Most Recent Messages in Coping

recovery

is there any one out there that are friends of Bill W? if so how do you deal with this also? i'm 52 yo have been in recovery for 7 plus years. since in recovery i have lost about 40 lbs, lift weights 4 days a week, run 4 or 5 days, just ran the Nashville 1/2 back in April of 2008 and now this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whats next?

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out of a job

I just had an icd implanted jun of 08. The most worrisom part of it is the fact that I am no longer able to return to my job as a mechanic in a school corp. The job requires a cdl and ability to do heavy work. This is the same type of work I have done for thirty seven years, After the placement of my device I have to surrender my cdl and return to a regular license. Has anyone else had to work thru the same problems.

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Questions?

  • by h-d
  • 2008-06-20 04:06:41
  • Coping
  • 1746 views
  • 8 comments

I am struggling with the decision to have a pm implanted now or wait for a while. I have some questions for my doctor but thought maybe some of you would have some suggestions on what I should be asking.

First let me give you a little back ground. I am a few years away from 40. I have been having chest discomfort for the past 6 years. About 5 years ago I had my gallbladder removed and that seemed to help a little but the chest discomfort never went away but I had shoulder pain as...

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thank 4 ur support

I just wanted to express gratitude to all those who read my depression message. I went to a therapist who put me on a mood stabilizer that actually appears to be working! I guess geting heart disease, a defibrilllator implant, getting dumped by an abusive boyfriend and recovering from alcoholism in the matter of months registers as "a major issue" LOL=) Thank you people for all your wonderful support..I am so greatful today=)

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Thanks alot

Thanks for responding to my question about being tried. It helped a lot. Now I will give into the afternoon nap more often when I feel the need and consider it a blessing. This site is so helpful and by reading other members comments and reponses has help to reassure me that the future is even better now with my new PM. I also have been blessed with a wonderful husband who has been by my side the whole time. And has given me wonderful care at home. He is my guardian angle and watches over me...

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Encouragement

Hello friends... I've noticed that there are some new people and have been some depressed members in the past. Here's something that I thought was inspirational...

Do Not Quit
When things wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do n...

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two weeks in

Hi, everyone.
I share your anxiety about getting an ICD implant.
I had mine two weeks ago and am happy to say all my anxiety has gone away. My incision is almost healed and I have never had a moment when I felt any different.
However, I googled the subject to death. I suggest you do the same. Some great sites are Cleveland Clinic, American Heart Association and Medtronics. (the manufacturer of my device.
I talked to people with this device and am fully aware of the "kick" on...

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Depression Anyone???

I was reading an article about depression and people with either ICD's or Pacemeakers. It said after the implant an astounding eighty something percent were permanently off their medication! I have battled depression for years and was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I am wondering if any of you have found any correlation betweeen the two. My ICD was only put in a month ago and I think I have gotten more depresses! LOL=) Anyways just curious.....any feedback would be great thanks!!

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i hate my pacemaker

i really hate my pacemaker! i tell my mom that i wish i could go back before i had it but she tells me to remember how bad i felt before this! i feel so much better but my whole lofe has changed and i hate it. i feel no one can relate (considereing i no noone with a pacemaker at my age) everyone treats me differnet like im going to break. man this is so much harder for kids to get one. i almost wish i had not gotten it. anyone no how i feel please someone respond!!!!!!!

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I"m new at this!

I went on this site before I had my ICD installed on May 29 (08)
Your comments were a great help and comfort to me, as the doctors tend to hand you written material and expect you to be satisfied. As the old saying goes, the difference in major surgery and minor surgery is whether it is happening to you or to someone else.
So , I was really looking for practical answers to the whole thing when I discovered this site. Thanks to all of you for helping me adjust to the idea of invading my...

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This new experience...

I was diagnossed with cardiomyopathy 4 days before Christmas 2007. I had an enlarged heart which the doctors felt was the result of a viral infection in October 2007. After a series of tests and some very bad EKG readings over the past 5 months, I was fitted with a pacemaker/defibulator on April 28, 2008. I am back to work and feeling okay except for sleeping. I have a hard time getting comfortable and feel like my impant moves when I lay on either side. Also, the implant area is still sore...

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i'm always scared

hi i still have a really hard time accepting that i have a pacemaker/defib in me and it's been 3 years now. in 2005 when i got it, i was shocked 8 times while staying in the hospital. turned out in was "unnecessary" but i'm still scared all the time. no matter what i do, it's always in the back of my mind about getting shocked again. i don't think i'm depressed or anything but i still cry about it, i still feel like it sucks to have this in me & i'm 30 years old. i read about how people say they...

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Does anybody else....

have any other heart problems since their pacemaker?
I had my first pacer at 10 and since then I seem to have a new problem evertime I go to my doctor. I was intially diagnosed with complete heart block, now I have atrial tach and possibly fibrillations. I just recently found out I have a PFO also.
It makes me anxious everytime I go to see my doc because I worry what he will find next.
Has anyone been "cured" since they got their pacemaker or do you still have ongoing issues?

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Thank You!!!

I was overwhelmed and overjoyed at the wealth of responses to my first posted message! Everyone made me feel so welcomed and it made me feel 10 times better. So I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who eased my fears and sadness..I truly was blessed to find this site and all you wonderful people=)

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Sensitivity

Just a quick question: I have had my PM for 4 months and I can still feel the "sensation" of having my heart rate increased for me. When this happens I tend to get a little nervous about things.

Does the anxiety thing stop and will I come to the place where I do not realize the PM is even actively working?

Thanks: tripastor

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I'm lost!!

I am new to this and this is my first posting..my defibrillator was implanted about a month ago with absolutely no warning signs or previous indications or complications. I am also fairly young (30) and was so happy to find this website. Just to know there are other people going throught the same things. To make matters worse, my boyfriend broke up with me while I was in the hospital saying that he couldn't handle this drama. I lost all my friends (who I guess weren't really friends to begin wit...

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Suggestions

Hi all,
I have some throbbing on my left side under my lowest ribs. Anyone else having this and would it be my AF that is the cause? My implant was last February; it has solved part of my feelings of fatigue but I do not have the energy I had expected. Anyone else like this? I still need padding to protect the implant;
does anyone find that it eventually becomes unnecessary?
I do not have the energy to exercise; I used to walk three miles a day. I may be my age, 84, so I might...

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Help Please

All,

I need to know what has happened to me. It was a year ago I had this damed thing placed into my chest and in the past 5 months, I feel as though I have cheated something. My docs all say all is fine but male parts don't function, and I feel tired all of the time. I have verfy little patience for things that used to not bother me at all, but now all I want is to havve this thing out of me.

Have I lost me mind or what? I am greatful to god and science but it really s...

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Natural Death with a Pacemaker

My family and I are very concerned about our mother being able to pass away with dignigt and without distress when the time comes. She is 85 years old and is in advanced stage of
altzhimers. Can anyone tell us exactly how death occurs when a pacemaker is stimulating the heart? Thank you very much to anyone who can answer our question honestly.

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After the operation

Hi, I am a new member. I am 34 and five days ago I got my first pacemaker. It took two operations in one day to get it right. During the last few days I got gastritis, sore gums and a migraine and feel not very energetic at all which probably indicates that my immune system is low. My heart rate though feels fine and constant. Now and then I do feel that I cannot breath terribly easy. Everybody told me that I would feel great (apart from the wound) immediately after the operation. Not feeling ve...

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