I had my CRT-D implant on Friday

[edplayer]

For those of you following my journey and especially those who have helped me with answers to my various questions on these forums here is a quick update. I had my CRT-D implant procedure on Friday. I was lucky to have a wonderful NHS team look after me including a particularly caring nurse and it went ahead as planned without a hitch or delay. I had requested and been offered a general anaesthetic but in the end on the day opted for heavy sedation and it was fine actually - the right choice for me anyway. When they told me it was all done I could hardly believe it. It seemed like I'd only been in there 15 minutes! I had and still have quite a lot of pain at the site but it is starting to subside and I was able to go home the same day.

When I exert myself (e.g. climbing a lot of steps) I am experiencing twitching around the heart which it seems is the device pacing me (or more accurately its the re-synchronization therapy kicking in). It doesn't hurt but is quite an odd and distracting sensation. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it go away or do you just get used to it with time?

I know that at 6 weeks I'll have a device check where they will review data and settings which will be an opportunity to fine tune things for me.

[Enonykasper]

Hiya I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and had a CRTD fitted 26th April this year a bit of a shock Did it want one

However I have now settled down

I had lots of xtra heart beats now I feel little flutters instead of palpitations 🤣

I slept on my back and rested my left arm on a little pillow like you I always have the urge to stretch in the mornings

But managed to keep it by my side and resisted the urge

Being a woman I wore a. Night bra that kept it in place so not to much discomfort my scar was and is good but the blooming glue took about 5 weeks to disappear 🤣sour looked a bit untidy but the scar is good now can hardly see it

What I would say I tried not to use that arm

I have suffered the cost of it for the last 3 months as I now have frozen shoulder and reading my instructions now it says you must use your arm as much as possible do not lift it above your head or lift heavy items or shopping

But it is better to take pain killers and use it carefully whenever possible

I thought I was so brave taking only one pain killer a day

But I had to get physio for my arm and it was so sore

It’s just better this week nothing to do with the CRTD PURELY I WAS TO CAREFUL WITH MY ARM Good luck my discomfort has now all gone and forget I have an Icd

But don’t forget about the big magnets 🤣

[Thanksnhs in reply to Enonykasper]

Hi I done the exact same when I got my ICD fitted,the frozen shoulder was worse than the ICD wound the pain was awful in the end I got a cortisone injection and thankfully that helped a lot,it was definitely a lesson learned, after my transplant I made sure I kept both arms moving and I had no problems at all,char

[edplayer in reply to Thanksnhs]

Thanks both. I can feel that my shoulder is really tense and tight so going to great lengths to do the gentle stretching exercises recommended in the leaflet several times per day. I'm dying to give it more of stretch as I'm used to doing pre op, but obviously until the wound has healed I must be careful, but not too careful!!

[RufusScamp in reply to edplayer]

Be very careful for the first week. If you feel there is anything odd going on, make a note of the date and time, and mention it at the review.

I needed paracetamol for three or four days, especially at night. No trouble since.

I'm glad it went so well.

[edplayer in reply to RufusScamp]

Thanks thats a good idea. will start doing that with the twitching.

[RufusScamp in reply to edplayer]

Best wishes. Let us know how you get on.

[EMBoy]

Don't feel tempted to do anything too strenuous for a few days - just relax and get used to a different feeling. I have a standard DDD pacemaker, and was amazed at how quickly I began to feel better.To prevent frozen shoulder, I was told to make circular motions with my left shoulder and that seemed to help. A couple of paracetamol tablets each day were enough to reduce the pain.

If you feel any severe pain, or if the operation site feels hot, you should seek help immediately as it may be an infection (though they would have given you a huge dose of antibiotic before the operation, so the chance of infection is very low).

Best wishes, and have a speedy recovery.

[edplayer in reply to EMBoy]

Thanks EMBoy.