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thanks

Just want to thank all you great people for replying to my posting. It sure means a lot to know that you are not the only person with a PM or ICD. I hope I can help others in the way you have all helped me.
Sincerely,
Gary

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alaska

I have taken the Alaska cruise and enjoyed it. I would say to just stay on the ship and enjoy the scenery. When you go ashore in the towns in Alaska there will be 2 or 3 ships in port with about 2000 passengers each. The side walks are so full of people you can hardly walk down the street. There are a couple of train trips that are worthwhile. They get you out of town.

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Sleep sweet Sleep..

Okay..I'm confused about the whole not sleeping thing. I mean I understand that I'm not sleeping...and kindof why, because my heart rate drops so low...and we figure I'll be paced almost 100% of the time...my question is...will I get a night where I dont wake up and I sleep all the way through? I swear I'm about to go crazy. I'm going in on the 9th for my operation (yeah!!!) so afterwards, I'll sleep better right? Gosh I hope so...Found out I am getting a Victory St.Jude Pacer...is that a good o...

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New PM

Hi
I had my Pm inserted last wednesday.A medtronic duel lead. the operation went well and healing has been relitively pain free.I still don't feel like I have my energy back yet hope that will come but the dizzy and light headedness seems to have gone for this I am oh so grateful. This is not a complaint but I would like to hear from other PM people does the strange awareness of the bump at the collar bone go away and do you get used to it being there.
Thanks to all , this is one gre...

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HRT and PMs

Further to my question as to whether there were any ladies with PMs on HRT, here is my answer to the comments received. I had my St Jude Victory DDR PM fitted 16 days ago and wondered whether HRT is permissible for ladies with PMs. Prior to the PM issue I had been intending asking by doctor if I could go on HRT.

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3 lead

I went from a two lead PM to a three lead about 2 years ago. No problem. They have to add the third lead, and replace the PM with a three lead unit. Felt a lot better after.

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Forgive me, but I need to post this.

I'm wondering why, when legitimate pacemaker/ ICD questions are asked, hardly any replies are made; but when someone posts a sob story, everyone rallies around that, and replies pour in?
Wasn't this site created to help inform and support pacemaker and ICD recipients? The key word here being RECIPIENTS.
Often times, one person gets all the support, at the expense of informative replies to all other legitimate members with important questions.
The comments ratio on several posts pr...

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chat room

Any one up for chatting? 9am in saskatchewan.

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Welding with Pacer

Hi all. I tried welding today. I had my pacer installed in Nov 07 and had not tried any welding since. It went great. I welded at arms length (pretty shakey though) and no interfence at all.
Just thought I would let anyone who was curious know.
John S

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alaska

hi we are going to take the alaskan cruise from seattle on the 19th. as we are canadian we will fly from seattle and end up in victoria and of course will take the double bus to tour victoria and to have tea at the famous victoria hotel empress something or other. has anyone else ever gone and are there any suggestions as to what things to see. there are skads of them to pick from and we want to do something each day but not a lot of walking right now for my husband. so any suggestions would be...

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What about sex?

Thank you for the FAQ's. It addresses most of my initial concerns and questions. I received my pacemaker less than a week ago. One issue I missed has to do with sex. Is this a concern? Do I need to wait a while for sex or is that even an issue? I didn't have restrictions before the pacemaker was installed. Will I now?

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baseball

I "make" my son (12) wear a chest protector (heart guard) when he plays baseball (hardball). Do you know if it is actually necessary? He did get hit last year and we all heard the clunk so were pleased he was wearing it. It is uncomfortable and doesn't stay in place. He is a trooper. Any suggestions?
mechanicalme's mom

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Help us start a List!

Ok. Many members have been asking about all those initials and abbreviations that are always floating around this web site being used like they are common vernacular. SO...I suggest we help each other out and post what we know so that reading posts will be easier (and maybe we'll all get a little bit smarter in the process)! :) I'll even start!

VVS = vasovagal syncope
NCS = neurocardiogenic syncope
SCD = sudden cardiac death
BPM = beats per minute

Now it...

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EP visit

ela-girl and randrews, you asked me to keep you posted on the EP visit. I can't seem to get the private messages working so I will post here. Visit went well, the ep says I have VVS. He is taking me off all meds and he raised my bpm to 70 (was 55)for now. I keep getting light headed or dizzy episodes caused by v v s and he feels that by raising the bpm that will help get me away from them. When I have not had any for awhile he will start lowering the bpm. If this does not work he said we can try...

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guest speaker

The Hospital for Sick Children cardiology department is having their annual gathering in September 2007. We would love to host a guest speaker who is also a famous (or not-so-famous) pacemaker recipient. We are looking for a sports person or a singer or someone who tends to be inspiring. We usually host a guest speaker, last year it was a magician, illusionist.
We have about 100 children and their families who attend. It is run by the fabulous medical team at HSC.
Is there any way...

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cat scans and pacemakers

Hi,
I just wanted to know if anyone ever had problems when they had a cat scan? I just had a cat scan today, I have had many in the past, so I'm very used to them, but today something strange happened, I was fine when they were scanning me, but when the machine started moving around me, I felt my heart starting to beat hard, it reminded me of when I have my pacemaker turned off to see how my heart is beating, It was getting harder and faster, so I told them to stop, they thought I might be...

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HRT and pacemakers

Are there any ladies out who have a pacemaker and who also take HRT?

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More Questions!

I went back in yesterday for another visit. I put off going to the ER the night before because I knew that they couldn't do anything for me. I have had my pm for 7 weeks now and this entire time has been up and down for me. My heart has started to do most of the work and has gone back into tachycardia once again. I didn't think that this would be possible as they have burned so much of my AV and SA Node. As they changed more settings on the pm they told me that overtime I would just start to ada...

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Getting a replacement....

I was told yesterday that its time to replace my 6 year old Guident dual chamber pacer out. The doc has decided to replace it with a Medtronic. Just curious if any one has a Medtronic and has had any issues with it. I'm not too comfortable with Guident any more because of all the issues they have had over the last couple of years but I don't know anything about Medtronic and what kind of a track record they have.

Thanks,
Janice

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Spring is finally here and it's time for some Golf

7 months post op here with a dual chamber St. Judes PM for a 3rd degree heart block. Had it installed just before October and when I posted then, it was the end of the golfing season here in snowy western PA. It was a long winter and oh did I have cabin fever. Today was about 70 degrees and sunny so it was finally time to test the golf swing... I have read many posts about golfing with a PM in and really had no concerns about it, especailly after 7 months of healing. I did however call my c...

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You know you're wired when...

The dog’s invisible fence prevents you from leaving the backyard.

Member Quotes

I consider my device to be so reliable, that I never think about a failure.