Dr. reaction

I finally have an appt. next Thursday to see my original surgeon.
I do not care if he thinks these issues are in my"head". I know they are real and my body does not feel right. I maintained this after the surgery in February. Even after 4 visits, I felt dismissed.
Hopefully, this surgeon will listen as I don't feel there should be pain involved after 6 months.In addition, does anyone else feel the lead aside from the pacemaker. It feels like a thick cord getting longer by the month.
Thank you for the responses. It's good to know other people understand.

6 Comments

I second the comment!

by ElectricFrank - 2008-07-10 02:07:40

If you feel it, you feel it. What the other surgeon is saying is "I don't want to be bothered with your problem"

By the way there is a way I have learned to deal with the doc who tosses out a few bones and leaves the room. I just sit there. When the nurse comes back and says the doc is finished with me, I simple say "I'm not finished with him. I still have questions". It takes some guts to do it, but I have never had it fail.

frank

Hang in there!

by chiliman - 2008-07-10 02:07:47

Trust me, many of us understand! I've written about this issue before on this site as have others.

If YOU feel pain, you feel pain, and have every right to find out why. You should be treated respectfully, and your self-assessment needs to be investigated until you and your doctor have an understanding of the WHY, and then, a treatment plan to fix, repair, adjust, or replace your unit if needed.

I had to fire my original EP because he and his staff upon several visits and continued complaints from me, REFUSED to believe that I was feeling my original pacemaker pacing. My current EP upon my first visit with the problem, said after a few minutes of interrogation, "Of course you're feeling it." He then proceeded to spend almost an hour fine-tuning and tweaking my pm until the settings were perfect and I was comfortable.

Don't let ANYBODY, licensed or not, attempt to define or deny your reality. Afterall, it's your body.

Believe me it is pain

by Fluzy Suzy - 2008-07-10 06:07:25

Hi
I have been reading your input in the Pacemaker Club and although it is of no consequence to you, I also have had the same careless attitude from some Consultants.

Which country do you live in. I am in England and at times I feel like as if I am talking to a BRICK WALL. If there is pain, no matter where in the body it is there is pain, whether minute or severe and there is always a cause for it.

I had pain over the pacemaker box itself and was told at first that it is normal after surgery so went home feeling slightly neglected. Suffered this pain for some time only to find out that it was a blood clot and needed to be dealt with urgenty. ha ha.

Urgently in the U.K. is maybe 3 months later.

You are not alone. Keep on pestering consultants if necessary until you are blue in the face (not literally)
All the best.

Sue

Dr. Reaction

by Stacey28 - 2008-07-11 08:07:15

If you can't get your doctor to listen to you and get you the help you need then you need to keep looking for a doctor that will listen to you . This is my first pacemaker and I just started having problems such as shoulder pain, and pain in where the pacemaker is and I went to my EP doctor who at first thought it was in my head and I went and had different tests down but he wasn't willing to find me any help to help figure out problem and neither was my Primary Care Physician willing to help. I haven't gotten any help with the problems I'm having and so I'm going to find the different doctors I need to go to on my own.
I hope that you get the help you need to get your problem with the pacemaker and the lead.
I wish you all the Best.
Stacey 28

It's in your chest, not your head

by PreciousDays - 2008-07-11 10:07:53

The others are right - if you feel pain, discomfort or just not right - than that is what is going on. Doctors tend to be extremely arrogant - and they don 't understand - unless they have a device - what we go through with ours. My wires are visible, and palpable - and they also seem to grow by the month. - I too have had to change doctors - after one particularly hateful cardiologist insisted the only time he had ever seen cardiomyopathy in a woman my age (45 at the time) was when she was HIV+ He focused solely on my getting tested. When that came back negative - he dismissed my problems as psychological. - Yeah - that and the EF of 30 will get you down, eh? My current doctor probably saved my life by responding to the low EF, med side effects, and V-tach. - Turns out my problems were in my chest, not my head. Imagine that. Be proactive and change doctors if you need to! Good luck. PD

thank you for your comments

by branch57 - 2008-07-20 02:07:20

saw the surgeon and he would replace the one done in Feb.2008 with a smaller one, restructure the pocket, reposition the pm and tuck the leads under the pm.
I don't know why the last one didn't do that when he replaced the battery. He made a mess and now I have to go through this again.

You know you're wired when...

You can feel your fingers and toes again.

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