Most Recent Messages in Conditions, Meds & Tests

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Off balance and loopy!

Hi everyone,
I had my pacemaker implanted in May, and was just starting to get back to my active lifestyle( I work full time , have three kids and work out at the gym 4-5 days a week). On my last visit with my primary care Dr. my blood pressure was elevated again( I was on cozaar and it had been stable for months finally, but now it was through the roof just like it was right before I got sick and had to have the pacemaker put in). The Dr. switched me to Lisinopril, and I have felt tired, c...

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Hi fellow sufferers

Hello again
Thank you so much to all of you who replied so promptly and my apology for my not so prompt reply.
To Dottodot, - i am living in Melbourne/Australia and grew up in Germany, France, Austria and Holland. My family lives all over Europe and the entire mixed bunch has heart conditions of sorts, even though our environment and diets in which we were raised were all very different and none of them has the dilated cardiomyopathy kind. I was 42 when I emigrated to this continent...

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GENERIC DRUGS

Generic drugs as we know or have been told are supposed to be identical to the original. However I personally have noticed that they vary in their effectiveness. I have now discovered that the same prescription is allowed to vary its active ingredients between 80% and 125% in a generic equivalent of the original. I am astonished by this. From 2010 in the UK pharmacists will be expected to change the drug prescribed on the prescription given by doctors to the cheapest generic drug available to s...

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cardiac syncope

hi all
As u might remember i posted messages on here couple of days ago regarding my son with the above condition. He unfortunately was rushed again in hospital yesterday with this condition and yet again no beds available on coronary care ward until tomorrow, but at least he is better then he was yesterday.thank God
As he is only 38 years old, doctors in hospital said that he should not be suffering like this and about time he was sorted out, but lack on funds here in the u.k. is sto...

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Cardiac syncope

Hello friends
I have not been on here for a while due to my computer falling sick on me and had to be doctored he he, but my son has now been diagnosed with Cardiac syncope. He has to have a Reveal Monitor inserted in 3 weeks time, but after 5 years of feeling poorly and a leaking heart valve, he is just about ready to give up, at the young age of 38 years. He has been told he will eventually have valve replacement but are they waiting for one foot in the grave before anything is done...

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Imitrex & Pacemakers

My headaches still continue after my operation 7/8/09 when I am sitting up or just up and walking around (vertical). I see my primary care doctor in a little over a week for a post hospital checkup visit. Tylenol does not seem to be helping, and I cannot take NSAIDs (ibuprofen, ect). Has anyone with a pacemaker taken imitrex? I was thinking I could ask my doctor if it would be ok to take for the bad headaches. I just find it weird that I get these headaches now after the surgery. I never h...

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cardiomyopathy and pace maker

Hello o you all!
I am 64, female and lived all my (very active) life in five different countries. Diagnosed with idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy 12 years ago, life quality was okay, albeit somewhat breathless and decreased exercise capacity. In recent years episodes of AF started and required added amiodarone and ever more frequent DCR's which returned sinus rhythm each time. When in AF I was almost incapacitated regarding walking inclines or with slight excertion. Lowering HR did not mak...

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Coenzyme Q10

I just bought Coenzyme q10 today. After taking a 100mg soft gel, I got a headache and my mouth was a bit dry. I read the side effects of coenzyme q10 and headache is a side effect. Has anyone else had this reaction. If this would be ongoing I won't continue with it. thanks

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Sudden increase in Blood Pressure...

Hi.....I was wondering if any of you have had a sudden increase in blood pressure when having a bi-vent PM. I had the bi-vent PM implanted about 2 yrs ago for chronic a-fib. I have been feeling fine since that time and my blood pressure ranged from low (90/50) to normal (120/80)....it seems like in the past 1-2 weeks, it has risen considerably. Now it ranges from 125/85 to 155/102. I had been on a trip about that time and didn't rest well, so I attributed it to just being exhausted. I asked...

