Most Recent Messages in General Posting

Finally an answer?

Hello everyone. Wanted to update....wow. Thank you all for your support!

This last Tuesday I had a CT with contrast (ordered by my internist only after I've been to hell and back trying to get an answer) to look at my chest to see if there was a connection to the swelling and pain in my left arm. The result was colorful.

I apparently have obstruction in progress of my Superior Vena Cava (SVC). What kind of obstruction is yet to be determined (could be a clot?) so I go back...

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I R I S H P A C E R S W H E R E A R E U ?

Sorry to be a bore ~ Just wondering (again!) whether any Irish Pacers (pacers living in Ireland) would be interested in getting together. Please let me know if anyone is interested, there's 4 of us so far (from Dalkey, Donegal, Co. Down and Galway) but there must be more of you out there ........... drop me a line with any thoughts, thanks and look forward to hearing from you ......
(colinandanita@eircom.net or anitaabboyle@hotmail.com)
Thanks and best regards,
Anita.

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Anxiety

It has now been nine (long) weeks since my PM. I am having such anxiety and boutsof crying. I have an appointment to see a therapist and probably start on an anitdepressant which I have always been totally against, but I need to do something for this anxiety. I also feel that I need some adjustments to my PM and I do have an appointment to go in to see to cardiologist for that soon. My energy level is low and I also have a slight headache once in awhile which I have never had many headaches...

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From EP Lab Digest.

This article might be of interest to everyone. It sounds like a marvelous invention. I hope it will soon be available. It's about time that someone comes up with a pacemaker aesthetically better for thin skinned women, and men.

~ Dominique ~

Features:
Anatomically Correct Permanent Pacemaker Casing
- Sergio Sanchez-Zambrano, MD Cleburne, Texas.

Article.

The electronics of current implantable devices are outstanding and truly life-saving devic...

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Left Shoulder Pain

I thas been nine weeks since my PM implant and around 2-3 weeks ago, I started having almost spasm type pain in my uppe left shoulder on the inside. I had been sore at times since the implant but now if I turn my shoulder a certain way, it really pains for a few seconds. I am wondering if I may have some inflammation in the rotator cuff and would need some Physcial Therapy. Any comments?

Sharon

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To: Pat

Thanks Pat for your answer to my PM pinching. I have
only one lead wire and today was the first time to be
aware of this discomfort in that area. This is not a constant thing. Just got a phone call from MD and they will see me
Monday morning just to make sure everthing is ok.
Gene

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AH! Sorry!

I didn't write a birthday post for FOUR pacers. Not good.
Well, better late than never I guess.
So, lets see....

1.Amanda: July 29, 1956
2.Karen: July 31, 1962
3.Neat: August 2, 1966
4.Constance (carismendez): August 2, 1983

And now, I’ll do my best to overanalyze the birthdates given, just for my own amusement.

Amanda was 6 when Karen was born.
When our pacer “Neat” was born, Amanda was 10, and Karen was 4.
Then, when Constanc...

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Just

celebrated another birthday thanks to the Pacemaker. I don't know if you know the book Harry Potter but did you know I share a birthday with him and his author J.K. Rowling. Had a nice quiet day with family.

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Holter Monitor Data

After the Holter Monitor Data is studied, is it ever in a summarized format that can be reasonably understood by the patient? Has anyone ever seen their findings? --EL

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29 with pacer and ready to start a family

I'm 29 and have had a pacer since I was 17. Things have gone well over the years and I've only had 1 battery change since but my doctor tells me that in the next 2 years I will probably need the surgery again. He also said I could be considered high risk because of a slight arythmia. Of course, my husband and I talked about having a baby in almost exactly 2 years too. I don't take any meds and I'm very active but I'm concerned.

For those of you who have had children with a PM - did an...

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inappropriate or appropriate?

This is a very private matter for me because I am pretty new to the whole pacemaker thing so I don't exactly know if this was ok or not.
I went in for a check up on my pacemaker and everything with my device is fine. I just need to know for pacer check ups where they have felt around your pacers and how low down your chest they feel. It probably sounds silly, I didn't think much at all until some more awkward things happened in the appointment with just us two and the closed door.

