newbie here

Hello All,
I am two weeks into being a PM recipient, and have been reading the posts here since shortly after getting out of the hospital. Figured it was time I introduced myself.

I'm 45, female, married, and an over-the-road truckdriver from Las Vegas, NV.

I started reading this board hoping to learn more about what has and is happening to me. My doctors don't seem to be volunteering information, and I don't have a clue what to ask them. All I know is that back in February, I had an episode of severe dizziness and fell, breaking my nose and left orbital floor. In the ER, they said I had a left bundle branch block (pulse was 56) and might need a PM. I checked out, ended up in another hospital 3 days later for tests. This hospital concurred with the LBBB diagnosis, told me to get home for my own docs follow-up.
(Trying to keep this from becoming a book).

Got home for a doc's appt on March 23. While in the office, I had another of those dizzy spells. The doc sent me next door to Urgent Care, and they put me in an ambulance and shipped me to the hospital. My PM was put in the next afternoon, and I was released from the hospital the day after that.

Honestly, I have gotten more info just from reading this board than I have from my docs. This may not be their fault as I really don't know what to ask them. I haven't been dealing with this very well, and I'd really like to find some friends and good advice here.

The card they gave me says I have a Biotronik DR pm with two Setrox leads.... I haven't been able to find any info on this PM, it doesn't seem to be widely used, which scares me...

Jan

6 Comments

Hi Jan

by Brendakt54 - 2009-04-07 11:04:08

I am a newbie to this board and won't get a PM til 4/9 but wanted to say hi. I'm glad you are okay and didn't have one of your dizzy spells while driving.

I have very few doctors who have time to answer my questions. I try to get as educated as possible on forums such as this one, and then ask the doctor anything I feel I need confirmed or elaborated on (in their words.)

I love the Las Vegas area. I've been out that way a few times. Once, on Thanksgiving, I ended up in the ER there. Hubby and I were having dinner on the strip and I just felt all weird and not right. I was having soup. One of the servers took us out the back way through the kitchen. Getting off the strip and finding the ER was a challenge. I thought I might die. I don't know what happened, but I remember LBBB mentioned that night.

This is a great forum for support. I like browsing
www.chfpatients.com also. Lots of info there too.

Good luck!

Brendakt54

Info on pacer

by ElectricFrank - 2009-04-07 11:04:43

I did a Google on Biotronik DR and found several references. Most of them are very medically oriented and hard to understand for the new comer. The pacemaker received FDA approval in 2002.

How are you feeling? That is the most important.

Also, at your next checkup ask for a copy of the pre and post programming report. It will provide information on the settings and how your heart is responding. Several of us here can help you understand the meaning of the information. Also, since you travel, it is very helpful to have a copy of the latest report with you in case you had any problems away from home.

best of luck,

frank

frank

Hello Jan

by abreaux - 2009-04-08 02:04:06

Welcome!

I travel for business a lot, and I always wonder about you truck drivers, especially when it gets later at night and there's fewer cars, and mostly just trucks. It's nice to have one here with us. I was off the road for a couple months after my pacemaker was implanted (in January), but have started back with my normal travel load. I'm in the 3rd week of 4 weeks of travel, with just a couple days home each week. It has been going fine so far.

Before my pacemaker, I *did* pass out while driving and have a scary wreck, so I agree with the previous poster that I'm also very glad you didn't have a bad episode, especially while driving something as large as a truck. I hope that the pacemaker gets everything sorted out and you feeling splendid, and helps to keep you healthy so that you can continue your work, if that;s your choice.

One suggestion - before I got back on the road, I bought a MedicAlert bracelet and registered with those folks. I figured that I spend so much time away from home and away from my medical records that if anything ever happened to me while on the road, and I couldn't talk to the responders, I would like them to be able to get quick access to my medical history.

Best of luck and I'm sending lots of good continued healing thoughts your way, from my hotel room in Dallas.

