... unfortunately ... looks like I'm going to need a new 'rhythm machine' ...
Saturday I was feeling light-headed and had some chest discomfort ... I often feel like this due to my GERD problem, but this wasn't going away ... My wife and I went to a walk-in clinic five minutes away ... they took me right in and gave me an EKG ... my pulse was fluctuating between 30 - 40 BPM ... they immedeatly called an ambulance and had me brought to the hospital ... looks like a pacemaker is in my immediate future ... will know more after seeing the electro-physicist tomorrow ...
feeling good now, vital signs good, and pulse running about 60 BPM ...
I'll update as I know more ...
To quote a wise man on this forum "gettin' old ain't for wimps" ...

t,.

Glad you caught it in time Best wishes to you.

Oh no... Tony take care of yourself get well.... Good luck my friend.

Best to you and Lydia. Health first....everything else 2nd.
Eddie

The Best to you Tony !!

Had problems with the installation on mine, but that is rare. I had combination defib/pacemaker. All difibs are also pacemakers, but all pacemakers are not necessarily debifs.
The actual procedure isn't bad,just no raising your arm for a month or two.

Yes, Don, I remember your problems ... I may want to talk to you at some point ...

And, yes, they told me four weeks ... hopefully that's all it will be ...

Of course, aside from the obvious, this also creates havoc with the gig schedule ...

Tony, so sorry to hear this. Wish you nothing but the best. One thing about the ol' geezers on this board; they all seem to be tough as hell, so I know you'll come through this with flying colors. Hey, we need our 'peace ambassador'.

BTW, I'll tell you the same thing I told DonM, NO ethnic foods 'til you're completely out of the woods .

Rootin' for ya.

chas

Glad you reacted quickly. Good luck and be well

Hope you're doing better t. With your humor, you'll be fine

Good luck Tony. I had a little scare myself not long ago...right bundle branch block. Doc said I should be OK. I’m sure you’ll pull through this and be back giggin’ in no time.

jingleman

Thanks everyone ... fortunately, I'm in the best hospital in the state for cardiac ... The walk in I went to is affiliated with another hospital, and even those folks agreed I should be here ...

chas, is lasagna with sausage and meatballs ETHNIC food ?

zuki ... if we lose our sense of humor what's left?

jingleman, I've had a right bundle block for years ... I believe it's the left bundle that can cause a problem ...

This too, shall pass ...

chas ... you missed it ... that should have been "peace maker"

Thanks Tony. That’s one of the great things about this forum...a lot of support from a bunch of great guys!

Tony, you took the correct course of a action by going to the "Doc In A Box", which in most instances is a great place for a quick diagnosis and they provide much better service than walking into a hospital emergency room. These guys see more cases in a day than most docs see in a week, and they see a diversity of problems that some docs never encounter. I must applaud them for their work.

Pacemakers have come a long way since I helped implant the first ones at University of Maryland Hospital way back in 1963. At the time, they were the size of a hockey puck, batteries only lasted about a year at best, and replacing them was a big deal. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. And, back then, they were not defibrillators - just pacemakers. Better bang for the buck now.

Recovery time ranges 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the patient and how smoothly the procedure goes. It's a fairly benign procedure with very very few side effects, though infections can occur if the surgeon/cardiologist does not utilize good sterile technique. If you get an infection, kick him in the balls as hard as you can - he deserves it!

Good luck, and I sincerely hope everything goes well for you,

Gary

TONY,

Sorry to hear of your problems with your rhythm machine! I wish you the best, if I can do anything for you know I’m a short drive away.

Not counting Randy and Don here at SZ, you’re the 3rd friend of mine here in Rhode Island who have gone thru an identical situation. One of my friends here drove himself to the hospital the doctors said it was nothing short of a miracle he didn’t have a tragic situation by driving to the hospital, in his case they did an emergency triple bypass.

You’re right “gettin’ Old ain’t for wimps.”

Gary, Steve, ... Thank you ...

A friend of mine had one done last fall ... today he was telling me he had dinner Saturday night with two friends who also had the procedure done ...
Must be the season ...

Look after yourself Tony.
All the best.

Sorry to hear about your health problems paesano ... hope and pray that your recovery is quick.
Ciao,
Jerry

Get better soon, Tony...my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Ian

Everyone's pulling for you, Tony. I'll join the chorus for a speedy return to good health.

Tony my son once said that I seem to glide through the adversites in my life. I have accepted that I was not going to get out of this life without having phyical problems. How I handled what came; Heatr bye-pass to Parkinsons what not easy to accept, but when I did parts of my life improved. It is what it is and now how am I going to handle it.

