Life With A Pacemaker

Discussion in 'Health & Wellness' started by Yvonne Smith, Jan 5, 2020.

  1. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I'm sure that is extremely scary and stressful to think about, Yvonne. My best wishes that all goes well and you don't suffer further episodes of tachycardia. It is somewhat comforting to know that there are still procedures to try if necessary, though.
     
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  2. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    @Yvonne Smith @Frank Sanoica
    So glad your both doing better! Scary stuff Yvonne..smh your very blessed indeed. My BIL has pacemaker far as I know no real problems. You both hang in there and k ow we all care:)
     
    #92
  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Update on the pacemaker. Yesterday, I went in for the annual pacemaker checkup and adjustment. The technician who does the checks and adjustments said that it had been set at the slowest rate of pickup, so if I got up and started walking, it might take a little while before the pacemaker kicked in and speeded up my heart rate.
    He moved it up just a notch or two and said that now it should be more sensitive to my movements. I did remember that sometimes when I first started doing something, I felt really tired, but when I kept on doing the walking anyway, I started feeling better, and apparently that is when the pacemaker kicks in and speeds up my heart rate.

    So , at night, my heart rate just stays steady at about 60 BPM all night; but last night, whenever I moved around in the bed and turn over, my heart rate jumped right up to almost 110 and stayed there for a minute or two, and then slowly came back down.
    Since this was my first experience with having the heart/pacemaker do this, I was concerned that it might lead to an a-fib episode again, but it didn’t. When I got up this morning, it seems to be reacting just fine. I am wondering if maybe it just has to learn when to react with the new settings ?

    Also, they sent me up for lab work and put me back on the amioderone clinic (not sure why it is called a clinic), so they will be doing the bloodwork more often to monitor how much damage the medication is doing to my liver and kidneys.
    I should have some results from that in the next couple of days.
    I have not had any episodes of a-fib for a while now, and the plant-based diet is supposed to help with both the heart rhythm and heart health, as well as my kidneys and liver; so I am definitely motivated to stay on this way of eating. I need to be as proactive with my health as i possibly can be.

    Here is my chart for last night. The red block is when I was awake (and worrying) about what my heart was doing , and what it might do.
    I actually got out of bed before Bobby did this morning. I was just worrying and couldn’t sleep anyway.

    BF6CEA4C-0858-4770-A27B-A17F27D4CF61.jpeg
     
    #93
  4. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I'm glad that it seems to have smoothed out this morning, Yvonne. I'm sure I'd have been equally worried all night.
     
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  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I am taking it easy today and letting my body adjust to the new heart rates, @Beth Gallagher . If I feel better this afternoon, I would like to go swimming, but if I am still lightheaded, then I won’t risk it . Passing out in the swimming pool is never a very good idea, in my opinion.

    Overall, I like how it is showing more heart activity now. Before, the heart graph on my iPhone shows my heart sitting right at 60 most of the time, and only jumping up from there when I was swimming, or doing more strenuous yard work.

    Today, it has a nice variation of heart rates, and I have not had any kind of a-fib, even when it went up to the higher rate.
    The first chart shows how my heart usually responds, and the only time it reall goes up is around noon when I am swimming.
    The second chart is from midnight last night until noon today, and you can see a lot more activity.

    29945435-2BC0-4667-BE9A-6AEE7D439C1B.jpeg


    D69FFB90-48C7-4DA5-B9C4-04A648A21266.jpeg
     
    #95
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
  6. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    Look up Dr. Andrea Natale wo did my Ablation-He is the best and is available in Texas.

    I have a Pacemaker and it's no bother.

    https://www.dr-natale.com
     
    #96
  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Thanks, but I don't need a pacemaker. I was responding to Yvonne's post about hers.
     
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  8. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Uh, Dr. Tabereaux and his team developed the process and that’s who also does Yvonne’s work.

    The only reason Yvonne is having any problems at all is that they tweaked it up a notch yesterday and she’s not used to it yet.
    it’s like giving a slug of caffeine to someone who has never tasted coffee.

    And to be very clear, Yvonne’s case isn’t anything like yours and she hasn’t had just one ablation, she’s had 3 and if anything more happens she’ll be living strictly on the pacemaker with no ventricular activity to depend on.

    Now, when all is said and done, Yvonne still hits the pool and works out nearly every day which is far more than I can say about some who could, but don’t.
     
    #98
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
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  9. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
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    I don't need a pacemaker so far. As a matter of fact, I take medication to keep my heart rate at high 50s to low 60s for my cardiomyopathy. From 60 to 110 is a big jump, but as long as it smooths out, no problem.
     
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  10. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I used to understand more about pacemakers than I do now, as the technology has changed considerably and I haven't kept up with it.
     
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  11. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    I had a pacemaker installed last July. My heart has always skipped beats and it had gotten worse early last year. The one I have is so tiny that you can't see it under my skin. It's about the size of a quarter squared and maybe a little thinner. I have a thingy that sits beside my bed on the nightstand and somehow monitors it periodically. The technician said it will never let my heartbeat go below 60 but when I exercise or am active, it will go up. I think it lets my heart beat by itself unless it gets too slow. The it kicks in and regulates the beat.

    It may be different from Yvonne's.
     
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  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    That is exactly what mine does, @Shirley Martin . I am not sure what the size of mine is. My problem for all of these years has been the fast, erratic a-fib heartbeat, and my medication has been to stop that from happening. However, each year, as my heart gets weaker, the baseline heart rate has been slowing down , little by little.
    When it got into the 40’s , I was worried, and then it started going into the 30’s, and that I when my doctor said it was time for the pacemaker.
    The machine does a check on my pacemaker each day, and sends in a report during the night, but it has been around a year since I was in the office and they did the complete diagnostic on it.

    If my heart fails again, then he said the last ditch effort would be to put in a 2-leads pacemaker that has total control of my heart, no matter what i am doing. I want to avoid that one !
     
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  13. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    Wow, Yvonne, that 30's rate does sound scary. I'm not sure what mine was because it would vary from time to time. I have to say, my energy level is much better than it was before the pacemaker. Still not good enough to beat a dozen tigers but better. :)
     
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  14. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    An update on the pacemaker situation.
    For the last few days, I have been back in a-fib. The doctor told me the last time that I had the cardioversion that they can’t do that anymore. They stop your heart, and then re-start it again. It took them 3–4 times to get mine working right , so I am scared that they might do this and not be able to get it restarted again…….ever.

    Anyway the last thing that they can do , is another pacemaker procedure, where they put in another lead into my heart, and then the pacemaker has total control.
    He said that it won’t stop the a-fib; but it somehow “bypasses” it, so the heart keeps beating regardless, he said that I would have significant loss of energy when they do this, so I have been dreading for that to happen.

    I have an appointment with the cardiologist later this month, so hopefully it will have resolved itself by then, or I will probably have to have the procedure.
    I dread having to go through being in the hospital (freezing to death from the low room temperature required for the procedure), and then having to have my arm tied down again.
    This is my heart rate from last night, and it worries me a lot. It is usually a steady 60bpm all night.

    87920ED9-B0B2-4B2A-8513-BF0504088185.jpeg
     
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  15. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I am very sorry to hear that you're having these problems, @Yvonne Smith, and I won't pretend to understand everything about it except to recognize it when I see it on an ECG and to deal with it on a short-term basis.
     
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