Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Wish me luck!

Well the doctors finally found out why i get out of breath quickly. After failing my original Stress test that only lasted 4 minutes, i then had an Echocardiagram of my heart area and then a Nuclear stress test. All that came back OK and no blocked arteries. The doctor will be putting a Pacemaker in me on Wednesday 15th. You get put into a "twilight" sleep and a local anesthetic then they cut you about 2" long near the collar bone and put the leads into the heart through a vein then connect it to the "Power unit" which is about as big as a mans watch and sew you back up. It only takes about 30 minutes to do it they say. I'm still nervous about it though. I have a condition called Bradycardia which means the heart doesn't speed up and supply more blood when needed. The doctor called it "Rusty Wiring". Maybe i'll be doing cartwheels after it's done! I couldn't do them before though.

Lock up all the women. Luck mate.

I failed a stress test in 1999 and ended up with a triple by-pass.Anyway,all's fine now.

As in the monty python 'four Yorkshiremen",

Pacemaker?Luxury! We used to dream of pacemakers!

You'll be fighting fit in no time.

Hey - best of luck! Maybe they can wire up a USB port while they're at it?

Seriously - sending positive thoughts.

Best of luck young man! Maybe you'll be like the Six million dollar man.

Get that pump going, Des!

Just remember to not dial in up to 11 on your first week!

Hope all goes well.

Best to you, Desmond.

The new pacemakers are fab. More reliable, and last longer. A couple of friends of mine have them. Piece of cake, nowadays! Good luck to ya!

Best of luck to you!

All done!!
Thanks for everyones kind words. It was certainly strange being in the Operating Theater/Catheter Lab AND being awake when they do it. While being prepped in a room prior to surgery the heart monitor alarmed as my heart would slow down on its own to 35beats/min then come back up to 50, that really "spooked" me. That happened approximately every10 minutes and i couldn't even tell it was happening.

they probably gave you the oversized battery which I hear can be used to jump start the bike if you can just figure out where to plug in.
Glad to hear you are ok to ride.

Fantastic!

Motor on!

Good luck, I hope all works out great and ya get back to doing what ya love in a jiff.

It's been just over two weeks since having it implanted and all seems fine and the swelling has gone down which leaves a small lump under the skin about the size of a teaspoon.
Once a month i got to breakfast with the retired guys- hey thats me too!
A fellow workmate has one and has had it a few years. He told me when his wife drove him home from hospital after having it put in, he forgot and put his phone in his top pocket and had the phone on vibrate. Well someone called him and it started to vibrate and he just freaked out because he thought it was the pacemaker going nuts. Sounds funny but he realized what it was and was ok. We have to keep a cell phone 6" away from the unit and when using the cell phone its recommend to use the opposite ear . Des.

Glad its working out for ya Des. My father in law got one implanted several years ago , he got a letter from the doc to keep in his passport ( we re all ex pat Scots , so fequently go back home ) so he doesnt have to go through the metal detectors at some airports , but does have to get manually checked . might be something you need to check out if you fly alot. good result for yir the blues today .

Any time the Blue side of Manchester beats the Red side is a good day.