Ticking Clock

I can feel my pacemaker when it activates. It feels like the tick of a clock, it does not hurt but I am aware of it. It usually goes off for a minute then stops, but sometimes it will go off again a few minutes later and at that point my heart feels like its has moved to my throat and I sometimes feel nauseus.

I have been told that this is because my pacemaker is set to a very sensitive level so it will activate as soon as my heart drops below 60bpm. This could have been changed at my first checkup, to make it less sensitive, but I was worried that if my settings were changed I might collapse again and, having not collapsed for six weeks, I didn't want to tempt fate. I asked the pacing doctor (that's his job title, not an indication of anxiety) to leave it alone as it lets me know when it's working and puts my mind at rest. My pacing doctor was happy to leave the settings as they were.

I was also told that the battery would last ten years. The pacing doctors will always tell me how long the battery will last every time I go for a check up, so the count down is on. On average a battery lasts ten years. I'm 32 now so I could need five or six battery changes in my lifetime and possibly one or two lead changes. Lets hope the technology gets better and the batteries last longer so I might need less replacements in the future.

This ticking clock is my new reasuring friend. As time goes on my body is getting used to this sensation and I'm not feeling it as much as I did when the pacemaker was first implanted.