Lead Insulation Problem - Extreme Fatigue - HELP

New to the club and need some advice. I have had pacemaker since 1997 and then had repalcement 2005(symphony DR2550). Since then I have lots of issues relating to periods of extreme fatigue, anxiety and body twitches/tremors. I have also been getting zings of energy into my left armpit which have been quite painful. I have found that If I over do it I suffer for days after having to sleep for periods of 15 hours to recover and loose the debilitating tiredness and fuzzy brain. I have original leads (medtronic capsure) from 1997 and have been told today that there is an insulation problem with the leads, they have not informed me but they have been monitoring decreased impedance for a while. I have malignant vaso vagal syncope/bradycardia. I am quite shocked by this and have been told that I will have to go through pace maker surgery again to replace the unit and leads. Does anyone else feel tiredness to this level, I am really loosing confidence and down with it all. Could it all be linked to the insualtion problem? Hope there is someone out there who can offer some advice. Thanks

1 Comments

leads

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-04 04:02:51

A question to ask them... is the pacemaker functioning properly- are they wanting to replace it now because it's not functioning, or because the battery is drained prematurely? It's very possible for the leads to have ruptured insulation but still be working, but it will drain the battery faster- think open window with the air conditioning running. I have a ruptured lead that doesn't give me any problems and the pm still works fine. My last replacement was in '05 also and I've only got about a year to 18 mos left before this battery is shot. The short life is due to the ruptured lead.

The zings you feel sound like the rupture in the insulation.

The fatigue may or may not be related. If the pm is functioning, it's not related.

The anxiety could be a result of the other problems. Fatigue wears you down and makes it hard to deal with things.

You know you're wired when...

You have a high-tech ticker.

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Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.