Recovery Notes

Recovery Notes

28 Oct 11 --- Pacemaker/ICD implanted 1-3 pm ..... Vancomycin IV during operation and twice after, every 12 hrs. Arm sling 24 hrs/day to prevent raising arm and pulling pacemaker/ICD wire leads out of heart wall attachment. No driving.

29 Oct 11 --- Release from hospital, very sore, started taking doxycycl hyc 100 mg once a day for 7 days.

31 Oct 11 --- Started wearing arm sling only at night so could not move arm in sleep.

4 Nov 11 --- Very sore first 6-7 days after implant.

9 Nov 11 --- Can now drive car.

10 Nov 11 --- Can now wear shirts (get left arm in sleeve), most soreness gone.

11 Nov --- Most pain from operation gone, but pulling at ICD implant site with arm movement.

16 Nov 11 --- As 11 Nov, ICD checked out by people from St. Jude Medical.

18 Nov 11 --- More pain and burning as arm moved more and tissue irritated around ICD implant.

24 Hov 11 --- To emergency room due to chills, low temperature, and pain (3-5 on scale of 10). No infection, but inflammation due to ICD moving when arm is moved.

27 Nov 11 --- Pain at implant site decreased to 0 to 2 on 10 scale, less burning pain. Can now tell all surgery wounds are in final healing.

30 Nov 11 --- Swelling at implant site has gone down enough so one can easily see size and shape of pacemaker/ICD.   Skin over implant still sensitive to touch.  Using arm more, and less pain with movement.

7 Dec 11 --- Got up quickly from chair, felt dizzy.   I am guessing that my quick rise from chair happened at a time when pacemaker had not yet kicked in and I had just missed a heartbeat.   Quick risings might lead to dizzy spells and falls.   Beware.

9 Dec 11 --- I had pacemaker/ICD implanted 6 weeks ago today.   The operation pains are essentially gone.  Using the left arm is still below normal as pulling in pacemaker area is noticed with raising the arm. I have been wearing sling to prevent movement of left arm while asleep for last 6 weeks.  My ICD wire heart leads should now be anchored by tissue formed around lead ends in heart wall so I can now sleep without a sling, as danger of pulling the leads loose from heart wall is lessened. 

Adrian R. Lawler,   (C) 2011 --