Newbee

Hi Mike 👋🏼

by Lavender - 2023-03-16 18:33:50

I could call myself my3boys. Lol love that you have four!!

You sound pretty calm for a newbie. Let me be the first to tell you to stay well hydrated. You need more water now that your heart's working more efficiently. Getting dehydrated can make you woozy. 
 

Your body is adjusting and healing. You might need a nap now n then until you get completely healed inside and out. It's going to get much better in time! How you feel today is not how you're going to feel in another few weeks. 
 

lotsa life still ahead to enjoy!

Hi

by Penguin - 2023-03-16 20:15:25

Welcome from me. I'm sorry to hear that you still feel lightheaded. It is very early days and it's possible that this might improve. The operation, worry, stress etc can affect you adversely, along with any new medications prescribed or dropped. 

If you've been reading posts on here you will know that pacemakers usually need to be tweaked to suit you once they have been implanted. Initial settings are usually a pretty good estimate of what will help you, but after that it's important that those settings are viewed with flexibility and changed to suit you. Give it a bit of time and see how you go but then speak up about anything that doesn't feel right to you e.g. the lightheadedness if this doesn't resolve.

'The pacemaker is working fine' is a reassuring statement if you're concerned that the device may be faulty, but means very little if it isn't 'working for you'.   It's worth saying to the technicians that your concern is not whether or not the device is working, but rather you are concerned that the current settings may not be working well for you and that you would like to explore adjusting settings to address the symptoms of lightheadedness (if they don't go away.)

I hope this helps you raise your concerns effectively. 

Thanks

by My4boys - 2023-03-16 20:44:27

Thank you guys!! I appreciate the support!

mike 

Questions to ask on appt 1

by Persephone - 2023-03-16 21:14:03

Hi 4 boys - nice to meet you and glad you're feeling generally OK. If you use the search function at the top of the site you can find lots of posts about what to ask at appt 1 by using terms like "questions", 'first appointment" and similar. This really helped me in my first appt as I had no clue what to ask. I'm a paper note taker so I try to write down my questions on a pad of paper and bring it with me to record the answers, but using a phone works better for others.

 I assume you can expect a second appointment in the not too far off future and this first one is going to be mostly a wound check and "is all communicating OK" check.

Light headedness

by piglet22 - 2023-03-17 07:41:34

Hello

Can you describe your light headedness a bit more.

Is it postural? i.e. when you get up from sitting down or lying down?

Postural symptoms are linked to blood pressure on the low side.

Two bits of advice. Take as many readings (blood pressure, sats, pulse rate) as you can. This will give you some evidence of what goes on outside the clinic.

When you go to the clinics make sure you get answers to questions you might have. None of them are dumb.

There are two groups of players in the cinical situation. There are the cardiac physiologists (CPs) (UK term) who do a great job of changing settings, battery life etc.

Then there are the consultants. The CPs do what the consultants ask them to do plus the routine housekeeping.

If you have any doubts that things don't feel right, tell the CPs and get them to refer your questions to the consultants.

If that fails use the General Practitioner (GP) referral route.

As Penguin says, "the pacemaker is normal" is not the same as "you are feeling well"

I had this too

by fattima - 2023-03-17 08:01:43

Are you on any medication? I was put on beta blockers post surgery and they made me feel terrible, very lightheaded to the point I had trouble standing. I talked with my doctor and he took me off them, I feel fine now.

Another Newbee

by blocker44 - 2023-03-17 19:49:54

Hi Mike

Same symptons with me. I'm a 68 year male in very good physical condition...and this past Monday 3/13/2023 had my pacemaker implanted, a Medtronic Azure 2 lead device. The first three days after I felt the same symptoms after a short walk. I saw very erratic heart rates on my Fitbit. The lightheaded feeling went away, but I would feel fuzzy for hours afterward. I am in my fourth day now and just came back from a mile walk and I feel fine. The heart rate on my walk appeared to be normal for me. I am hoping that it is just part of the healing process after surgery. 

On 02/07/2023 I had a TAVR procedure done because I had  severe aortic stenosis. I had the same symptoms for about a week after that procedure as well. I hope it is a temporary issue for both of us. I will be following your post to read additional comments from other members on the Pacemaker Club