Inquiring about pace maker surgery

Hi, I am 17 years old and after having an ablation that didnt work I am informed i would need to get a pacemaker fitted which I am extreemly scared about.I was wondering if anyone could tell me about how it feels after the surgery and if you can feel the pacemaker inside the body? Any advice would be good. Thanks in advance 

1 Comments

Getting a pacemaker

by Theknotguy - 2021-04-12 18:09:41

First, check the forum for younger people and send a direct message to them.  They would be able to give you a much better accounting of living with a pacemaker.  Since I'm over 65, I won't have your life style.  So you'd want a younger person's view.

Second, you shouldn't be scared.  The pacemaker is a help, not a hindrance.  Post implant and healing, I went back to a "normal" life doing "normal" activities.  In some cases I did more because I now had a stronger heartbeat.  Since I was unconscious when I got my pacemaker I can't tell you about the implant procedure.  From what others have said on the forum it isn't a major surgery and major recovery time after it's implanted.  I'll let others tell you about the procedure.  

Third, most of the time I don't feel the pacemaker inside my body.  I can get into a position where it gets pinched and I know it's there, but most of the time (I'm six years out) I don't even think about it, can't feel it, and don't know it's there.  I can see the lump where it is when I get up in the morning, but with a shirt on, no one knows I have it and no one sees it unless I point it out.

It is very scary, especially at your age, to learn you have to get a pacemaker.  Your feelings along that line are very normal.  But the point I want to make again is that it's a help and not a hindrance.  Your life should be much better and you should feel better for having it.  A lot of people wear glasses and we don't think a thing about it.  Same for the pacemaker.  A lot of people have them and get along fine.  Try to keep a positive attitude about getting the pacemaker.  

I hope your adjustment to your new pacemaker goes well.  

You know you're wired when...

You can feel your fingers and toes again.

Member Quotes

I am not planning on letting any of this shorten my life. I am planning on living a long happy battery operated life. You never know maybe it will keep me alive longer. I sure know one thing I would have been dead before starting school without it.