Most Recent Messages in Coping

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Emotionally Struggling with sick sinus syndrome

Hey team, 

As talked about in a prior post, I had a dual chamber pacemaker installed in July, I'm 44 and pretty healthy to say the least. 20 years in the army, runner, weight lifter, 6'5" 205. I started feeling my pauses when I was around 24 yuears old. It took cardiologists (several) years to figure it out...I was diagnosed with being dramatic, too much caffeine, too much alcohol (never drank either more than my peers), anxiety. Finally in 2019, a cardiologist got sma...

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Flip Flops felt during recovery

Hello PMC! 
 

Hope all of you are blessed and doing well. I was wondering if anyone has experienced a flip flop sensation while your heart rate is coming down after exercise. When I get my heart rate to 150 or a little higher I can feel it on the way down back to baseline. It doesn't happen all the time but the past three times it has, I've felt flip flops/ectopics and even presyncope. It's like OMG what is happening in my heart right now??!!&nb...

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

Hey folks,

Up until this past Friday, things have finally started to feel "normal". My vision spells and "foggy/unfocused" vision that were essentially preventing me from driving or being on my feet for more than 10-15 mins were "cured" with the addition of the BP med Amlodipine Besylate. Cardiologist prescribed it as a "guess" only after the extensive blood work, sleep test, heart stress test, brain MRI, brain CT, heart echo,...

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Feeling the correction

Hey team! 

Healthy 44 year old male (considering), 

I was fitted with my pacemaker in June for sinus node pauses of seven seconds plus. The procedure was severely emotionally and physically gassing for me. Post procedure I had PVCs for about a month, I believe it may have been caused by a wound during installation. I was in and out of consciousness and heard "oh, a lead came out, let's try that again". I said "huh?!" And, was inject...

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New pacemaker recipient

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I have been reading this site for several months now and am always impressed with the good advice and support. The questions and answers are always spot on.

My story started 2 years ago, went into respiratory failure in the middle of the night. Stopped breathing and EMT intubated me and I was put on ventilator in ICU. Scared me to death. Cause still unknown. First cardiologist in ICU stated it was from antidepressants, Lexapro and Effexor. The Effe...

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Dull ache around heart area

Ive had a pacemaker since the age of 14, im now 26 and had it changed two / three times. Im half way through this "cycle" but recently ive been getting a dull ache around by my heart, its quite hard to explain but it is quite a bad pain that last usually for about 10/15 mins, it seems to be getting more regular. I first thought it was happening due to sleeping awkwardly but now im thinking it isnt. Had it checked a few weeks back and mentioned it and they said it seemed no...

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Your Decision Your Heard

As of yesterday I just completed the 6-month MULTIFIT Cardiac Rehabilitation program with my health care provider Kaiser Northern California.  It was a lot of online classes about exercise, diet, and tracking my heart, which I was already doing to some degree before my heart attack.  Now I track my blood pressure on paper two to three times a day on a spreadsheet and have been doing for the past 8-months looking for trends.

I walk 1-hour every morning and ride my bicycle betwe...

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I feel much better

I had my first month in person ICD interrogation with my EP today. I had called in twice during this first month to complain about spasms, sensing electrical pulses and a general tiredness. Both times they convinced me to wait till my in person device interrogation and appointment with my EP. I sent reports both times but they just said everything looked fine. Well today was my first month in person appointment and device interrogation and I complained again. And this time they changed my set...

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Child with pacemaker

Hi All,

I am new to this group. My 11-year old son was diagnosed with CCTGA 4 months ago, and subsequently had a pacemaker inserted for complete heart block. He is finding it exceedingly difficult to accept his condition and his pacemaker. I know that he is young and it will take time to get used to it, but I was wondering if there is anyone on this forum that can offer advice to me as a parent to help him cope and accept. If there is anyone with a child his age with a pacemak...

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Hate having ICD

I'm 35 and had to get an ICD in May of 2020. I had 3 heart attacks at age 19, 2 Bell's palsy attacks at 18 & 19, a heart infection in 2017 and then found out I have heart failure when I was pregnant with my son in 2019. I have been shocked 4 times as of yesterday and they even changed my settings a week or two ago so that hopefully it wouldn't happen again or at least give me more of a heads up that it was about to happen. I hate this thing so much, I never feared my heart bef...

