@brhendo
Can give you my personal experience of this. I am on my 3rd ICD/Pacemaker, so I have had 3 surgeries. The first is always the most painful and longest to heal.

Just remember, like any surgery, you are going to have soreness and pain. In addition, you have a foreign object now in your chest. What the body does is sees it as a foreign object and will encapsulate it. That takes time. But when it does it forms a type of collagen type tissue around it which will then decrease the feeling and soreness.

I was told my by EP that it takes about a year to get used to your first ICD/Pacemaker. It probably feels like you have a splinter in there. But after 3 surgeries I know my body will encapsulate it and most likely me your soreness and awareness it is there will go away.

Did you have yours put under your skin? Depending on how much skin you have there will determine how much it can be seen, soreness, etc. Mine was put under my chest muscle. My EP saud I did not have a lot of skin in that area and he also wanted more protection for it as I am very active exerciser.

Remember to follow your surgeons after surgery care about movements of your arms, and staying away from electrical devices.

Just give body some time to encapsulate it and most like your soreness will go away. All of heal at different rates so can't tell you how long but it does get better every day you don't irritate it. Don't get in a habit of touching it or pushing on it. Try not to have any outside pressure being put on the area of your Pacemaker. Also watch the way you sleep and try to find a comfortable position that does not irritate your pacemaker area and allow your body in that area to heal.

Once it encapsulates it will get much better and after 3 surgeries that comment comes from personal experience.