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Hi all,
I have some throbbing on my left side under my lowest ribs. Anyone else having this and would it be my AF that is the cause? My implant was last February; it has solved part of my feelings of fatigue but I do not have the energy I had expected. Anyone else like this? I still need padding to protect the implant;
does anyone find that it eventually becomes unnecessary?
I do not have the energy to exercise; I used to walk three miles a day. I may be my age, 84, so I might not be able to expect more. Anyone else in my range withany answers?
thanks, Hturatram
2 Comments
Thanks
by hturatram - 2008-06-05 07:06:37
Hi Smitty,
Thank you for the information. I was on heart meds that did slow my already slow pulse(60) down to about 45 which made me struggle to get through the day. Then they tried different medication which lowered my pulse to 20, thus the decision to do the implant. I have been on a blood thinner ever since the A Fib was diagnosed so the clots should not be a problem. They have monitored my
heart and tell me it is functioning normally so my fatigue should adjust accordingly. I am not so sure I will be able to return to the kind of walking I did! My doctor was not concerned about the flutter-like throb; I will re-ask him.
someone described it as a "second heartbeat"......
Take care, Hturatram
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by SMITTY - 2008-05-28 11:05:17
Hello Hturatram,
I'm anything but an expert on atrial fibrillation, but I'll pass on what I have observed from my personal experience. Although my experience is not all that great, I have had a couple of severe bouts of which I was aware. One caused me to pass out, and the other was short lived but very noticeable. Neither caused any pain. All I had was a very weird feeling. Like one or my grandson that was present during the more severe attack, said "Pop acted like he didn't know whether to scratch his head or pat his foot." That describes the way I felt very accurately.
On the energy part, I have an idea if you are taking any medications. One of the things I have seen doctors do to treat AF is prescribe medication that will significantly reduce the ability heart's natural pace make to send the electrical impulses necessary to make our heart beat. This results in a very slow heart beat and that is one of the ways our pacemaker comes into play. It will provide the electrical impulse needed to make our heart beat. Another reason for a pacemaker when a person has AF is that after an episode of AF the heart goes into a very slow heart beat or it may actually stop beating for a few seconds. Either of these can allow blood to pool in the atria and that can result in blood clots.
So we are given medicines to slow our heart rate caused by the heart's natural PM to unacceptable levels and then have a manmade PM to keep the heart beating at the prescribed rate to avoid the potential hazards from blood clots. The catch is that some of those medications, especially beta blockers, can sap our energy as surely as if we had just run 5 miles.
My guess is that you have been given one of the medications to control heart rhythm that will cause a severe loss of energy and your age (by the way you are only five years older than I) is not a factor here. If you were walking 3 miles before all this happened, then you should be able to return to something close to that.
To wrap this up, if you think the pain below your ribs is associated with the PM operation, by all means see your doctor. The operation of a PM will be unnoticeable with the proper settings. As for the low energy, speak to your doctor about your medications and ask if any you are taking could be causing your lack of energy.
I wish you the best,
Smitty