new to me !

Hi Everybody
My name is Allan i am a 41 year old male and I live in Edinburgh and for the past 5 years since I had my thryoid gland removed i have had intermitent episodes of extreme tiredness followed by uneven heartbeats when i try to sleep.Everytime i went to my doctor and i insisted on an esg it came back ok.
So last year i spent £1000 on a complete heat scan and that came back ok with 0% calcium deposits on any of my arteries.
Hurray! then about ten months later I started getting sinking feelings in my heart almost like the feeling you get when you drive over a hill in a car and you drop over the otherside.
So i had an esg and this time it revealed(over a period of 24 hrs) i had a period in my sleep when my heart went into af for 20 mins and also that I had sinus bycardia(slow heart beat) 3.7 secs= 17-19 beats a minute while asleep.
So i was refered to a heart specialist
I was told last Friday that I should have a pacemaker installed within the next three weeks. My initial feeling was one of shock / relief / fear I guess because I couldnt believe that something so huge could be described to me so lightly as if i were only getting an ear pierced or something.
Now with the time getting closer i am wondering about many things 1. How long till i can get up and go about my life?
2.Pshycologically does it freak you out to have the presence of something so mechanical in your body.
3.Another thing is the people around you -there perception of you changes almost like (poor you)
4.Does it hurt everytime your heart beat is corrected
5.does af kick in more at the start

So i guess the anxiety pacemaker will cause is giving me more stress than the actual pain.

I would realy appreciate being able to talk to somebody about the experience

allan

4 Comments

Getting A Pacemaker

by SMITTY - 2007-09-23 01:09:39

Hi Allan,

I’ll try to answer some of your questions based on my experience.

1 - How long till I can get up and go about my life?

For me (I got my pacemaker at age 71) it was a day or two. I had some soreness for a couple of weeks but not enough pain to make me even take ibuprofen the second day after the surgery. I was back to walking as much as I wanted the third day, back fishing by the end of the first week and back playing golf after three months. I did have some limitations on arm movement and a few other things, but none major. Since we are all different, your doctor is the one to tell you what you can and cannot do after getting your pacemaker.

2. Psychologically does it freak you out to have the presence of something so mechanical in your body?

Absolutely not. As soon as the soreness was gone I forgot I had a pacemaker. It is there increasing my heart rate when it gets too low, which I never feel. I know I have it because I can feel a little lump right below my collarbone, not because I can feel it doing its job.

3. Another thing do the people around you a perception of your changes almost like poor you?

Not that I know of. At least I’ve never heard any such comments or seen and other indication that some people feel that way. Except for some family embers and a VERY few close friends no one even knows I have a pacemaker.

4. Does it hurt every time your heart beat is corrected?

NO, NO, NO. IF IT DOES HURT, you should see your doctor for something is amiss.

5. Does it kick in more at the start?

No. The frequency it kicks in depends on the needs of your heart, not the length you have had the PM. A pacemaker is a not a cure for your heart problem. Its only job is to assist your heart beat at a regular pace.

Your pacemaker will have low and high set points. The setting may be different for each of us and for example mine has a lot set point of 70 and a high set point of 110. This means that if my heart rate drops below 70 the pacemaker comes on line and maintains a minimum of 70 BPM. If I’m doing something that has my heart rate up to say 80, my PM will monitor my heart and assist in maintaining a regular heart beat at that rate, as necessary. Should my heart rate go above 110 my pacemaker quits helping entirely and waits until the rate is back into the 70 to 110 range.

5 - So I guess the anxiety of getting the pacemaker is giving me more stress than the actual pain.

I agree your anxiety over going into the unknown is your biggest problem right now and that is entirely understandable. I can say this, but it probably will not make any difference to you, the anxiety is unnecessary. Getting a pacemaker sounds like a much bigger deal for than it is for about 99% of us. I will venture a guess that the biggest thing you will notice is that you feel better with your pacemaker helping out.

As a side note, I didn’t have thyroid surgery, but I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 43. My thyroid was producing about 2% of the amount of the hormone it should have been. So I have been on thyroid hormone replacement medication for 35 years.

I wish you the best with your new experience.

Smitty

Hi Allan

by hooimom - 2007-09-23 03:09:35

Smitty did a great job of answering your questions. He always has amazing responses. I am just trying to offer a little support as a 40 something going through this.

I was 42 when I got my PM last year. I had dropped beats at night when I was sleeping and the timing between the atria and ventricle were off. I had fatigue and shortness of breath for almost 2 years before they finally diagnosed my problem. It was quite a shock to go from an asthma diagnosis to requiring a PM.

You'll get back to normal quickly. It can be a little strange in the beginning with a PM but that was mostly in my head. It really, really isn't so bad.

My friends were worried about me in the beginning since no one in my group had ever experienced anything like this before. They quickly realized that I am the same as before, actually better since I can breathe now! No one even thinks about it anymore.

Occasionally I can feel a correction when my PM kicks in but it isn't painful or scary. I feel more the abnormal rhythm I think than the correction.

Try not to be too anxious. This is the worst time of the entire experience...knowing you need it but having to wait for it to happen. Try to relax. Remember that after your PM is inserted you'll feel better than you have in the last 5 years!

Michelle

everyone is different

by maestro - 2007-09-23 07:09:47

Allan,
Loved your questions so much I wish to reply.

1. I was up the evening after PM was put in. I attended a large birthday party the day after. I was tired, but it wasn't a big surgery.

2. Psychologically I am distressed by the presence of the PM because I did not actually require it. If I had support of family and better advice, it would never have been installed in me. Worse yet, I was made PM dependent for life by AV node ablation.

3. No one will know you have it unless you tell them. I understand insurance companies and travel security inspectors care if you have one.

4. A PM doesn't hurt. Properly programmed, you won't know it is there. If the voltage or current are set too high, you will know it. I suffered with programming errors for 2 years. Surgeons know nothing about electronic devices IMO.

5. A PM is not a defibrillator -- it doesn't kick. If you feel it, you need a manufacturer's specialist to look at the electrical settings on the device.

Conclusion: if you need a PM, relax and forget about it. I have a Medtronics -- a superior device supported by excellent Medtronics support personel.

Good luck and don't worry about it.

Maestro

You"ll see

by Suze - 2007-09-23 08:09:20

Hi Allan,
First of all, I'm glad you found us here at pacemakerclub.com. Everyone on here helped me so much last year when I received my pacemaker. Your questions and concerns are very normal. Everyone wonders what it will be like to have the device actually implanted in your body. But after a while, you really don't even think about it. It just becomes a part of you.

Maestro, Smitty and Michelle all make good points and give good answers to your questions and concerns......
There is an excellent chance that in a few months YOU will be giving the same advice and answers to others who are in the same situation you find yourself in today.

Anyway, you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
You will see that it won't be nearly as scary as it all sounds.

Keep in touch,
Suze

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