Concerns about Pacemaker surgery

Difference

by AgentX86 - 2022-01-24 22:43:31

Prior to October?  Or the last year (66 to 67)?

A year without exercise makes a big difference. Even three months inactive will take months to reverse. It doesn't take very long to have to start from zero.

That said, a lot depends on why you have your pacemaker, which pacemaker, and how it's set up.  There is a lot your pacemaker clinic can do to optimize it but it may take some time and significant help from your EP.  It would be a miracle if it came out of the box optimized for your body and lifestyle. Tell your EP about your needs.  No one is going to do anything unless asked (demanded).  Without being told otherwise, they may assume you're like the stereotypical 77yo - shuffleboard, bridge, and The Shopping Network.  ;-)

optimizing settings

by Julros - 2022-01-25 10:52:52

My EP's office seemed to find it amusing that I wanted my settings adjusted for exercise. They said " no one ever asks for that."  I convicned them to do a few tweeks that helped, but cautioned me that at my age (63) not to expect too much. No one even asked what my baseline of activiity was. 

 Finally after a years time, I had a treadmill evaluation with the pacer rep, who really optimized the settings. I run 15 miles a week and bike when the weather is decent. 

Settings

by doublehorn48 - 2022-01-25 12:20:12

I agree with Julros, make sure the settings are correct for your lifestyle. 5 miles in an hour on a treadmill is impressice for any age. It takes me months to get back to the same mileage and pace when I have had to quit jogging for a few months. The oldest person to run a marathon was 100 years old. I hope one of us beats that record.

New pacemaker

by Theknotguy - 2022-01-25 15:43:18

One of the hardest things to get into your mind is that you don't immediately go back to 100% after you have the pacemaker implant.  You can find videos on YouTube on the Internet that show a pacemaker implant.  After seeing that I was surprised I wasn't a lot more sore than I was.  That can really affect your performance.

The next thing to remember is that things are always changing.  Especially during the first year.  So what affects you today won't be the same for next week, or the week after that.  Changes can go for the life of your pacemaker too.  I was five years out and ran into a problem with rate response.  Had to have changes made when I was thinking no more changes were needed.

People have told you to adjust your rate response.  That's true, but sometimes you'll have to work into the situation.  Find out your rate response isn't working, then have it changed.  So if you get the idea it's a one time fix I feel you'll be sadly mistaken.  It's a process and not a one time fix.

Since I had a lot of trauma before I got my pacemaker (two rounds of CPR) it was a two year process to get back to "normal".  And even then as I indicated above I still had another fix at five years out.

Otherwise I hope the adjustment to your pacemaker goes well.
 

Back in the Saddle

by Stache - 2022-01-25 17:17:16

I am 68 and a huge bicycle rider.  After my cardiac arrest, everything was stopped. My doctor told me to start walking again as soon as I could, 50-yards the first day and each day a little longer until I took my first 1-hour walk that I usually did every morning. I was afraid something would happen.

Two months later I took my first bicyle ride a short one but it boosted my courage.  I am up to about 25-miles for each ride now, it's cold outside.  Don't like the cold.

Doctor says ride as much as I can take my pacer will react to my muscules and speed up my heart.  I still have fear but it is getting better with each ride.  Plan to be doing 100-mile rides this spring one year after my event happened.  It's really all in our heads.  Fear is a major issue we have to get over.

It might take a few tries to find the right settings for you

by Elisabet - 2022-01-25 18:40:15

I'll just add that the default "old lady settings" were way off for my 52 year old level of activity. I ended up getting stuck with them for way too long because of an unrelated long hospitalization. It took awhile to get the proper settings teased out from other things going on in my life, including the deconditioning from not being able to walk for a few months.

One issue i ran into was my upper rate being set too low; when my heart rate got up to its limit while trying to exercise it would start skipping pacing my ventricles every third or fourth beat, tryng to get back into sync. I'm naturally paced but my pacemaker kept trying to override it. 

Learn to talk pacemaker

by Gotrhythm - 2022-01-26 13:25:08

When I first got my pacemaker I didn't know there was such a thing as settings. I thought that how you feel with a pacemaker--well, that's just how you feel--and since I did feel better I kind of got the message that I shouldn't complain about having to walk slowly. I was 68 they reminded me. 

Your pacemaker comes with already programmed factory settings. Sort of one size fits all that will fundamentally keep you alive and not be too much for those who are sedentary or debilitated. If you try to walk 5 miles an hour with those settings you will feel terrible!

Fortunately, your pacemaker is a remarkable piece of engineering that can and should be tuned to an individual's requirements so that the pacemaker can support your activity style--whatever that is regardless of your age.

The first thing you need to do is find out what your settings are. Ask for a print out. Someone here will help you interpret it. Then, rather than complain about what you feel, ask for specific changes. Again, if you don't know what to ask, someone here can make suggestions.

You're not the first person here to have run into ageism, and you won't be the last. The biggest challenge my pacemaker gave me was learning how to advocate for myself. To be effective, I realized I had to learn to speak their language at least enough to tell them what I needed.

Learn to talk

by AgentX86 - 2022-01-26 15:35:45

Just to add one minor point to what Gotrhyhm said above,  If you take the time to learn the language at least well enough that you can talk about your needs, you doctor and PM techs will spend a lot mode time with you.  If you show an interest in learning, doctors are much more willing to teach.

True, true, true

by Gotrhythm - 2022-01-27 11:24:02

What AgentX said.