No poor me's, or why me, I just get busy planning my new life. In short I work with only positive thoughts. My diet s very different, I walk to the club house and back, I go to the gym. I'm doing good. If I stop doing them I I begin to loose.

Sorry for preaching, but it is the best I got t give you. I still dream of playing out -- I have a bunch of keyboards -- and some of the food I eat is great. Put away all fears and worries, there's a lot ahead. Fears and worries are only good if they get you to eat a good diet and get to the gym. (smile)

John C.

Great attitude John, and that's exactly what it takes to keep going. I thank God for each day and try to make the most of it. Why else would we be buying new keyboards from our wheelchairs.
I see others having such terrible problems that I much prefer the few I've had.

You're in my prayers Tony. Keep us posted..

Nice to hear from you Ian - hope you're doing well!

So nice to see such good wishes from friends from all over the globe ... It certainly means a lot ...
Keep those prayers coming, also ...

John, You have a great attitude, which I believe I share ... Everything happens for a reason even though we may never know what it is ...
Instead of "Why me?", I try to maintain the attitude of "Why NOT me" ...

We all have a cross to carry, it's how we carry it that matters ...

Enough preaching, ... on the lighter side, I've had nothing to eat or drink since dinner last night ... I could really go for a chicken cutlet and a caesar salad ...

Just finished an echo cardiogram, so maybe things are moving forward ...

Now that I'm an expert on this procedure, I could save you some money. I think I could do it in my golf shop. I have exacto knife and fast drying cement. That's about all it takes I think. I could use grip solvent for anesthesia. I will look on Ebay and see if I can find a factory defect or open-box pacemaker and I'll get back to you.

The Echo-Cardiogram is to check for any eschemic damage or cardiovascular blockages before the procedure can be performed. From that point on, it's sit, wait, worry, more sitting and waiting, then the actual implant takes place, which usually takes less than 30 minutes.

Good luck, Old Friend,

Gary

Don ... I'll be there ASAP ... as long as there's dinner at Ernest's afterwards ...

Yes, Gary, ... the tech couldn't tell me anything but she did say she didn't have to run to the doctor and tell him it's an emergency ...

Just sitting and waiting, nothing to worry about ...

See, in my shop we wouldn't waste time and money on EKGs, or CDs or VIPs.
I can re-grip a golf club in three minutes, and I can't imagine this taking much longer.
Doctors may be working by the hour though.

This is supposed to be taking your mind off the procedure and cheering you up. The doctors use some funny medicine for that and it costs a bundle.

Do they make the new units with Bluetooth now? Everything else has it these days..

Yes, mine transmits a report every night at 3:00 a.m. There is a device in the bedroom. Not sure if it's bluetooth or some other wireless connection.

Got my fingers crossed for you, Tony....both hands!

R.

All the best whishes for a quick and successfull recovery Tony.

It also reminds him "time for the 3:00 am pee"

You must be hanging out in my closet again.

DONE !!! feeling great ... Thanks all for the prayers and good thoughts ...

Great! I already made a reservation at Ernest's for you, but I'll reschedule when you get here. Sorry I didn't get to do the procedure though.

Tony, It was good to catch up with you today via phone. Wow great news that was fast, after talking to you I never thought they'd do the procedure today.

Great news, Tony. Wow, even DonM's procedure wasn't THAT fast and he didn't even have to scrub up . Seriously, That's great; hope the rehab is equally fast and goes as smoothly.

chas

Glad everything is working our for you, old friend.

Gary

Way to go, Tony!

Hope you're feeling good today..

Back HOME !!! ... Man, it's crazy how 4 days away can seem like forever... also, after 4 days of bed/lounge chair, I've got to get my land legs back ...

At the age of 77 years - which I know is not 'old' by today's standards - I stay pretty active ... do my own lawn and garden maintenance for the most part - I get a landscaper for the 'heavy lifting' in the Spring and Fall -, I play golf, I've gotten back to the gym, play gigs, travel, etc. but something like this lets you know that at 77 years I'm not as young as I like to think ...

Thanks again for all the good wishes and support ...
I LOVE this place ...

Really good news t. Glad you're back home and recovering. Take a break, you deserve it

Stay as active as you can! I laid around in and out of the hospital for more than two months and I can still hardly walk far at all.
A week won't hurt much, but any more and you will sure know the difference.
Glad you are doing so well!

Thanks again everyone ...

Don, I am hoping to take a short walk today ... the street we live on is pretty flat ...

Great!