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Tate's Getting PM on Aug. 6

Hello new friends,

WOW! This is all so new to me. Please offer any information that might be helpful to us. Our soon to be 5 year old son (Tate) will receive a pacemaker on Monday, Aug.6, 2007. Tate was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and has recently developed a slow heartbeat & irregular heart rhythms. Tate has had 3 open heart surgeries & several heart caths during the past 4 1/2 years. He has gone into total heart block on 4 different occassions. We knew he would...

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update time once again!

I got my day finally scheduled to go to Mayo Clinic it will be Oct. 1 and 2nd. The first cardiologist apt was suppose to be in Aug. and he referred me on right away is what the lady over the phone told me today. I take it that he knew he couldn't do anything for me.
I still have been pretty weak and continue to get tired really easy though have came to realize that i'm just going to have to work around this.
My chriopractor has been one of my great friends through out my child ho...

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To Smitty

Hi Smitty - I responded to an email from Vicki, a newbie, on this site. However, my answer is really inadequate. Would you please once again post your explanation of how a PM works, when it works, etc.,; you did this for me last year & it made everything so clear for me. She has an unusual set of circumstances and you are the best person I know of to help her understand. There are some other newbies, too, who I believe will benefit from your words of wisdom. Thank you, my friend. God bless...

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Ablation

Hi everyone. I have just returned from an appointment with consultant and he is advising me to consider having an ablation.
This is because my A.F is getting worse and worse despite them trying different medication and strengths. I have a pacemaker which he says will make it easier. I dont really remember mush of the info I was given can anyone fill me in on the pro's and cons..many thanks Jude.

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The New Guy

Hi everybody!

I had my PM installed July 6th. I had had months of weakness, heavy arms and legs, and occasional dizziness. One night when I got up to let the dogs out, I almost passed out, so, even though I like to blame everything on allergies, I knew something was up. I threw on my blood pressure cuff and my pulse was 50. I was diagnosed with AV heart block.

To make a long story short, you can imagine where I spent the week of July 4th...not exactly the fireworks I was lo...

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Pacemaker donations to animals

Hi,

Just found this great club & it is very interesting. I wanted to donate my pacemaker after I pass on & found a 800 # for American Vet Association on this web site so I could donate to an animal in need. But I am sorry to report that I was told that they no longer accept used pacers donations. Person I talked to didn't know why this policy was started.

Any body got any further news?

Keep up the good work folks in supporting each other.

Janet

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shocked

Im a 58yr old male who never had a heart problem. Several weeks ago I had an awfull night sleeping. Chest pains, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizzy and chills.Since I had just 2 months ago passed a yearly exam with flying colors I ignored these symptoms. I drove to work feeling very dizzy. My family made arangements to bring me to my Doctors office. An ekg discovered I was in statge 2 heart block with a suprisingly low pulse of 26.Still in denile I was brought to the ER where the Doc...

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Update and SVC article link

Hello everyone,

In my last post I wanted to provide the link for the article I mentioned about SVC syndrome becoming an increasing complication with pacer (and assuming ICD) implants. I am not quite sure yet how to incorporate links directly in my posts, so I hope these will work:

Try:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/555441 OR

http://www.nature.com/ncpcardio/journal/v4/n4/full/ncpcardio0850.html

This article was just published in this journal...

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So Understand Jessie!

I so get where you are coming from. I thought when they were young and dropping raw eggs from the fridge and pouring cooking oil all over the kitchen was going to make me crazy.What I wouldn't give for those days. I had know idea that even though they were rasied in a baptist church and all 3 had been saved .I was teaching sunday school,my husband a deacon in the church, involved in bus ministry, sang in the choir,we both worked in the sound booth. In church 3 times a week and my husband went on...

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You know you're wired when...

You have a $50,000 chest.

Member Quotes

The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.