Antibiotic pouch

Hi there

by Lavender - 2024-01-09 18:09:03

Don't press on it or touch the site. Even though it is looking better on the outside, there's a lot of healing to be done inside the tissues.  How do you know it's definitely not infected? I'm a fan of letting your dr know your symptoms and let them examine you if need be. 

Hii

by Sydney.A95 - 2024-01-09 18:23:23

I'm also a big fan of telling my doctor, I've sent photos to him and have gone into the clinic to have it checked, he told me there's no infection so I'm going off of what he says there. He doesn't know what my pain is from, but says it could be the antibiotic pouch. So I'm on here to ask other people if they had a similar pain and if so when they noticed it getting better. 

Good 👍🏼

by Lavender - 2024-01-09 19:07:52

Good you got the dr onboard. I can tell you that I had pains and jabs, soreness in chest neck and arm for seven months after I got my pacemaker. I never had an antibiotic pouch, though. I found Tylenol and ice packs to be effective in pain management. 

👍🏼

by Sydney.A95 - 2024-01-10 01:45:12

It's not really my shoulder, I have full range of motion with that, it's directly underneath my incision. 

Allergic reaction?

by Gemita - 2024-01-10 02:21:46

Sydney, is there any inflammatory/allergic reaction perhaps going on due to the antibiotic pouch.  Is the site swollen, red looking or just normal looking?   Does it itch?  I note you say it is not infected and that you have shown the site to a doctor.

I have seen one member report she had her device placed in an antibacterial envelope to protect against infection.  I am not aware she had any difficulties.  

If the pain continues and worries you, I would respectfully go back to your implant team and ask to have a few additional tests, to see if anything can be done to relieve your discomfort?  

Mine still hurts on and off.

by Shroselo - 2024-01-10 13:24:55

I got a Biotronik put in on Thanksgiving and my pain lasted for a good 4 weeks. If I move to much it starts to hurt again. Get a good arm sling, a soft pillow for under the arm, and some Tylenol and wait it out. Mine felt like it was digging into my collar bone and trying to push out its little hole. I stayed in my sling for the entire 4 weeks. 

No sling

by Lavender - 2024-01-10 14:39:24

I respectfully disagree with the sling idea😵‍💫

Too much wearing of a sling can cause more problems like frozen shoulder. If a sling is sent home from the hospital with you, only wear it a day or two. You need to move normally and use it or lose it. The only restriction and it's only early on-maybe a month-is not to raise the pacemaker side arm elbow above the shoulder.

Antibiotic pouch

by Aberdeen - 2024-01-11 16:58:52

I had an antibiotic pouch probably because I had 3 pacemaker operations in 2 years and 4 months. I didn't have any problems. They are very expensive and as far as I know shouldn't cause any problems. They are designed to prevent infection.

 I hope you find out the cause of your pain soon.

I wish I had better news...

by R2D2 - 2024-01-12 17:11:46

Unfortunately, I can't be very encouraging. My ICD was implanted in July and I still have weird pains. My incision site hurt, directly below it hurt for months, and some days I would be sort of okay, then the next day it would be sore all over again. It's not even based on movement, just healing. It's been almost 6 months and I still have days where it feels like there's a large rock in my body. There will be aching, and sometimes my right armpit pain or even weird sensations in my body that come and go. I was told that with three leads, and pacing regularly, sometimes there is sort of a ricochet effect from the leads that gives you little prickly feelings in your abdomen. 

What you need to know, is much of those sensations are just normal healing and effects from the PM. BUT... if you ever experience anything a lot, or something that is very painful, you should definitly report those issues with your doctor. Stressing about it won't help. But talking it over with people that have been in your shoes is always good. Thanks for sharing your concerns. Hopefully we can help you a bit.

Welcome to the club '

by Pacer2019 - 2024-01-12 23:53:49

For me every weird feeling i expect the worst !  I'm like Fred Sanford at times 🤓.

Pacemaker Infection

by Stache - 2024-01-16 22:57:45

30 days after my cardiac arrest and implant my pocket area blew wide open with pus spewing out.  I went right to the hospital with an open hole.  My pacer had to be removed and a lot of dead tissue was removed everything was cleaned up and my pacer reinplanted.  Turns out the string used to secure my leads was not properly cleaned leading to the infection.  Took several months to heal up and a very nasty scar now.  You need to take any infection very seriously even if you cannot see it on the surface.

I was lucky with my infection spending several days in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics to kill the infection.  I blew the pain off thinking I had overdone it turns out I was wrong.