A-M

Envy

by Skelton - 2009-04-08 03:04:37

Hi, I am in Australia and have always wanted to go to Vegas. All I know is there are lots of lights and gambling. But what I would have liked was when Sinatra used to go there, I reckon that would have been great.
Hope everything goes well for you.
Love Barbara.

Thank you all

by hapjan - 2009-04-08 12:04:42

so much for responding.

I did Google my PM, but everything I found referred to the Biotronik DR-T, and I don't know if that is what I have. My card just says Biotronik DR.
How am I feeling? LOL, honestly, I really don't know. Definitely not normal, although I have no clue what normal IS anymore. I don't have that energy boost that I have read about, although I don't seem to fatigue as easily as I used to. I did quit smoking when all this started happening, and I have started eating a lot healthier than I used to, and trying to lose weight. My blood pressure, which was normal before all this started, went through the roof, so now I'm on Lisinipril. It still bounces up and down though. I will ask for those reports, Frank. Thanks for the great advice.
Brenda, good luck tomorrow with your procedure, you will be in my thoughts. Fortunately, I didn't have a spell while driving. The first time I drove after the first fall, though, i was so paranoid that I had a minor panic attack and then stopped every time I felt like I MIGHT be getting dizzy, although it didn't actually happen. What ER did you go to in Vegas?
Barbara, the one place I would like to visit outside of the US is Australia...LOL. if you do ever get to visit Vegas, do some research- there's a LOT more than gambling now. I used to be a tour guide before I started driving a truck. In the last 10-15 years, Vegas has evolved into a vacation destination for the entire family...and don't I sound like a rep for the Visitor's Bureau?
A-M, nice to know there is a fellow gypsy/roamer here. When things are normal, we only get home every 2-3 months. My husband and I drive team, and have our dogs with us, so the only reason to go home every so often is to check mail. I prefer to drive the night shift because of the lighter traffic you mentioned.
I thank the Gods every day that I didn't have a spell while driving. Since I got my PM, I have started to feel a couple of times the same way I did before I fell, but I guess the pacer kicks in and it stops before I actually get dizzy.
BTW, I forgot to add this to my first post- the first time I fell, I was diagnosed with the LBBB. When I actually got my PM, I was diagnosed with a "third degree heart block". Don't know what that means yet, it's my next research goal.

Jan

3rd degree HB

by ElectricFrank - 2009-04-09 12:04:29

This one is easy to explain.

In the normal heart our natural pacemaker causes the upper chamber (atrium) of the heart to beat at a rate that is appropriate to our activity level. There is an electrical pathway from the upper chamber to the lower (ventricles) that tells it when to beat. This makes for an efficient pump where the atrium does some of the easy work of filling the ventricles with blood. Then the ventricles contract and do the provide the powerful pulse of blood that we feel as our pulse.

One of the problems that can develop is a defect in the electrical path (like a broken wire) that keeps the message from getting to the ventricles to contract. This would be the end except the ventricles have a built in backup pacemaker that causes them to contract at a much slower rate, usually in the range of 25-40 bpm, but not related to activity level. This is enough to stay alive, but not always enough to keep our brain happy. If not we become dizzy, confused, and maybe pass out.

This whole situation is often referred to as "heart block", but is more correctly called AV block. AV is the initials for Atrioventricular. The docs like Heart Block as it sounds a lot more serious and the patient is likely to be compliant. 3rd degree means that the block is complete.

So for this condition the pacemaker wires around the blocked circuit and all is well. It has one lead placed in the atrium that senses a contraction, and another lead in the ventricles that stimulates them to contract. When adjusted properly the pacemaker returns things to near normal.

In my case I was in good physical condition (for a 74 yr old at the time) when my HR suddenly dropped to 40bpm. By the time I got the pacer implanted it was down to 26bpm. In my case I felt lousy, but was able to stay alert. It felt great when they turned it on.

Hope this helps,

frank

You know you're wired when...

You are always wired and full of energy.

Member Quotes

The pacer systems are really very reliable. The main problem is the incompetent programming of them. If yours is working well for you, get on with life and enjoy it. You probably are more at risk of problems with a valve job than the pacer.