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still getting episodes of AFIB

Had my 2 lead pacemaker fitted in June after several hospital visits with AF (174 BPM ). It seemed to be fine for months. now getting a few minutes to a couple of hours of very fast heart beats . Is this common ? Could it possibly be the bisoprol . Anyone else had this problem ???. I took bisoprol for about 6 months several year ago for high blood pressure,had to stop because I was getting missed heart beats .I'm fine when all is going okay , but get a trifle...

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Electrical / Conduction system Question

Electrical System Question -   If your SA node is completely non-functioning and your AV node is barely functioning, does a pacemaker replace the electrical / conduction system when the hearts natural pacing system is non working?

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Dealing with tight skin

My ICD went in on 16 Deptember (13 days ago) and all has been well, except for a pocket haematoma which was reduced by compression before I was discharged.  

The wound is healing swiftly - I removed the dressing a week after the op, as per instructions. The pain lasted a couple of days, manageable with paracetamol (tylenol) and wearing a supporting bra with extra padding (a rolled up flannel) to reduce the downwards drag on the wound, day and night. The bruising is still spect...

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going to hold your breath

Hard to explain explain.  Maybe involantary gasp, or like gong to hold your breath for a second.  Does anyone get that?

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Shoulder & arm pain

Here I am again--this is my go-to place whenever a question pops up. I know my doctor should be my first go-to, but sometimes I just want to know if anyone else has had a similar experience. So here goes: 

I've mentioned before that my pacemeker placement seems to me less than ideal, being so near my left armpit that I sometimes feel it when I move my arm in certain ways. There is something else that I have noticed but I'm not sure if I can blame the device. I get pain in m...

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Recent Pacemaker Insertion 3 weeks ago

Hope everyone is well. I'm 34 years old very active and in the military. I recently received my pacemaker 3 weeks ago due to an vasovagal syncope episode I had in the hospital while battling Covid in which I was found unresponsive and my heart stopped for 10 seconds. I had already had tests ran on my heart 2 weeks prior to hospitalization due to chest pain which consisted of an EKG, stress test, and ultrasound and they all came back clean. The Cardiologist checked the telem...

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Accepting Your Heart Condition

I had a 3rd-degree complete heart block on February 8, 2021, with two stents and a dual-chamber heart pacer, implanted.  It is now 6-months on and I have had some issues with pacer pocket infection and my pacer removed pocket clean and dead tissue remove and my dual chamber pacer reinstalled in the same pocket.  Since the infection, my pacer tends to move in the pocket and gets hung up on my chest muscle that tends to hurt but it will pop back out.  Doc says it will heal a...

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34 and terrified

Hi all, been following this forum for the past couple days. And I'm fairly certain I will be asked to join the club soon.

I have had minor chest pains all my life (EDIT: mainly to mental stress, this was my initial complaint to get me to see a cardio), exercise almost daily without incident, have never fainted. I also struggle with severe anxiety and depression symptoms and am in the care of a licensed therapist. My habit is to go between stages of "extreme worry" and...

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How I think

I thought I'd post about a recent experience that illustrates just how living with heart issues, including having a pacemaker since January, has affected the way I think--maybe some will get a chuckle. Maybe some day I won't be so dumb!

This past weekend I did not feel my best. I was fatigued, my body ached, I had digestion issues & therefore no appetite, I barely left my bed (except for frequent bathroom trips!) The whole time, I'm trying to figure out the problem: ...

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After 3 months still soreness.

After 3 months I have started playing golf again.  But I still get some soreness around the pacemaker.   The scar is quite ugly, (surgeon never did needlework as a kid)  Feels as if the scar is rubbing on the top of the pacemaker.   Should  I give it more healing time?

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You know you're wired when...

You name your daughter “Synchronicity”.

Member Quotes

But I think it will make me feel a lot better. My stamina to walk is already better, even right after surgery. They had me walk all around the floor before they would release me. I did so without being exhausted and winded the way I had been.