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Okay as most of you know I just got my pm in Jan. Im doing okay. Well ur right maybe im not! I tend to sugar coat things. I feel like CRAP!! There for a while I really felt okay. Now that they changed my rates and stuff I seem to feel worse. Im super tired and have this pressure in my chest that only seems to go away for 5 to 10 mins then its right back! Is this normal or is this just another thing that i get to deal with being so lucky and all! lol I really hope it gets better soon im so ready to move on with my life and start a family. One more thing. At first I wasnt able to feel my a~fib with the pm but now that they are letting my rate go a lil slower (ive always been super fast) im starting to feel it again. I know they could raise my rate again but thats one of the reasons i got the pm.
Sorry im so much trouble!! Thanks again! Rachel
3 Comments
Hi Rachel
by Jules - 2008-02-29 04:02:13
Well you had your pacemaker the same time as me. I have had my settings turned down. The base rate is 50 and all other responses turned off. Must admit felt better since they have done this. Only problem I have is the tiredness. I don't have the pressure on the chest but pain around the site.
Hopefully we will find the right settings and as you say get on with our lives. I am like yourself on this site and feel that I am being a pain in the a....... I think you find people don't think that and they will give you the support you need.
Take care Jules
Hi Rachel, Hi Jules
by Shelly - 2008-02-29 05:02:37
I can't comment on the technical side of PMs but I can share a little about the tiredness issue.
I'm almost 14 weeks post implant, so a little ahead of you guys, but I still feel very tired.
I'm 36, and was hoping to be back at work by now. I had an appointment last week with the occupational health nurse where I work (I work for the national health service) with a view to impliment a return to work plan - that never happened.
I told her how tired I felt and what activities I do - basically just a 30-40 min treadmill walk 3-4 times per week, the odd supermarket trip, and they leave me headachey and needing an extra 1-2 hour sleep every afternoon!!
Obviously I was worried something was wrong, but she was really helpful and explained that even at 12 weeks I was STILL in the recovery stage and even the small amount of activity that I was doing was probably too much for me. She explained that we are all different, and it may be the fact that I was ill for years before I had the PM, and was at rock bottom when it was finally implanted, that's why I'm having a slower recovery.
Just being told this simple fact by a health professional whose everyday job is to evaluate people like us who are trying to return to life after an operation or illness has helped me mentally.
I've slowed my activity a little this week, not pushed myself to 'get better now', and the moment I feel the start of the tiredness, I rest and don't fight it. That simple thing has reduced my headaches and I don't feel as tired for so long. I'm seeing her again at the end of March and until then I will take things slower.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope this little bit of info helps you in some way.
Take care,
Shelly (UK)
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by Vai - 2008-02-29 01:02:34
Your comment "letting my heart go a lil slower" - Based on most of the input shared on this site, the range of heart rate set for a PM is between a base rate of 50 bpm to 70 bpm, with many people sharing that they find most relief at 60 bpm. Are you within this range?
Your comment "I've always been super fast". Are you referring to having a very fast heart rate when you are atrial fibrillating? This is normal for the atria in fibrillation to beat at super fast 200-300 bpm, and give rise to symptoms like tiredness, short of breath, cannot breathe evenly, chest congestion, sometimes dizziness even.
The tiredness could also be caused by the meds prescribed, assuming you would be on meds with all that afib.
The PM does not fix your afib condition. The PM works in tandem with medication to manage your afib condition. The meds suppress the heart rate and minimize/avoid episodes of afib; and if the heart slows down too much the PM is triggered to regulate the heart and support you allowing the meds to do its work. In addition, having the PM regulate the heart stabilizes it to some extent and avoid runaway afib. The newer PM also have functionalities that can be programmed to intervene and "break up" (layman's language) the afib episodes helping you regain sinus rythm This it does ever so silently and without you feeling it.
Sorry for the long response.. I felt sharing some of this information gleaned frrom years of suffering afib and having life restored with the PM implant helps. May God bless you in your recovery.