diaphragm flutter

Has anyone experience flutters /spasms in your diaphragm that is related to you pacemaker ? I srted having them 6 months after my Medtronic biventricular pacemaker was put in. I am 100% paced , ventrically. Both my internist and neurologist say it's pacemaker related...my electrophysiologist says it is not. I have had every test their is to test  triggers , with no luck.


5 Comments

diaphragmatic stimulation

by Julros - 2023-03-29 14:03:43

Yes, I did have this.It would increase with certain positions, and it seem to trigger my GERD.  It is also called phrenic nerve stimulation. I have seen patients' tummies jiggle when the stimulation was strong enough. The manufacturing rep who was present during a treadmill to optimize my exercise settings, was happy to make some adjustments and minimize the stimulation. My, and I think most LV wires are quadrivalent, which provides a variety of adjustments. He tried different options until the twitching stopped. 

diaphragm stimulation

by danzelde - 2023-03-29 15:04:24

It usually only happens when I sniff. I had a sniff/ultrsound done and that is when they could document it. When mine is occuring all of my abdominal muscles can be seen spasming.

Last week they sent a Medtronic tech to my doctors office and he redid the pacemaker basic  interrogation  and he said everything was working okay. I insisted he run a vector test through all 16 configurations and each time he changed the vector , it triggered a visible spasm of my diaphragm/ abdominal muscles. I asked him to run the test again to narrow the non optimal vectors down and the nurse practitionaer  that was present told me that the visit had gone on long enough and the tech said that he just does what the doctors telld him to do and I was told to keep my apointment 7 months from then. The nurse said that "twitches" were just a side effect in a lot of people...I think I am being gaslighted.

Gaslighted

by AgentX86 - 2023-03-29 15:45:09

IMO, there is no doubt that smoke is being blown where smoke doesn't belong.  If you're symptomatic, you have a problem.  You've proven that a problem exists but they're spending too much time to fix the problem?  I'd be screaming at anyone who would listen, then find a new EP.

Your profile doesn't say where in Illinois you are but there have to be doctors around who actually care about their patients.

Hard to get it right

by Lavender - 2023-03-29 18:07:54

I have had what I call vibration now and then since the pacemaker was placed. The diaphragm area, upper chest and arms. Only when lying flat and drowsy like while falling asleep or as I awake. 
 

My tech tested for phrenic nerve issues but couldn't replicate. After I got home, I realized she was testing me while seated upright. It only happened when I lie down. So the next six month check, I had a different tech. She topd ke that 80- 90% of pacemaker people have this vibration and get used to it.  She did get it to calm down more with a setting she called changing it from ring three to the can to ring four to the can. 
 

I described to her that I find that if I try to lie on my left side the thumping (like cat purring) goes away but sleeping on my back or right side the thumping pounds against my diaphragm.  Like cellphone on vibrate for a 7 or 8 seconds. Muscle quivering in upper body-chest and arms.

Anyway, it's really much better since she changed that one setting. But the cat purr sensation is there when I am drowsy. 

danzelde

by piglet22 - 2023-03-30 06:50:26

I wouldn't have the nerve to ask for a vector test even if I knew what it was.

Speaking from UK experience, I have never seen a rep of any description at clinic visits.

Your rep nurse practitioner conflict does ring true here, but it manifests itself as GP-consultant-physiologist conflicts.

The GP seems to be the most caring in all this, but where I go there are a few prima donnas on the consultant-physiologist side of the fence.

The consultants don't seem to involve themselves once the main diagnosis is done and it's left to the physiologists to do the housekeeping.

They've had their wings clipped in the last few years with the closure of all non-regional clinics, substitution of bedside monitors and their role has been reduced to sitting in a basement looking at downloaded data.

When you do see them, it isn't the most cheerful of experiences.

So, some conflicts going on and patients sit in the middle.

I was surprised and slightly shocked to hear that a nurse practitioner called time.

I wouldn't be happy and the older I get, the less I respect authority.

You know you're wired when...

You always run anti-virus software.

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At age 20, I will be getting a pacemaker in few weeks along with an SA node ablation. This opportunity may change a five year prognosis into a normal life span! I look forward to being a little old lady with a wicked cane!