oo0My_Valve0oo
Well-known member
Saw the pacemaker clinician today and am just providing tidbits of info for this thread. You may know all of it. I had read and heard them but did not have as many details.
Note: these were directed at me. My device and rules may be different than yours. But some of this applies to everyone. It is a "pacemaker" (specifically, a Biotronik Edora 8 DR-T):
Airport Security: At an airport security stop they recommend the hand wand and you asking that they not run it directly over the pacemaker. If they do, it causes the pacemaker to go off-program during the time they pass the wand over the device and you might feel it as strongly as feeling "ill" "queasy" if not just sensing the beat disruption. I had not realized what exactly the wand does or how long the effect lasts. Same goes if you opt for walking through the full body scanner, you may feel ill and/or the beat disruption.
MRI: When you get an MRI the pacemaker must be adjusted immediately before and after. So an MRI appointment will require the presence of a pacemaker clinician. I knew they had to adjust it somehow but I did not know as many details, like the need for the clinician to be there to make the adjustments. I just had not considered how it played out. I imagined whatever needed to be done could be handled over a wider range of time.
Cell phones, other devices and falling asleep: You can use your left ear when using a cell phone. It just needs to be no closer than 6" from the pacemaker. But beware of setting up a situation where you might fall asleep and allow the phone to rest too close to the pacemaker. My left ear has better hearing ability so I have always held a phone to that ear. I also use WIFI through my cell to listen to the audio while watching something on television late at night when I do not want to disturb anyone. In both situations I have fallen asleep in the past. The most reliable safeguard is make a habit of using the right ear and train yourself to avoid using any device if you are tired and could fall asleep. A patient fell asleep reading with their iPad ending up resting on their pacemaker.
Sleeping on left side: I can never sleep resting on my left side ever again as well. But I can sleep on my stomach. I place a pillow and my left arm so the pacemaker does not bear the full weight of my chest. I think of it as allowing breathing space, it is not literal it is just an idea to help.
The monitor: My monitor has no audio. It does say "OK" on a small screen. I thought that meant my heart was behaving OK and there were no events worthy of note. So if I had felt something I might see a relevant message at some point. However, the "OK" just means the device is powered and operational. If you feel something and are concerned, make notes and call the pacemaker clinic or cardiology dept. They can check for anything which the monitor might have transmitted to them. There are not enough people to monitor every pacemaker implant patient. If it is substantial they will get an alert but no one is watching constantly even when you are an inpatient at the hospital. When I was in ICU after OHS my alarms went off all the time and staff came with about the same urgency as when you needed assistance to pee. If your hospital was like mine that means 30-45 minutes later. In fact, the girl next to me went into cardiac arrest and no one in ICU responded. Help came from down the hall outside ICU and they managed to push a cart with equipment with them and were running not jogging as they beat everyone in ICU to the patient. No way are you getting close to even that little attention with the pacemaker.
Must say, I have seen some of the worst as well as the best. The OHS, I saw good and bad. During my stay for the pacemaker implant from admitting to escort to my ride upon release everyone was a 10 on a 1-10 scale but my nurse was a 1,000,000, an angel.
Note: these were directed at me. My device and rules may be different than yours. But some of this applies to everyone. It is a "pacemaker" (specifically, a Biotronik Edora 8 DR-T):
Airport Security: At an airport security stop they recommend the hand wand and you asking that they not run it directly over the pacemaker. If they do, it causes the pacemaker to go off-program during the time they pass the wand over the device and you might feel it as strongly as feeling "ill" "queasy" if not just sensing the beat disruption. I had not realized what exactly the wand does or how long the effect lasts. Same goes if you opt for walking through the full body scanner, you may feel ill and/or the beat disruption.
MRI: When you get an MRI the pacemaker must be adjusted immediately before and after. So an MRI appointment will require the presence of a pacemaker clinician. I knew they had to adjust it somehow but I did not know as many details, like the need for the clinician to be there to make the adjustments. I just had not considered how it played out. I imagined whatever needed to be done could be handled over a wider range of time.
Cell phones, other devices and falling asleep: You can use your left ear when using a cell phone. It just needs to be no closer than 6" from the pacemaker. But beware of setting up a situation where you might fall asleep and allow the phone to rest too close to the pacemaker. My left ear has better hearing ability so I have always held a phone to that ear. I also use WIFI through my cell to listen to the audio while watching something on television late at night when I do not want to disturb anyone. In both situations I have fallen asleep in the past. The most reliable safeguard is make a habit of using the right ear and train yourself to avoid using any device if you are tired and could fall asleep. A patient fell asleep reading with their iPad ending up resting on their pacemaker.
Sleeping on left side: I can never sleep resting on my left side ever again as well. But I can sleep on my stomach. I place a pillow and my left arm so the pacemaker does not bear the full weight of my chest. I think of it as allowing breathing space, it is not literal it is just an idea to help.
The monitor: My monitor has no audio. It does say "OK" on a small screen. I thought that meant my heart was behaving OK and there were no events worthy of note. So if I had felt something I might see a relevant message at some point. However, the "OK" just means the device is powered and operational. If you feel something and are concerned, make notes and call the pacemaker clinic or cardiology dept. They can check for anything which the monitor might have transmitted to them. There are not enough people to monitor every pacemaker implant patient. If it is substantial they will get an alert but no one is watching constantly even when you are an inpatient at the hospital. When I was in ICU after OHS my alarms went off all the time and staff came with about the same urgency as when you needed assistance to pee. If your hospital was like mine that means 30-45 minutes later. In fact, the girl next to me went into cardiac arrest and no one in ICU responded. Help came from down the hall outside ICU and they managed to push a cart with equipment with them and were running not jogging as they beat everyone in ICU to the patient. No way are you getting close to even that little attention with the pacemaker.
Must say, I have seen some of the worst as well as the best. The OHS, I saw good and bad. During my stay for the pacemaker implant from admitting to escort to my ride upon release everyone was a 10 on a 1-10 scale but my nurse was a 1,000,000, an angel.
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