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Pacemaker exit block

Had pm implant for about 3 years now due to bradycardia (30 bpm). Felt pretty good for the 1st year, then progressively started to feel tired. I almost felt better before the pm with 30 bpm). Anyone out there ever experience pacemaker exit block? I think another term is 2 to 1 pacing. What I am experiencing is anytime I get my heart rate up during exercise, the pm drops to about half of what its suppose to be at. Example, I am 47 and should have a max hear rate of 173 (220 minus age 47)....

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24 hour holter monitor

how come we still have to endure these heart monitors with all their leads and wires after pacemaker implant. It's very disappointing to see how these "new" pacemakers aren't as good as they claim to be to help diagnose problems. UGH. A year ago when I was implanted with this high-tech device, I thought my heart monitor days were over with. Jeez.....this is frustrating..

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Not feeling well & head pain

I had a pacemaker put in 2 weeks ago. This past weekend I started feeling like I could feel the lead in my heart and can hear the blood pumping or gargling through my heart. I found out when I had my procedure I have Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava which explains alot of things about me (why I sleep on my back, can't stand recliners, ect), but I just wonder if I am getting dehydrated or something because of this. I only have one lead to the sinus node. I am also having shooting headaces i...

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Lightheadedness

Is it possible that having a pacemaker along with taking Lopressor, digoxin, and Lisinopril could keep my heartrate from rising appropriately to correspond with increased activity, thus causing lightheadedness?

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Mastectomy with pacemaker

I am due to have my pacemaker replaced and found out 2 weeks ago that I have breast cancer even though the mammogram was neg for the last 5 years plus they could not find a mass on Ultrasound that I insisted on. A blind biopsy found the cancer. Both the pacemaker and the breast involved are on the left side ( plus I broke my left arm 7 weeks ago- it has not been a good summer). The EP and the surgeon are supposed to talk, but I think they are perplexed with what to do with the pacer. The surg...

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coming off of medications

I have my AV node ablation in about a week. I am curious about people that have been on medications for a long period of time and what it is like to come off of them. I am currently on flecainide 100mg twice a day, Toprol XL 50 mg twice a day, midodrine 10 mg three times a day, and we just added back in Digoxin 0.25mg once a day. I am most concerned with coming off that much Toprol and flecainide. I have been on those for almost 5 years. When I have come off these for my EP studies I have g...

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Meds

Does anyone have any experience of changing from an expensive brand of their meds to a cheeper generic one? Have you noticed any difference? It is supposed to be exactly the same thing in a cheeper box, isn't it? My local pharmasy ran out of my usual medication and they asked me several times if I would allow them to replace with a generic brand. Why would they make such a big deal of it, if it really is the same stuff? By the way the generic meds are almost 50% cheeper than the other brand...

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using drugs from other than US

I keep hearing about Canadian pharmacies and saving money. Can anyone recommend any that you might have used or are familiar with. I'm primarily interested in Lipitor and Plavix.

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Link between heart rate and stomach problems

Hey Guys and Gals! I have asked you questions several times and you have always come through with some great answers and advice! Well, I have got something for you to think about. I was diagnosed first with Celiac Disease. Celiac disease is a glutten sensitivity. All my life I had been sick and couldn't figure out why. After being diagnosed and altered my diet is when I began to have heart problems. it was within a year from the celiac diagnosis that I had my defibulator implanted. I hav...

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Ablation

I'm very thankful that through technology that my doctors are able to get to my heart without performing more invasive means such as open heart surgery, but I am sick and tired of people I know down playing ablations as if it's no big deal and the equivalent of getting your teeth cleaned.

I think people think that since it's just called a procedure and not surgery, they consider it less of a deal.

I'm just venting, mostly, and speaking for everyone here that has been throug...

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MRI With a Pacemaker

Hi!! I am new to this site and wonder if anybody has had a MRI since they had a Pacemaker?

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You know you're wired when...

The mortgage on your device is more than your house.

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I am a competitive cyclist with a pacemaker!