How long before my PM leads are secure enough?

I got my PM a little less than 2 weeks ago and didn't remember anything specific about length of time before raising my arm over my head. I did it as soon as it was comfortable, which was several days ago. Now I read on this forum that the reason is to avoid pullling any leads out. I was just concerned about the wound itself, so my concern seems to have been misplaced.

So, how do you know if you've pulled a lead loose? Everything seems fine and functional and I don't hurt anywhere.

Thanks.

7 Comments

Hi

by Janice - 2007-11-22 01:11:55

Hi Ronpage,

It is interesting that the Doctors have different instructions for after surgery do's and don't's. Do you live in Canada? I do. I had mine put in on Sept.13. I was told not to lift my arm for 2 weeks also. Yet, everyone (most everyone on this site) has said their instructions were 6 weeks. After I started reading this, I didn't raise my arm above my head until just a few weeks ago!! It makes sense to me that the longer you wait, the more "stuck in" the wires would be! Anyway, like Ian said, I think you would know if your wires were in trouble. I found that mostly I was more aware of not lifting anything heavy with that arm, and raising it. Good luck on your recovery, it sounds like your doing just fine.
Janice

Arm raising

by IanMcC - 2007-11-22 02:11:14

Hi Ron, I was told not to lift my arm for about 6 weeks, this gives the end of the lead time to bed in. I went back to work after a week but was carefull in what I did. Its been over a year now. I think you would know if you pulled out a lead, I presume it would be painfull and your heart would start to do wierd things.
Best regards, Ian.

Consensus....

by auntiesamm - 2007-11-22 03:11:13

Hello to you Newbies and Welcome to this club made up of some of the most wonderful people you will never meet.

I've had my PM since May '06. My EP, cardio & PM rep all said 6 weeks. That is what the consensus seems to be with our club members. Makes perfect sense-we need to give the leads time to graft to the site. It can be very hard to remember not to raise your arm over your head. You can raise your arm to shoulder level but not above. The greatest problem for me was over-head cabinets because it is such an automatic motion. I put yellow stickies on all of those higher cabinets I use everyday as a reminder should I start to reach & it worked. One caution - be sure you do use your arm below shoulder level and exercise it so that you don't get a frozen shoulder. It's nothing to worry about if you are using hand/arm frequently. There have been a few people who have simply not used the arm for anything and had some problems. I hope this makes sense to all of you. If it isn't clear to you please send me back a note and I will reply. Good luck to all of you. You will find wonderful support on this club site. God bless you.

Sharon

hi

by jessie - 2007-11-22 09:11:34

i would go by what the doctor says and i live in canada and it was 6 weeks before i could reach above my shoulder. he told me tho to use that arm for chores, light chores like folding laundry. emptying the dishwasher. as mine was on the right side i was good with that. like auntisamm says if you don't use it all you could run into other problems. i think about it now over a year later and realize how far i have come and how grateful i am for my life.so take care and god bless you as you heal jessie

I did it

by mobags - 2007-11-22 10:11:32

I was told just one week so I guess each doc is different. I had problems with a dislodgement almost right away (actually the first night) but it settled in. It was a little over one week when it really had problems with capturing. My rate was lower than I was set at and I was competing with the pacer. Basically it would fire and my heart wouldn't get the single so there is no contraction but then just as the pacer was firing again (for the 60 pbm rate) my intrinsic rate would be kicking in so I would get a beat on beat affect. You definately feel weird with that! If you aren't having symptoms and your rate is where it's supposed to be I think you can feel okay that things are fine.
-mobags

I would go with 6 weeks

by dward - 2007-11-22 11:11:18

I too was told 6 weeks by three different Docs.
The reason is indeed due to the leads. It takes that long for your body to "heal" around the leads enough to "hold them in place".
When you think about it, most "big" wounds (broken leg, arm, surgery, etc.) take about 6 weeks to reallyheal properly, right? So, it makes sense to me to wait the six weeks.

thanks for the input

by ronpage - 2007-11-27 12:11:46

I had my followup exam today. All was in very good shape. PM is working great (81% usage on atrial lead and only 2% on ventricle lead). Had a stress test and got the HR up to 138 and all felt great. Doc seemed pleased with both PM readings and the stress test.

I appreciate all the input. You guys helped me realize I was ok.

And, no, I'm way down south of Canada. I'm in the metroplex area of Texas.

They did recommend that I stay off my mountain bike for another month. I'm riding my recumbent road bike though.

You know you're wired when...

You have an excuse for gaining an extra ounce or two.

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My pacemaker is intact and working great.