is totally normal. And it sounds like the Tylenol and icing is exactly what you need to be doing. I got my PM in May,2020 and the memory is still very " fresh!" My doc gave me pain meds ( Hydrocodone) that I only took one time. Tylenol worked better for me. I can sympathize with your being a side sleeper, though. I'm the same and can't sleep well on my back. Have you tried holding a king size pillow and lying somewhat on your side ? Maybe the opposite side from PM ? That might work. It helped me until the soreness let up - that was about 5-6 weeks out. I also had heart block and I have a dual chamber Medtronic PM. I'm feeling much better now and I sure hope your pain will subside soon !!