Most Recent Messages in Surgery & Recovery

Please share your PM recovery story

I am quite nervous waiting to get my PM on 4/9. They are sending me home the same day. Do I need someone to stay with me and if so, how long? I am usually the caregiver and not comfortable being waited on, but I do want to heal properly.

Can some of you please share your surgery & recovery story with me so I'll know what to expect? Details are appreciated, as are any tips or advice.

Thanks,

Brenda

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Ugly Scar Post PM Surgery

I had my third PM inserted on 19.3.09 and to my surprise I have the biggest lump just below my scar I think it is the lead sitting on top of the box. I am still quite bruised. Looking at my scar is making me feel very tearful and upset as it is "ugly". My chest now has 4 scars and this ugly lump that is about 1" long and the pacemaker box is extremely visible under my skin and shows through t-shirts. It is the worst of the 3. People I have shown are all quite shocked about how its looks,

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New To This All

Hello folks. I'm a 41-year old male from Milwaukee who had a Medtronic SEDR01 dual chamber pacemaker implanted last Thursday (March 26). This is all new to me. This is my first major medical experience, so in that respect I guess I'm lucky. The incision site so far appears clear of infection. I have some obvious pain associated with the surgical site and ice does the trick. What I have noticed is that when I move about somewhat beyond sedentary (ie. sitting on the couch), I feel a little bit of...

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OMG...the WRONG pacer!

Hi all! I went on March 27th for a new pacemaker finally after 11 years. I was so excited because the ones of today are so advanced over the ones 11 years ago... Well, my Dr. and I decided on a Medtronic, I did have a St. Jude "recalled" pacemaker so getting the Medtronic was exciting for me lol. Anyway, she was not doing surgery the day I was to get my new one so another Dr. did the surgery. Come to find out he put a Boston Scientific in instead of the Medtronic! I was livid to say the least. I...

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Blood loss

I have had two surgerys and three streiod injections since my PM implant, in all casas I was told to stop coumnidin for 5 days before. I cannot understand a Dr. not taking this precaution.

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another surgery :(

Well my Doctor finally believes me that my ICD is in my armpit and moves all over the place and has referred me to a plastic surgeon to have it repositioned under the muscle........My biggest question is why a plastic surgeon? I have not had my appointment with this Doctor yet and have many questions wondering if this is the right thing to do. I have had such bad luck with my ICD since day one and am not looking forward to another surgery!! :( *sigh*

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slow to heal

on January 21st this year i had a new device installed Bi-Ventricular ACD. it was installed where my past single lead device was installed. to date it still has not completely healed. i started with glue that did not work at all. then they stapled me up that fixed about 3/4 of the incision. then they added some stiches and that got it down to a single spot about a 1/4 in long right in the middle. for that they gave me 2 "matress" stitches and i am about a week out. as you can see it has bee...

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quick update

hi, all.
i know it's been forever - hope everyone's well.
my original implant was 2/26/08, and i've had nothing but fabulousness since! i'm able to work out more effectively (my duration is so insane, now, i LOVE it.) and have lost a whole bunch MORE weight since! getting me healthy has been such a task -- but we're almost there!
coming to you for good thoughts - i have to have a revision done, because of the weight loss. seems the pacer's pocket isn't deep enough anymore, since t...

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got out of the hospital on march 10th..!

hi everyone. sorry i am a bit late but i have been busy! feeling great! i got my defibrillator around 11:30 am on march 9th. i left the hospital around 3 pm march 10th. my husband got to stay with me at maine med so it was great (he and my family loved the cafeteria haha) i have been having at home nurses checking up on me once or twice a week to see how my incision is doing. everything is going great! my doc said the pace maker did it's job when he tested it, and the surgery took like an hour....

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Still feeling lightheaded

Got my PM 3 weeks ago today. I'm back to work for a week and a half now and am going to the gym doing a tread mill. Problem is I still feel borderline lighthededness some days on and off. Is this normal? I'm I sill adjusting ? I think the PM is set for 60 to at least 140. I usuallly feel this lightheadedness when not being very active. Thanks so much for the help.

