Pacemaker

[Bandara]

I have just got a unit planted and waiting to go through the initial sequence of getting used to. Hope this page would help.

[cotonh]

After my husband was discharged from the hospital he had his first appointment with the cardiac technicians booked for 6 weeks after. In fact he was breathless on walking and we rang up and they called us in and 'tweeked' the settings so if you get any problems ring and leave a message saying what is going on.

I ordered his bedside monitor on the day of the operation but it took lots of weeks, perhaps 12, to come.

When you go in to see the cardiac technicians they can download all the information.

My husband had staples on the wound which a nurse at the GP surgery slipped out easily and painlessly after a week. The wound itself took a bit of time to completely heal but is now a faded barely visible line.

Don't know if you picked up a British Heart Foundation leaflet about pacemakers but there is loads of information on their website. Worth allowing yourself to settle with it and then read again all the information about your device especially about magnets! We have just bought a folding exercise bike and the manufacturers say the magnets which provide the resistance / gearing are in the frame and it should not be used by someone with a pacemaker. Who would have thought it!

Hope you find the device makes you feel better once you have recovered from the operation but don't be surprised if you are emotional and take a while to come to terms with having had the device fitted.

[RufusScamp]

I had a pacemaker fitted about 4 years ago, and mostly I forget about it. I have a remote monitor, so just every 2 years visits to the clinic. It's just important to watch electronic devices - use a phone on the opposite ear, keep distant from induction hobs etc. You should have been given detailed instructions, but there is nothing difficult in my experience. I'm just thankful to have such a wonderful piece of technology.

[EMBoy]

I've had my pacemaker for nearly 5 years now, and it has given me my life back.

The first couple of weeks are pretty uncomfortable, but it is important to relax and give yourself time to recover. They will probably have given you a lot of advice and instructions, and if you follow those, everything should be OK.

The 2 most important ones are:-

1. Keep the incision dry for at least 5 days - this is to prevent infection, although you will probably have been given a large dose of antibiotics before your surgery.

2. Don't do any heavy lifting with your left arm and do not lift it above your head. This is to prevent you from dislodging the electrodes from your heart.

Although the operation was painless for me, it was quite painful after the anaesthetic wore off, and it was painful for about a week to 10 days afterwards, although a couple of paracetamols every 4 hours or so made a big difference. I had to sleep sitting up for the first week as it was too uncomfortable to lie down.

You may feel that your heart is beating too fast, but don't worry - this is just because you have been used to a slower than normal heart rate and it is now back where it should be.

It takes about 3 months for your body to adapt to the pacemaker and when you go for your follow-up visits, the physiologists at your pacemaker clinic will be able to make any adjustments needed (if any).

Don't worry too much about getting near magnetic fields from household goods - modern pacemakers are designed to withstand quite large magnetic fields (mine is safe in an MRI scanner). I am retired now, but used to work with electron microscopes which have large electromagnets as lenses, and my pacemaker was never affected by these.

When I was being discharged, one of the charge nurses said to me that the pacemaker would give me a new lease of life and she was right. I hope you too have a new lease of life.

All the best.