living with a new pacemaker

[HedgehogHatty]

how long does it take to feel confident with a newly implanted pacemaker? 7 weeks and I still feel anxious.

[Hylda2]

Please relax and enjoy your new lease of life. Are you totally pacemaker dependent as I am?

[HedgehogHatty in reply to Hylda2]

hi Hylda2. Yes, totally. Had my first (6week) check up and although PM seems to be working properly I was advised to “take it easy” but from everything I’d read I understood you could get back to exercising as normal .

[Hylda2 in reply to HedgehogHatty]

I think it depends on what you mean by exercising

[Quovadisuk]

at the moment , I am three weeks after the op and still having my left arm swell and heavy . I have been back twice for tests and was advised it’s part of the healing process . I have called them again as it has not settled so I am seeing them Tuesday next week . Do feel a little unsteady in having had the op done in the first place . Hopefully things will settle down soon .

[cotonh]

My husband took some time to build up mental confidence in his pacemaker. He built up his confidence physically steadily over time. Which sort have you got? We have found the cardiac technicians responsive to anxieties. We can email them and / or ring and leave a message. They can check the output and get back to you. So for example, my husband fainted so I pushed the button on the monitor and emailed the team to say why I had done this. They rang back some time later to say that nothing unusual had happened with the pacemaker. It is a strange thing to get your head around that a machine is controlling your heart beating.

[HedgehogHatty in reply to cotonh]

Thanks for reply. My check up was so quick, and very blunt! Everything you read implies you can exercise as normal but Trev hi Ian worried me with “tss as Je it easy”.

[cotonh in reply to HedgehogHatty]

I think for the technicians it is so run of the mill now-a-days it is quite hard for them to understand that people have concerns. But back to the exercising. Firstly there is feeling confident that the wires have settled in and become embedded firmly in the heart. At least 6 weeks for that. Then secondly is building up your fitness after having the device fitted. I guess I would think of this like anybody having had any operation build up steadily. And don't forget there is the psychological aspect of this. When we are well we take our bodies functioning for granted, don't give it a thought and expect it to adjust to what we demand of it. Suddenly you have become very conscious of your body and your heart and the shocking and disturbing news that it is no longer working reliably. This also has to be recovered from and is the part of the journey that the clinicians give less help with.

[cotonh]

By the way if you look to the right on the screen you should see other related posts. (That is where they are on a laptop, may be else where if you are on ipad or phone.

[HedgehogHatty in reply to cotonh]

Thank you.

[mattsolo]

Your gonna adjust. Your scar will also heal up and if anything it will look kinda cool. When I first got mine I was worried about a lot of things but its so normal now.

[HedgehogHatty in reply to mattsolo]

Thank you!

[RufusScamp]

I had mine nearly 4 years ago, and I don't think about it, except when the monitoring unit ring from time to time to tell me I am still alive! 😊

Is it really that much different to having to wear glasses or use a hearing aid or walking stick?

[HedgehogHatty]

thanks Rufus

[EMBoy]

It's nearly 5 years since I had mine put in and am just enjoying my retirement doing all the things I could do before my heart block slowed me down.

I was back at work after 4 weeks, and felt the benefit straight away, but it was about 3 months before I really felt confident. These days, the only time I think about it seriously is when I am on this forum.

Take it easy until you feel confident, then go ahead ad do whatever you feel like. I have heard that people with pacemakers climb mountains and run marathons.

All the best.