Hello, I’m new here and 3 days from my procedure for my pacemaker.

Have you talked to anyone about medication or therapy?

Glad to hear things are going well afterwards.
When I first got home after the procedure, I was constantly holding my chest in that area. It almost felt like there was something “intrusive” there. Mine is located on my left side of my chest, so it was similar to saying the Pledge Of Allegiance most of the day. After a while I got used to it and that passed.
As far as sleeping with it, I spend most of my sleep time on my right side. If I lay flat, it intensifies the pacing and makes it uncomfortable. I also sit in some chairs clocked slightly to my right for the same reasons.
I have gotten completely used to it two years later now, and don’t notice it a lot. There was definitely a learning curve with some frustrations, but when things seemed to get overwhelming at times, I always reminded myself that it certainly beats the alternative.
Stay receptive to what your body is telling you, and you should be well on your way to better health in no time.

Hi Jason, And yes after a while you will hardly notice it. The only reason I would even know it was there, was it would get itchy once in a while and i would just move it around and it stopped. The other way was like the seat belt my irritate it once in a while and they actually make pads that go onto the seat belt to help cushion the area if it passed over the pacemaker site. mine was actually kind of large and so it could be seen and felt under the skin. Mine had a difibulator so the battery was larger.
at 4 weeks for me I was still at the stage where I could not raise my arms over my head. So things like reaching were done from a stool so i could still get things higher than my shoulders. Are you still at that stage? The only other think that I had to watch for was I was an electronic technician and like to work on my own cars plus things like generators and mechanical equipment so i would try to avoid having things touch that area as bruising of the skin was easier over the pacemaker. But honestly the benefits way outweighed the issues. A few months from now I would say it would not be noticeable at all.

Dana is right after awhile you won’t even notice it . It’s been 8 weeks for me and I can sleep on both sides and every once in awhile I feel a ping of discomfort . But it is better . I can raise my hand with no problem . But it was awhile before I got to that point . Hang in there buddy . Sounds like you are right on track . And those feelings that go with it . Tara

I’ve been meaning to find one of those seatbelt thing. Thanks again for your input, I appreciate it.

Thanks Tara, you and Dana have excellent advice, thank you for sharing. Your help, helps me track my progress with others. Thanks to everyone!

Dana, how old were you when they did the transplant? Do or did you have any other chronic problems at that time?
Your words are encouraging.
I am a retired professor and lost my husband 2-1/2 years ago to cancer. I am just now ready to move on with my life, but have many health problems.
My faith continues to help me be me strong. Thank you.

Hi Jwooders3, Thank you for you kind words and I like connect for that reason we all help each other. So sorry to hear you lost your Husband to cancer. What kind of professor are you? I myself just recently decided to finish my degree. I love the Bible and so figured Biblical studies was a good choice. I retired from being a communication Technician, which I loved dearly, but with the transplant that was the one thing I had to give up.
Let me start with why I needed a Heart in the first place. I Got my first pacemaker in 2008 due to an enlarged heart from a Flu virus that caused fluid to build up around my heart and lungs. With the added pressure to the heart, it started to enlarge. Well the heart is one muscle that has problems like arrythmias that can developed when they get enlarged. In my case it developed into Ventricular Tachycardia where the lower part of the heart does not beat correctly and can cause really bad arrythmias. So the pacemaker was there to either pace me back into a good rhythm or if necessary apply a difibulartor shock to get it pumping again. Typically, during an episode my heart was beating so fast that blood was not flowing so unlike afib with VT minutes are critical. Sorry for the long explanation but i wanted to give a bit of background as to why I needed a transplant.
Well after about 10 years thru a few ablations and quite a few shocks when the pacing was unsuccessful my problems became untreatable and my doctor figured transplant may be something to consider. So in Nov 2017 he suggested an evaluation by Mayo Clinic, to have that completed, just in case we had to go that route. Well as it worked out the timing was perfect. By mid-December I was in the Hospital until the Lord took me home or got me a new heart. Here is where the complications come in.
The drug that was keeping me going was an IV type of Amiodarone, the most used drug for my problem but has many side affects particularly after long term use (10 years for me). By this time I was on a pretty high dose and it damaged my thyroid and those had to be removed. And also due to the high dose while on the IV I became toxic to the drug which set in motion the increased need for a heart. On Dec 31st i had a bad reaction to the medication and had to be taken off of it. Well I guess the Good Lord wanted me down here for a while and within 5 days we had a potential donor. That was 4 January 2018. Now an interesting side note is the surgeon had a rule that the final decision was when he put his eyes on the donor heart. By that time i was already on the table and prepped. They would start the process of cutting me open by his team the moment he called and gave the go ahead. Then he would fly back or drive I don't know how far away it was. Mayo even has access to a lear jet if necessary, The time out of a body is critical. So I was the age of 58 when I got my transplant. Jan 5th 2018 so im post 5.5 years now and doing great. The only other problems I did have was as a prior smoker (quit in 2011) i had a mild case of copd and emphysema. But its not bad enough to even be on medication for them. So no other problems to speak of, at 63 now I trying to loose a bit of weight. I want to get 20 pounds off. I love to hike, I walk daily between 3-4 miles and playing golf. Do volunteer work at my church and enjoy my family. Spend time with my wife, children & grandchildren.

Thank you, Dana. I taught Autocad drafting and computer animation. I retired in 2002 and continued to work part time until 2014. I’m 81.
I have treated afib and tachycardia controlled with a dual-lead CRT pacemaker and metoprolol (2 pills a week now). I’m 97% paced following an ablation. I don’t know what else my heart is doing. (Will find out!) They just say CHF!
Asthma, COPD and rheumatoid arthritis limit my ability to exercise. I was swimming, but now have a reaction to sun that causes skin problems.
I’ve Stage 3 kidney disease. Plus, some other nutrition problems with foods I can’t eat. They put in a Watchman this spring so I got off the warfarin. Doing better now!
(I love the Lord and am continuing to try to find what He wants me to do with the rest of my life! )

How interesting, My original background in college was computer programming. But due to finances I didn't even finish a year. At that point I joined the military and spent 26 years doing that. Which led me to my last position in Maintenace control in the Air National Guard. To help the operators know the status of the equipment, a Visual Basic programmer I knew helped me take my Access Database and made it visual and interactive on a smart board. I had fun doing that and now the volunteer work I do is Web site design and maintain the church website. So I wish sometimes I did learn more coding as I never got good at that part. But with GUI type software & visual Basic I mange OK. Im more of a GUI type designer as I'm sure in the timeframe you taught you've seen the computer animation really take off. Amazing how far those tools like Auto cad have helped engineers. My Dad went thru that transition as a tool designer of high sped cutting tools. Toward the end of His career (he retired about 2000 at 70) He was just beginning to leave manual drawing board design and His dept was moving to Auto Cad. Well keep praying maybe the Lord will have something enjoyable for you to do. I'm a firm believer that our lives are directed in directions we don't always know ahead of time where they may lead. My latest use of my old training in Communications is the Wi-Fi network I'm helping the Church to make better as we want to start a k-12 school in the near future. I myself have started doing some teaching on YouTube. Thats a story for another time. I have a desire now at 63 to teach.
So have a great day.