Pacemaker Question.. PLEASE HELP

[Diesel]

Hi everyone.. please let me start off by saying how much I've missed you all! i havent been on for a while. I guess basically cause ive been down in the dumps and just not feeling well. I kinda just shut myself off for a bit. But I'm deffinately wanting to come back and into the swing of things.

I went to the cardio today. Expecting to hear some bad news... We have been going frequently becauase since i've just had my valve replacement in June.. I should be doing much better than I am.. But unfortunately my heart just doesnt want to pump strong enough.

So hears my questions. Okay so in June i had my valve placement and I ended up in COMPLETE HEART BLOCK so i needed my pacemaker put in. Well the doctors are now deciding and trying to make decisions that maybe my pacemaker isnt good enough for me. My heart is pumping on the rightside then on the left. Nothing is unisin with eachother. Meaning the left and right side. SO some decisions are maybe i should take out my pacemaker and try a TRI Vantricular pacer.. Does anyone have one of these or heard of one? I will have to travel out of state my cardio thinks to have one put in. Due that not many people my age (26) need a TRI Vantricular pacer. Which means three leads to the heart.

Im kinda disapointed that i might have to have a pacer change.. I JUST WANT TO FEEL BETTER...... they are hoping this might do the trick...

So i was just trying to figure out if anyone has had one of these pacemakers.. and what thier expeirence is with one. Do you think it will make a difference?? man.. its been a long day...

I hope everyone is feeling well. I promise to do much better and check in!!
Diesel

 

[Kathleen]

Icd

Icd

Hi Diesel
I had my pacemaker explanted in August of last year after only having had it for 10 months. I had a Medtronic InSync Maximo pacer/defib with cardiac resynchronization therapy with 3 leads implanted. Mine was due to an episode of Ventricular Fibrillation. I am so sorry you have to go through this but I wanted to offer some extreme reassurance with my procedure. I only had a small window of time to swallow the news. I was very upset and so disheartened that this had to happen. I was in the hospital prior to the explant/implant and it was unusual for me to be so verbal with my feelings at the time. I was upset, depressed and all around po'ed. I remember being really angry at my heart and thinking it had let me down again. The feeling that I was never going to feel better was overwhelming. I cried right up to the table with my EP holding my hand and giving me kleenex the entire time. I came home a week later still fragile and with a hematoma the size of a softball. It was possibly the worse time of my 27 year history of heart disease saga. I do understand exactly what you are feeling. I don't think your age or mine, 55, makes feelings of dispair any easier. I am now almost 5 months out. It has been a tough time but I now can say I have come to terms and accepted the defib. I feel the best I have in years---gosh I need to repeat that the very best! For me it has been hard to accept that this machine is going to fire when I won't expect it to and I will have to go through a difficult time but time has helped me accept that it will come. Please do let me know if I can help you at all. I do really understand what you are going through. Right now kick, spit and share your anger and then learn about the new machine (they are miracles). It will, I feel, be the turning point in giving you an entire new life. If you are like me I was so very attached to the pacemaker that my doctor sterilized it and presented it to me to keep in the new lovely jewel box that I purchased for her. Her name is Ruby. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.
Kathy

 

[cocoalab]

Diesel,
I am not familiar with the tri-ventricular pacemaker but my son did require an ICD a few weeks after his valve surgery. His is dual chambered. It paces him sometimes.
You might want to check out a few pacemaker sites for a bigger group of pacer recipients too. I can't think anymore tonight. I know implantables.com has some very helpful people on this subject. I mostly visit ICD sights I think there is a pacemaker club. Maybe someone on here will know the address or you can google it.

I have heard how horrible it can make you feel if you are not paced right. I hope this can be the begining of your feeling much better. Welcome back!

 

[OldManEmu]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about your problems with the pacemaker. I can't help you with the pacemaker question, I trust the new more advanced 3 lead pacemaker will improve your condition. By the way I recall you we having problems with Carvedilol (Coreg) last time you were posting I hope you have been able to resolve this.

 

[Gnusgal]

I have not heard of TRI ventricular pacemakers, but I have heard of biventricular, which have three leads. One for each ventrical (2), and one for the atria (for a total of 3). My card was discussing this as an option for me after I had to have my ICD removed because of infection (I would have gotten a biventricular ICD). She thought it might improve some of my other symptoms. Only, some of the other specialists I saw felt that the procedure would be more dangerous (for me) than the possible benifits. See, my anatomy is so strange, it would require opening me up completely to get the leads in, rather than just threading the leads through the blood vessels as they usually do.

However, in the time when it was being discussed, I did some research on the devices. From what I read, they can improve your heart's function dramaticly. As a matter of fact, there are even cases of people who were in such severe heart failure they were about to go on the transplant list, but they got the biventricular pacemaker, and their heart failure improved to the point where they are now functional and will not be needing a transplant at all (or at least, not for some time). The idea is, by getting bot ventricals beating in sync with each other, the blood will flow more efficiently and heart function will improve.

Good luck in your decision. I know it's not an easy one. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

 

[kckbxr910]

This is my first post on the site. I am 28 and just had mitral valve repair 2 weeks ago, in an unrelated twist of fate I also have 3rd degree congenital heart block. Because of this I have had a pacemaker all my life. All of my pacemakers were supposed to last 10+ years, but none of them have. The shortest one lasted 3 years, the one I have now is doing very well and might actually make it to 10. You should know that I am very active and always have been; soccer, basketball, even made a semi-pro football team (didn't continue on and play though). For the past few years I have been into kickboxing and mixed martial arts. If your doctors feel this is the way to get you back where you should be I say go for it. I completely understand your apprehension about another surgery; I'm on my 5th pacer, add a lymph node biopsy and a lung biopsy prior to my valve repair, I know it sucks. I can also tell you that while my pacer is being is being checked out I can tell when the technician does absolutely anything to pacemaker because it doesn't feel right/drags me down. If this is the answer for you, go for the pacermaker. I hope this helped.

 

[twinmaker]

Hey Diesel! Sorry you're having to go through this pacemaker change and feeling bad. I have complete heart block due to an A-V node ablation. My first pacemaker was a Guidant and all seemed to be well for a year and a half. I'm pacemaker dependent which means my pacemaker paces my heart all the time. Anyway, my doctor found that I was having ventricular tachycardia so they had to explant the pacemaker and the lead and put in an ICD and new leads. Again, everything was fine for just about a year until Medtronic RECALLED my ICD. The docs explanted that ICD and put in a new one. All this to say that I understand how disappointed you are that you have to go through this again. I'm not familiar with the type of pacemaker that the docs are wanting to put in you but I'm sure it's going to help you to feel better. Sometimes a different pacemaker is needed to help you feel better. Right now, I'm feeling great! Try to keep your chin up and let us know how you are doing. LINDA

 

[901]

I have a two lead pacer made by St. Judes. Haven't had any problems with it and they tell me that I'm pacing 100% of the time. I've had it since August but the scar still itches and is pretty tender. After I'd had it for three months, they checked the history and turned my voltage down. After the voltage was turned down, they told me that my expected battery life would be more than 12 years.
I'm supposed to get a phone interrogation tomorrow.
Hope they get you paced correctly, SOON!