Wellness

[allaries]

My sister is in the hospital awaiting the placement of a pacemaker tomorrow. Any here have one and what are your results.

[wonderfulworld]

My mother had one for afib. She took medication to slow down her heart rate and then the pacemaker kicked in to keep it at a good pace.

It worked great. She had to go to the hospital to the Pacemaker Clinic to have it checked a couple times a year. This was 10 years ago...not sure the protocol now. The battery needed to be replaced once, not a big deal.

Some pacemakers have a built in defibrillator which will shock the heart if it it goes haywire. Hers did not have this.

It was a very good thing for her. It did show a bit (through the skin) if she wore a lower neckline.

Let me know how things go. I wish your sister well!

[hckynut]

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@allaries wrote:

My sister is in the hospital awaiting the placement of a pacemaker tomorrow. Any here have one and what are your results.

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  since she is having 1 replaced she more than likely will have an updated and better device. heart knowledge/procedures/technology can change by the day.  have had 2 heart attacks but no a-fib, just PVC(premature ventricular complex/heart skips a beat). hope all goes well 4 your sis.

hnj

[allaries]

Thank you both for your responses. Yes, we are praying all goes well. She has been in

the hospital since last Thursday when she passed out while walking. She is in a different hospital for the pacemaker as the hospital in our small town does not do heart procedures. She has afib and has had a stroke (she is 61). This problem is that her heart keeps pausing and stopping suddenly. They had to wait until the blood thinner wore off to put in the pacemaker.  Right before the stroke last year she was doing marathons. Boy life can change quikly. I have read here that hckynut has certainly had his share of medical problems but keeps up with a good attitude. Heart problems run in our family as I myself have had a four way bypass and deal with diabetes also. I hope we can keep up a hopeful outlook also.

[Aviatrix]

There is an excellent web site for pacemaker patients and those who care about them. It's address is pacemakerclub.com. The people who participate are quite knowledgeable and thoughtful. This is a fine support group.

[RedTop]

My work friends older sister had a pacemaker put in 3 years ago when she was 68 years old, and is doing great.  Her problems started with frequent episodes of weakness and passing out, which she pushed off with the excuse she overheated and there was no air flowing.   Her husband and family let her get away with her excuses for months.

When my friend told me about it, I insisted she get her sister to the doctor ASAP to be checked, and tested for a heart issue.   All of those passing out spells were signs from her heart that something was seriously wrong, and coronary insufficiency is nothing to ignore.   Sister had every other symptom I asked about, so she was in the doctors office the very next day, and had the pacemaker put in by the end of that week.   

[Stormygirl]

I  have had a pacemaker since the age of 40 as I have Sick Sinus Syndrome which caused my heart rate to go down to 20. My Sister has had a pacemaker since age of 20 so this must run in my family. After 9 years I had my first pacemaker change which was relatively easy as the wires stay in and just the unit is changed.. I check it by phone every few months and go to doc once or twice a year. I can feel it in my chest and mine is on right side as they had great troubles putting it in the first time. Sometimes I still get a wee bit sore by the wires. One has to watch how they move their arms for a few weeks after the initial wire placement until it sets and all is healed so she will take it easy for a few weeks or until doctor says all clear. I also had to wait till I was free of blood thinners, Any particular question I can answer for you? Would be happy to answer any question I am able.

[allaries]

The surgery was done on Thursday and she came through fine and if all goes well will be coming home today. I have not spoken to her daughter yet this am so am not sure about the homecoming. Her heart rate has gone really low but not down to what yours did. That is frightening. I thought ours was going low because we take metoprolol. I do hope she does not get impatient and lets the complete healing take place. I read that the FDA has now approved a pacemaker the size of a large vitamin. As my doctor is hinting at it I will check into this. Thanks for reply and infor.

[hckynut]

@allaries

i am happy 2 hear everything went well for your sister, and i hope she has an uneventful and speedy recovery. here is the story on blood thinners/coumadin/warfarin. it takes 72 hours for it to get completely out of your blood stream. i was on it for over 7 years and chose to quit taking it because of my bleeding colon issues, with my doctors consent. have had way over 100 blood transfusions and 20+ iron infusions.

my doctors would not do any invasive procedures until i had been off of coumadin for 7-10 days. it depended on how invasive the procedure would be.  Endoscopy-7 days/Colonoscopy-10 days.  there is a blood thinner called lovanox which stays in your system for only 12 hours. with this it comes in a syringe and you have to inject into your stomach twice a day. this is usually used for a short term by most doctors.

yes, i have had my share of serious health issues, and still having some at the present time. spent over 6 hours this morning at the hospital getting tests. Venous Doppler Ultrasound/Nuclear VQ Scan, and 2 other less time consuming tests. doctor wants to rule out Pulmonary issues, primarily blood clots in my legs or in my lungs. still have more coming up.

my main way of dealing with all my many medical issues is Optimism. trying to see nothing but good things when looking ahead. i see little sense in thinking "why me, or when will it end", neither accomplishes anything positive. 

my best to your sister and yourself,

hnj