pacemaker replacement

I have had my pacemaker since 2007. My time will be up in July and I will have to have another one. I am 100% dependent as I had to have an ablation for arritthyma. I am going to have to go often now eventually weekly. I am afraid again and am looking for someone who has been through this. I am 79 years old, female and am very healthy and do not look nor act my years so they say. I am more concerned with the time leading up to the replacement than the actual procedure. Be looking forward to hearing from you. Don't know what I would have done without the club all these years. Thanks DD

2 Comments

100% Dependent

by Theknotguy - 2013-12-28 08:12:46

There was a previous posting on this forum about replacing the PM and being at 100% dependent. I recently put up a posting about it when I couldn't find the original. If you search for postings under, "Change leads at 100% pacing" you'll see the comments.

The main thing to remember is they don't want the heart to stop working. So they'll keep your heart going while changing out the PM. As the nurse said, "Keeping the heart going is our number one concern."

Just think, you'll get a new PM with all the latest hardware and software. Maybe they'll have room in the memory of your new PM to store pictures of your grandchildren?

Hang in there. Life gets better.

Theknotguy

nothing to worry about!

by Tracey_E - 2013-12-28 09:12:30

The pm will not just stop! When there is approx 6 months of juice left, it will go into elective replacement mode (eri). This is like the gas light on the car, the car runs normally but you know the tank is getting low. This is when I've always had my replacements done. I've had 4, by the way. That lasts approx 3 months. At the end of the 3 months (more or less), it goes into end of life mode (eol). When in eol, the extra bells and whistles are turned off to conserve power. It will keep you safe by pacing at a steady rate, but those of us who pace 100% do not feel well in this mode. You will know as soon as it gets there! But hopefully that will not happen. My suggestion is to make a date to get it done when you are down to the last month before eri, if your insurance will let you. Some insurance requires eol first.

You know you're wired when...

You have a maintenance schedule just like your car.

Member Quotes

I wasn't really self-conscious about it. I didn't even know I had one until around six or seven years old. I just thought I had a rock in my side.