Question:
Pacemaker settings ...

   — gigi_c (posted on November 9, 2009)

November 10, 2009
Hi Gigi, I dont have an answer for you..but wanted to mention I was just told I am looking at having a pacemaker very soon. I had no heart trbl before weightloss surg..but now my pulse is going way to low..am just wondering how many of us have had this issue? I will keep you in my prayers and wish you the very best!
   — tootsie52

November 16, 2009
Greetings everyone: No, this is not an odd question. I had pacemaker surgery last February after I had my 2nd Vegas Response (my heart stopped beating, so I passed out and split my head open on the floor. I left the contents of my body in the toilet and lots of blood on the floor). It is my opinion that doctors don't go out of their way to install pacemakers in your chest. The surgery is very expensive (in my case, the hospital bill itself was in excess of $38,000). You had a pacemaker installed to help your heart beat right. I am almost 5 years post RNY. Initially, my pulse was in the low 40s and high 30s, which meant I was cold all the time, sluggish, no energy, dragging around, etc. When I had my 2nd Vegas Response (the one listed above), my pulse was in the low 30s and dipping into the high 20s. My oh my! I was barely alive! Initially, my resting rate was set for 60 bpm (beats per minute), and the upper limit was set to 120 pbm. With monthly checks and monitoring, finally last August, my resting rate was left at 60 bpm but my activity level if I moved at all was set for 70 bpm (which is fantabulous!) and my upper limit was increased to 140! Finally, I began to feel well. I love the energy. I am warm. I am energetic and full of life! I will say that it does take (at least it took me) a very long time to recover from my Vegas Response and the surgery. Your lack of sleep or not staying asleep has nothing to do with your pacemaker. The anethetic I was given for the pacemaker surgery caused me to (a) have 24/7 Vertigo. This Vertigo lasted until May. I NEVER SLEPT. Why? If I moved my head at all, I became so dizzy. I fell 7 times. If I didn't have good bones (thanks to my attention to my nutrition and supplements regime) I would have broken all my bones. I couldn't walk. The doctor told me I had to sell my home and move into assisted living because my health suffered so. Then, in May, the Vertigo morphed into Restless Leg Syndrome. This is where your legs (at least mine) thrash the bed every night, my feet and toes numb, tingling, stinging in pain, twitching, etc. My mind 24/7 wide-awake. I do know what you are talking about with your brain always in gear. You need to investigate what is keeping you awake. It could be medications (whether prescribed or OTC) or white bread, or lack of Magnesium in your diet. It is NOT your pacemaker. Like you, I blamed everything on my pacemaker surgery which was not right to do. In my case, I got a book (Restless Leg Syndrome), written by Mark J. Buchfuhrer, MD, Wayne A. Hening, MD PhD and Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD. I followed all their recommendations and eliminated a multiplicity of other-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Benedryl, Excedrin PM, Tylenol PM, Meclizine, Vicks NyQuil, cetirizine (Zyrtec), Nighttime Sleep-Aid, Actifed Cold and Allergy, acetophenazine, acetaminophren, as well as certain prescription medications. I also eliminated certain foods. I found an immediate coorelation between white bread and RLS. No more snitching of white bread! The grief is too intense. My recommendation? Let the doctors/PA/or whoever does the heart rate testing for you, do what they need to do. Don't have yours lowered -- you don't have their experience or knowledge. How much weight have you lost? What is your food/exercise regime? If you don't want to lose more weight, eat more or exercise less, or clog up your bowels. (Just joking.) You may need to invest in "white noise" in your background as you attempt to fall to sleep. Consider CALM available through Vitamin Shoppe, which has 615 mg of Magnesium Citrate powder per Tablespoon, which you can add to your nighttime water/juice. It will help you fall alseep and also regulate your bowels improving your health, but most important, allowing you to fall alseep. Also, stop the white bread! Blessings, and let me know if I can help you further. Christine Gibson, MS, MA, Obesity Help Support Group Coach, Obesity help Support Group leader, Bariatric University Support Group Coach, www.ObesityHelp.com/group/BellevueWA, [email protected].
   — Christine Gibson