How long to restrict arm in bed after crt-d implant

[Grak]

Hi all , I’ve just had my icd upgraded with a crt-d ten days ago and thanks to some previous reply’s on here I’ve been sleeping with arm in a tee shirt which has worked a treat

Ten days on and dressing is off and wound looking all good but stitches haven’t all dissolved yet

I’m moving arm during daytime without lifting or raising above shoulder height

Pain has all gone, but still bruised,

I’m wondering how long i need to keep the restriction of the tee shirt on at night time

Thanks

[Bingo88]

Good morning Grak. You need to take care with raising your arm too high for 6 weeks You are usually told. Took me about a month before I could fully sleep on the shoulder. I used a V pillow to help me until it was more comfortable.. I didn't restrict my arm in bed. I think you are sub conscious of keeping it down anyway Take care and take it easy. Brian

[jowalk6]

Hi grak. It took me about 5 weeks to be able to sleep comfortably after mine. It's just important not to rush things everybody is different. x

[edplayer]

I was told to wait 4 weeks before lifting arm above shoulder. This was because the leads were stitched using dissolving stitches to my pectoral muscle to make sure they stayed put within the heart. After 4 weeks those stitches were certain to have dissolved and at that point lifting the arm high would not pull the leads out of place. But different surgeons might use different types of stitch or different methods so it could be different for you. To be safe I would ask; you may have been given a number to call for post op support?

I used a theraband to limit the movement of my arm at night for the full 4 weeks. I found this more comfortable than inside a t-shirt.

It sounds like you're keeping it moving in the day time which is absolutely vital along with doing the daily stretching exercises they will have given you. The worse thing you can do is keep the arm rigid and not use it at all as you will risk getting a frozen shoulder which I am assured is absolute awful and can take years to fix. I was diligent about this but still have some shoulder problems (not frozen shoulder) 4 months on that I'm getting physiotherapy for.