42 yrs old just had pm surgery

I had been waking up for over a year once a month w/ nausea, fearfull, anxiety and sometime loss of memory for a moment.
Last weekend I woke up feeling out of breath and cold. Happened again during a nap on Sat...I got up and had passed out..hit head on tile in kitchen.
Next day passed out while stretching doing yoga, had to be rushed to ER. Begged Doc to have me monitered overnight, they recorded a Eight second pause, 15 and a TWENTY second pause. I had a dual pacemaker next day.
I'm scared and now feel very tired 6 days later..is this normal? And have some PVC's when I get up to walk around. Anyone else exp these symptoms after PM surgery? Thank you.

8 Comments

I'm right there with you

by abreaux - 2009-02-02 04:02:22

Hey, kiddo - I'm 2 weeks post-PM, also 42, and got mine after twice passing out, one time while driving. Same reasons as you - pauses in my heartbeat. In the day that I was monitored, where I felt fine all day, I had 3 or 4 incidents of dramatically low heartbeat or no heartbeat. That was definitely enought to scare the heck out of me. If that was happening when I didn't feel it and didn't pass out, then how bad was it when I *did* pass out?

The best thing that has happened to me in this experience is that my dad and big brother are both doctors. Both tell me that if you have to have something wrong with your heart, having the electrical system be out of whack is the best thing, since it can be fixed and then carefully monitored with a pacemaker. It's made me not so scared as I recover from the little surgery to implant the PM.

I go for my first check tomorrow, and am real interested to know how much it has had to kick in over the past 2 weeks. Aside from the weight in my chest and trying to keep my arm down, I don't feel much different than before, except I haven't passed out since I got it. That's the key if I'm ever getting to drive again...

So hang in there, and I hope it'll all start feeling less scary and draining soon!

A-M

welcome!

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-02 04:02:49

I'm also 42, only I got my first pm in 1993. If you have any questions about being young and living with a pm, please don't hesitate to ask. It takes a little getting used to, but the fear will subside with a more time and most of us eventually realize it's only a minor inconvenience- a small price to pay for the security of knowing our hearts won't slow down enough for us to arrest.

Fatigue... as the others said, give yourself a few weeks to recover from the surgery. Those pauses were hard on your body, now it just needs some time to recover.

It's possible that your settings need adjusted. When do you go for your first check? The settings they send us home with aren't right for everyone and sometimes it can take a bit of tweaking to get it right. Do you know if you have rate response on? That could cause the jumping when you get up, they can adjust it to make it less sensitive.

When you go, ask for a copy of the before and after reports, some of the guys here can help you interpret the numbers.

Welcome to the club!

by BillMFl - 2009-02-02 04:02:52

In more ways than one. You will find that many of us have had very much the same overall experience. The sense of fatigue is pretty normal pot op. It should mostly go away physically, but don't be surprised if it lingers. Stress and/or mild depression from any cardiac episode can linger. I rarely sleep sound for more than 4 hours. Wake up antsy for no apparant reason and feel tired the next day.But the good days far outnumber the bad so I'm not complaining. Cardiologists are not particularily attuned to the emotional side effects, and they are significant. Regular exercise helps and you should improve but if you don't, then see your primary doc and tell him whats going on. I'm assuming that you have already been checked out for any other serious cardiac issues.

welcome

by franko1966 - 2009-02-02 07:02:19

hi i'm also 42 a acardic arest had mine puy in 2 years feb 1 2007 ,you will get use to it,it took me about 2 months to get back to normal,good luck

Give yourself some time.

by ElectricFrank - 2009-02-03 01:02:16

With your description of what you experienced before getting the pacer, your body needs some time to recover. Those long HR pauses leave your brain starved for oxygen and while the damage isn't permanent it is certainly there.

Give yourself a few days and slowly work up to walking for exercise. This will stimulate blood flow to your brain and start helping your energy.

Now isn't the time to be scared. You should have been scared when all the symptoms were happening. It sounds like you are luck to be here. You survived it so now you can get back to an enjoyable life.

frank

Welcome..time, time, time

by sweetkozy - 2009-02-03 03:02:35

Hello....welcome!!! It's a great place and some wonderful people are on here that give GREAT advice!


I am 28 and have had my PM for 6 yrs now. It takes time to adjust. I think it took me about 6 months to fully adjust and after the adjustment period I felt like a million bucks!!! I had so much more energy!!!! In time you will feel better!

As for the PVC's....the pm won't fix. What I have been told is medication is the key to fix PVC's. My last interrogation recorded over 1 million PVC's in a year. Doctor prescribed medication to help with it, if I so chose to take it. I hate taking meds. I have not taken medication for PVC's and just live with it. It is an annoyance, but that's my choice. It's not life-threatening.

Give yourself time and welcome once again!!!

Cheers:)
Jenny

New and Thank you!!

by rozybud - 2009-02-03 06:02:31

It's been a great relief to hear your responses and know I can post here and U will all understand...docs seem to not get it AT ALL!
This has been a wake up call and not to be so worried about my real estate business. I work as a listing agent on Short Sales and it's extremely stressfull.

Does anyone else have SVT as well? I've had that since 27 yrs old, but avoidiing caffeine and anxiety keeps that under wrap. I go to the surgeon next Monday for my f/u after surgery and I will take all your advise.
My echo was great...probably the best the doc had seen in a while...I just have the electrical prob...SVT and now the pausing the past year all due to Stress.
It's set at 60...which during my sleep it's usually 50. I was told it only kicks in when needed.
THANKS again!! Rosie

svt

by Tracey_E - 2009-02-04 03:02:55

I get some svt's also. I keep it under control by avoiding caffeine and alcohol, and it seems to be better since I started taking salmon oil - though I started that the same time I got diligent about the caffeine and cut out the wine so who knows which it is! It definitely doesn't hurt to take the supplement, and studies have shown it can help electrical issues.

They only ever kick in when needed. A lot of people get under the impression that it takes over our hearts and that's just not so. Most of the time they just monitor, think of it as your titanium guardian angel. :o) The pm always gives our hearts a chance to beat on its own first, it only steps in if the heart's natural pacing isn't fast enough.

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