ginaban13

Hello All! I'm new to the site. I just found out I need a pacemaker and it's starting to sink in. I'm 37 and never thought I would need this done so soon. There are so many things going through my head. Right now my biggest concern is the recovery time. They say 4-6 weeks of not lifting my left arm above my shoulder and noy lifting anything over 5 pounds. I have two small children. I'm wondering if this is accurate or will I be healed sooner than 6 weeks? Any info anyone can give me would be great. Look forward to hearing from all of you!

ginabean13

8 Comments

Welcome Ginabean13

by Pacing13 - 2008-02-19 11:02:46

Hello Ginabean13, I too am in my 30's and have a 7 and two year old. My last pm was implanted when my 7yr old was 18 months old. I was unable to lift her for 5-6 weeks. I would sit on the furniture and she would climb up to me and we cuddled that way. Really need to be careful that you do not pull a wire or lead that early on. I always take the lifting limitations very seriously, last thing you want to do is end up back in the hospital!

Good luck!
Pacing13

Thanks Pacing13

by Ginabean13 - 2008-02-19 11:02:52

I was afraid of that. I took a week and a half off work and then am going back with a limited schedule for a month. I don't have a very physical job, but I just am not sure what I'll be able to do and not do after the procedure.

at least 30 days

by bowlrbob - 2008-02-20 04:02:28

When i had mine done i was told 3 months off. No work (hard physical job) and no bowling my other passion. My surgery was done out of my area because it was a emergency. So after 1 month exactly I got in to see a local heart Dr. I asked him when i could resume work and my passion. He said what are you sitting around for get back to your life. I started everything the next day and had no problems. So you may get by with 30 days but probably not sooner and still ask you own Dr. Bowlrbob

Lifting

by heckboy - 2008-02-20 10:02:42

For the first two weeks, I lifted nothing of substance. It's almost been 4 weeks now and I am carrying small bags of groc, etc... Heavier items like a gallon of milk I will carry in my right hand since I can feel the stress on my site if I use my left.

I will likely wait at least another 4 weeks before I SLOWLY ease back into the gym. I am trying my best not stretch my left arm in any direction, not just over my head.

BTW, I'm 45 and active.

swimming

by gevans - 2008-02-20 12:02:07

I waited 6 wks before swimming, but did some heavier lifting after 4wks. My cardiologist was well aware of my penchant for over-doing things and said he allowed extra slack (or a larger loop) of the wires nearer to the PM so that I could extend farther and do more vigorous activities. He also considered everything I do (such as backpacking) in regards to the placement of the pouch, and I have had no trouble whatsoever (now lift wts, do yoga and pilates, run, swim, bike). My only exception is he didn't want me kickboxing any more (geez, how am I going to defend myself in a dark alley now?).

Just ease into everything and I bet you'll be fine,

Gary

Welcome.

by SuperBionic - 2008-02-21 01:02:19

I am 38 now and received my pacemaker right before my 38 birthday after having a hart rate of 37 bpm. I was told to 6 weeks of making sure to not put my arm above my head. This was so I would not pull the lead out. After the time of taking it easy I was still not sure of raising my arm over my head. Now I am used to it and doing great! You will be fine. One thing I do want to let you know is that during the "sidearm" timeframe I wore a shirt with my arm on the inside at night and it helped me to keep it from moving a whole lot. I hhope your recovery goes well.

Clark

common sense ...

by winesap - 2008-02-21 12:02:42

I'm a 57 year old male with two grand babies. PM installed Dec 5, 2007. I was up and walking the next day, back to work in a few days, but indeed the left arm restriction was a pain (literally and figuratively). My wife and I traveled to Sweden on Dec 30 and spent a couple weeks with my son his wife and 6 month old grand daughter. Obviously with the luggage and all, I violated the absolute weight limit rules but was careful to avoid stressing the left side. I have a local 15 month old grandson and the limitations with him have been harder. With my local grand son, it was next to impossible to pick him up off the floor. We tried to be creative - spent more time on the floor and some of the squirming right handed lap lifts were actually fun. My smaller grand daughter I was able to pick up and carry for essentially our whole time in Sweden. The biggest issue are the leads - it takes time for the scar tissue to form in the heart. The first month is critical and the next two weeks are important. You want to avoid repeat surgery.

hi there

by goodoscar - 2008-02-22 07:02:12

Hi Ginabean 13!

I had my first pm implanted when I was 24. I'm now 42 and have been through 2 pregnancies. Last summer I had my 3rd generator change. At that time my kids were 2 and 3 years old. The first couple of weeks I definitely didn't lift much of anything. Sleeping (getting comfortable was the worst, I just kept feeling the strain on the wound no matter how I positioned myself). Back to the lifting though, after a couple of weeks you get pretty good at picking the kids up and lugging them around with one arm (assuming the other one will follow you!) Of course they were very concerned about mommy's booboo so that helped too. You'll be fine! Good luck!

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