PM implant location

Hi folks,
I had a pm implanted 3 weeks ago today after spending the last 3 months, fainting, gasping for air and generally feeling weaker by the day. Upon realizing that my pulse would not go above 28, I was rushed to emergency for a pm. It has given me a new life. I still get dizzy and have strange feelings of pressure in my chest and back and twinges at the site of the incision.
The reason I am posting is that, due to severe scarring in both my lungs due to a childhood illness & having superior vena cava, the pm was implanted in my lower left abdomen rather than the shoulder. This caused different issues in healing and pain standing & sitting. Has anyone else had their pm implanted there or heard of this. I would love to hear your experiences. I have learnt so much from this site that I never knew about PM.

Shirley

8 Comments

Placement of PM

by maryanne - 2008-05-02 09:05:45

No my PM is not placed in my abdomen....but it is one of the places of choice....I know when I had my first PM they asked me where I wanted it placed....being a left handed person I asked for it to be placed on my right....they did tell me I could have it in my abdomen....I am glad I didn't opt for that...as it turned out when I had my first PM at the age of 23 I was preganant...so needless to say I am glad I opted for the alternative.

Placement of PM

by Shirley - 2008-05-02 10:05:13

Thank you for your reply Maryanne. I have now been told by the heart institute that for young babies, they often opt for the abdomen but I still can't find any literature on it. Nor have I heard of anyone else who has it there.
It is amazing to know that you could go through pregnancy and delivery with a PM. Good for you and I hope all went well.
I g uess I am still getting used to having this thing in me that is doing all the work and hoping that it doesn't stop. My 1st temporary PM only lasted 1 day & then had to be replaced. Then I had a 2nd temporary for 1 more day until they could decide where they could feasibly install a permanent one, given my lungs. Reading so many stories on line here about how marvelous and active people are doing after their PM, it gives me the courage & incentive to get out walking & move on with my regular ..or near to..routine as soon as possible. But I do feel at 61 that I will take it a little slow & steady until the dizzyness and twinges subside.

Placement of PM

by Shirley - 2008-05-02 10:05:14

Thank you for your reply Maryanne. I have now been told by the heart institute that for young babies, they often opt for the abdomen but I still can't find any literature on it. Nor have I heard of anyone else who has it there.
It is amazing to know that you could go through pregnancy and delivery with a PM. Good for you and I hope all went well.
I g uess I am still getting used to having this thing in me that is doing all the work and hoping that it doesn't stop. My 1st temporary PM only lasted 1 day & then had to be replaced. Then I had a 2nd temporary for 1 more day until they could decide where they could feasibly install a permanent one, given my lungs. Reading so many stories on line here about how marvelous and active people are doing after their PM, it gives me the courage & incentive to get out walking & move on with my regular ..or near to..routine as soon as possible. But I do feel at 61 that I will take it a little slow & steady until the dizzyness and twinges subside.

Placement...

by Swedeheart - 2008-05-03 12:05:13

Hello Shirley,

I am on day 68 of my pacemaker, and I too am in my 60's... I have heart block and mine presented suddenly, but it is my "only" current health issue. It took me 2 months before I really began to feel better. I had a number of the same symptoms (not passing out...but dizzy) for the first 60 days... but I am feeling better mostly now. A little better every day.

I started walking about a month after implant, slowly and not too far, but trying to walk each day. It is better now and I think the exercise is helping me recover. I still only walk about 30 min a day, and not particularly fast, but it seems a tiny bit easier most days.

Here is a short explanation of pacemakers and placement (abdomen included) at the Cleveland Heart Clinic page:
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/tests/procedures/pacemaker.htm

It probably won't answer your questions, but you aren't alone!

Here is wishing you well and a fast recovery. I don't know about you, but in my mind I think I should heal like I did when I was 30! Ha!

Swedeheart

Still having symtoms

by ElectricFrank - 2008-05-04 12:05:23

It's understandable that you are still having some symptoms considering that you went for 3 months with serious heart problems before getting the pacer. During that 3 months all the organs of your body and your brain were surviving on limited blood supply and are having to recover.
You also may still need to have some adjustments to the pacer to match it to yur body and activity level.

frank

Hi Shirley

by jenh - 2008-05-05 02:05:47

My first two pacemakers were in my abdomen (implanted at ages 11 and 16) because I was very thin as a child. After my first surgery, it took about 6 weeks before I felt well enough to go back to school. I think any surgery in the abdomen can take awhile to heal. I also feel like it took even longer than 6 weeks before I really felt like I could sit and stand up completely straight due to the incision, but eventually everything healed up! Best wishes for quick healing! Jen

Placement Advice

by Shirley - 2008-05-05 12:05:18

Thank you all for your good advice. This site is awesome for helping to ease my concerns and learn what others are going through as well.

To swedeheart- the web pg. you suggested gave helpful info in understanding the different types of surgery. Thks. and continued good progress to you on your day 71 & onwards.

ElectricFrank- Thks for the reassurance and putting a positive perspective on things.

Jenn - My 1st fellow AB placement bud. So I'm not alone. You mention your 2nd PM at 16. Would you mind sharing if this involved new surgery to 'completely' remove the old unit & leads and did this involve a longer hospital stay. Was your 3rd PM placed in your shoulder and if so, why the new location?
Shirley

Hi again!

by jenh - 2008-05-06 01:05:55

During my surgery at 16 they removed the first unit, but left the leads in place and installed a new pacemaker and new leads. It was actually a shorter hospital stay than the first time since they were putting the device into an existing "pocket."

When I was 25 and in need of a new battery they switched me to a pm in my chest. I was finally (a little bit) bigger by that point, so had some muscle in that area. This enabled them to give me a dual chamber lead, which they thought would be better for me -- although perhaps you can also do a dual chamber pm from the abdomen (?), I'm not sure. They removed the previous device from my abdomen, but again left the wires in place. (I have super, crazy looking x-rays -- wires everywhere!)

Hope this helps!

You know you're wired when...

You have the perfect reason to show off your chest.

Member Quotes

Yesterday was my first day mountain biking after my implant. I wiped out several times and everything is fine. There are sports after pacemakers!