ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch

Ok, Im a week and a half in and starting to get some energy back etc. HOW-friggin-EVER... every time I start to pick up the pace ( pardon the pun) walk a little faster, try to run errands.. you know DO ANYTHING I get this stinging pain on the right side of my heart in time with my heart beat...ouch...ouch...ouch...ouch it subsides after a bit but can someone tell me if this is 'normal' and possibly WILL NOT require another surgery? medtronic..I dont know all the terms yet but its pacing the bottom of my heart w/ my natural beat ( for now...I think)

3 Comments

call

by Tracey_E - 2008-10-22 06:10:49

I've never heard of that but it's most definitely not normal and you should call. And don't do anything that brings it on until they figure out what it is. Most problems are fixed with the settings, it's very rare to need another surgery.

IT AIN'T NORMAL

by SMITTY - 2008-10-22 08:10:59

I've (as well as others) been there and done that too many times so I feel comfortable in saying "No, the stinging is not normal!! Of course when you tell your doctor about this they will probably check out you pacemaker and say "Everything is fine with your PM so it is not the cause." This is apparently the first line of defense for doctors, nurses or whoever, as they have no idea on the cause of the complaint. My reply to that can't be quoted in Sunday school, but you find lots of it in cow pastures.

If you never had this problem before you got your pacemaker and you have had the PM for less than two weeks and it is happening I think the odds are about 99.999 chances out of a hundred that it is caused by the pacemaker. The possibilities of the actual cause are many, but it can be corrected. The cause can range from "from not quite right" PM settings to a lead being in an area that allows part, or all, of the electrical impulse from the PM to affect a nerve thereby causing the stinging.

What it comes down to is you know it is hurting you and now your job will be to convince your doctor that it is the PM and that you want it corrected. Perseverance may become the key word in such circumstances. It took me five years but I finally found a doctor that thought deadening the affected nerve would solve my problem, It was that or let some bozo go in and try to relocate the lead in the ventricle. But thankfully, the nerve deadening has worked for 3 years, although it had to be repeated after 2 years.

My advice is if you think you are getting the run around, try to make the doctor and his staff as uncomfortable as you are. I'll repeat, the problem can be fixed.

Good luck,

Smitty

yeah, what Smitty said!

by mandogrl - 2008-10-22 10:10:04

I felt my pacing much more than many people seem to, until about the EP and Medtronics finally tweaked the settings a couple/three times. What a difference! Mine was waking me up 10-20 times/night before I got over wanting to be a "good patient" and started saying "we gotta' fix this!"
So stick with it; there are solutions!
Good luck!

You know you're wired when...

The meaning of personal computer is taken a step further.

Member Quotes

So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.