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Husbands pacemaker..what to expect?

My husband is getting a pacemaker on Tuesday.
Can anyone tell me what to expect? I am a total nervous wreck just thinking about it. He is quiet, I know he is wondering about how this is all going to turn out too.

I'm trying not to worry, but I wish it was just done and over with.

anyone?

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3 days and counting

It will be this Friday that I have had my PM for six weeks. I am starting to give my left arm some needed exercise and light stretching. I stretched a little this morning and my left shoulder let me know it has not worked in a while. Has any others experienced shoulder pain when getting their left shoulder back into normal use? I am a golfer and will be starting to swing my clubs, albeit, slowly, next week and prior to that I thought it would be good to start slow and do some very gentle str...

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Is it normal?

I have had my PM now for 7 weeks. I was wondering if any of you have had your PM site feel sore to the touch at 7 weeks post surgery. Mine is sore (feels bruised but doesn't look bruised) when even the lightest pressure is on it. I suppose that might be normal during recovery, but it didn't feel that way to begin with.

Other than that, I am going for my first data dump on Monday.

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i'm back

Just got my pm on Tuesday, am back to work today (sitting at the desk). Feeling pretty good, get a little dizzy now and then though. They set my pm at 60bpm up from 32! I am sore, but can deal with that ( sure like vicadon). How long does it take for the dizziness to get better?

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Just got back from hospital

Well, I'm officially bionic! I had my (dual lead) pacemaker put in yesterday, with a bit of a complication. The cardiologist took the Sleuth device out, which was well and truly stuck in the scar tissue and took a lot of yanking! Then she inserted the pacemaker itself and all went OK until she tested the lead in the atrium, which apparently isn't routine as nothing really goes wrong there, but she tests it anyway. I was aware of my right side of my tummy spasming, like hiccups but it wasn't. The...

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Finally getting a new one, questions...

Hi all! I'm finally getting a new pm after 11 years. it will be in the next few weeks. My questions are: I'm going from a St Jude to a Medtronic, so will the leads need to be changed? Also, is it a pretty quick recovery compared to when i first had it put in? And the last question is, I have Sick Sinus Syndrome and could have had an episode like i did 11 years ago when all this started. Fast heart rate that lasted for about an hour. I'm 38 now but this all started when i was 26. I have read that...

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Home from the hospital...again!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to touch base and let you know that I had my AV Node Ablation yesterday and am home again today. The procedure went well and I'm feeling better.

I did have a weird complication though. After the required 4 hours on my back after the ablation, my nurse wanted me to go for a walk. When I stood up, I had no feeling in my right leg between my knee and my ankle. If I had to imagine what a stroke felt like, that would be it. There was no feeling ther...

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surgery date--march 9th

hi everyone. i am new to this website so i wanted to introduce myself and get some helpful advice from people with pace makers

my name is noelle and i am 21. i am married and live in maine. we live in a big house with my mom and dad, and sister. i really can't be on my own all day long while my husband works because i am in a wheelchair and it is more helpful to be around people. i have a form of muscular dystrophy called friedrich's ataxia, and my 14 year old sister has it also. the...

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a newbee

hello everyone,

going in on 3/3/09 for a pacemaker, little history...I had an aortic valve and root replaced in june 2005, since then I have felt real great and really lousy. My shortness of breath was really starting to bother me so the doc put me on a holter moniter for 48 hours. Called last night and said my high rate was 77 and low was 32, so you get a pace makler real soon! I am 47 and in great health and good physical condition. When I work out (thanks to my athletic wife) my ra...

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AV Node Ablation Tomorrow

Hello everyone,

I've got my AV Node ablation tomorrow. I'll be glad when it's over and I'm a little nervous about it at the same time. Question for those of you who are pacemaker dependent already, will I notice a difference right away?

Just looking for a little reassurance. Before the big day.

Thanks,

Debbie

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Member Quotes

Sometimes a device must be tuned a few times before it is right. My cardiologist said it is like fine tuning a car.