Pacemaker's owners club

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garyboy
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by garyboy »

give the bionic machanism a test run, Richard …. say a steady 120mph on the ktm (other brands are available) down the motorway .. then a long trail ride .. sarn, gap, limekiln, motel hill etc …. make or break, I always says … make or break 8-) 8-)


you'll be fine ,...... fine :D
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

Went for a walk this am, and was easily keeping up with Kate on the hills....previously, I'd been trailing in her wake and struggling to breathe.
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by daveuprite »

Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:13 am Went for a walk this am, and was easily keeping up with Kate on the hills....previously, I'd been trailing in her wake and struggling to breathe.
If Kate is a race-trained greyhound, then slow down Richard - take it step by step... :D
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by Godspeed »

Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:13 am Went for a walk this am, and was easily keeping up with Kate on the hills....previously, I'd been trailing in her wake and struggling to breathe.
That’s really good news. It’s brilliant but remember to keep that arm from raising above your shoulder or lifting anything heavy on that side for the next few weeks.
Also, you should get a 6 week appt with the pacing clinic so do chase it up if you don’t hear anything as they will need to check the leads and adjust the output to ensure you get good longevity from the device 👍
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

Godspeed wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:32 am
Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:13 am Went for a walk this am, and was easily keeping up with Kate on the hills....previously, I'd been trailing in her wake and struggling to breathe.
That’s really good news. It’s brilliant but remember to keep that arm from raising above your shoulder or lifting anything heavy on that side for the next few weeks.
Also, you should get a 6 week appt with the pacing clinic so do chase it up if you don’t hear anything as they will need to check the leads and adjust the output to ensure you get good longevity from the device 👍

Great advice, thank you.

I'm back to Derriford on Friday for various checks, and then they were talking about another in a month.

I've just informed DVLA, and they say I can start driving again if the consultant is OK with it. Not even looking at motorcycles yet, too much prospect of shoulder strain etc.

I've also found out that there really is a Pacemaker Owners' Club, based in the USA.

One of the goodies they do is a T-shirt with a pocket over the pacemaker site containing a piece of that motorcycle body armour that is soft normally, but goes hard instantly under impact pressure. It seemed like a good idea to me, but I thought I'd ask you first if it would be any good or not?


https://www.vitalbeat.me/pacemaker-protection/
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by zimtim »

https://images.app.goo.gl/zNeKz49tUJ4Qihzv8

All very well going for a walk but think you and Kate ought to cover up otherwise you'll catch your death
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by Godspeed »

Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:22 pm
Godspeed wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:32 am
Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:13 am Went for a walk this am, and was easily keeping up with Kate on the hills....previously, I'd been trailing in her wake and struggling to breathe.
That’s really good news. It’s brilliant but remember to keep that arm from raising above your shoulder or lifting anything heavy on that side for the next few weeks.
Also, you should get a 6 week appt with the pacing clinic so do chase it up if you don’t hear anything as they will need to check the leads and adjust the output to ensure you get good longevity from the device 👍

Great advice, thank you.

I'm back to Derriford on Friday for various checks, and then they were talking about another in a month.

I've just informed DVLA, and they say I can start driving again if the consultant is OK with it. Not even looking at motorcycles yet, too much prospect of shoulder strain etc.

I've also found out that there really is a Pacemaker Owners' Club, based in the USA.

One of the goodies they do is a T-shirt with a pocket over the pacemaker site containing a piece of that motorcycle body armour that is soft normally, but goes hard instantly under impact pressure. It seemed like a good idea to me, but I thought I'd ask you first if it would be any good or not?


https://www.vitalbeat.me/pacemaker-protection/
To be fair I wouldn’t worry about that bit of kit, it looks a bit gimmicky to me. Pacemakers are properly solid, made from titanium and laser sealed, you won’t do any harm to it that it couldn’t take. :) The bit around the pacemaker is the important bit and that is you 👍
I wouldn’t advise any of my patients to buy anything like that but instead just take care of the scar area. If you’re riding off road and expect to crash then normal decent armour would be advised, preferably with a chest insert.
If normal (what is normal anyway?) road riding is to be undertaken then just the normal protective gear that you’d wear.
Hope that helps a bit
Please ask if you have any other questions, more than happy to help 👍
Cheers
Chris
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by daveuprite »

Isn't it great when the site not only contains expert advice from a specialist, but that it's also the word of god ? Wonderful. :)



(do you do chronic back ache, by any chance?)
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

Read an interesting article on chronic back ache in the Economist while hanging about in hospital.

Basically, medication/surgery is pretty much useless in most cases. Physio/exercise is the way forward for most cases, even where there is physical damage.

If the NHS can't help, pay for some time with a good physio who knows about backs.

My bro suffered with a bad back, to the extent that he had to see a consultant. He was asked what he did for a living (farm contractor) and his hobbies (ski-ing, motocross). The consultant's response was 'no wonder you've got a bad back, then.'

Physio was of limited help, but what cured it was a new, good quality 'ortho' mattress. That was 30 years ago, and his back is still OK, although long-distance cross-country running has mostly replaced motocross and ski-ing.
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Re: Pacemaker's owners club

Post by daveuprite »

Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 4:12 pm Read an interesting article on chronic back ache in the Economist while hanging about in hospital.

Basically, medication/surgery is pretty much useless in most cases. Physio/exercise is the way forward for most cases, even where there is physical damage.

If the NHS can't help, pay for some time with a good physio who knows about backs.

My bro suffered with a bad back, to the extent that he had to see a consultant. He was asked what he did for a living (farm contractor) and his hobbies (ski-ing, motocross). The consultant's response was 'no wonder you've got a bad back, then.'

Physio was of limited help, but what cured it was a new, good quality 'ortho' mattress. That was 30 years ago, and his back is still OK, although long-distance cross-country running has mostly replaced motocross and ski-ing.
Thanks Richard, much appreciated, but a bit late for me now sadly. I jumped off a truck in Algeria in 1989 and felt the crunch immediately. Although I carried on travelling across Africa, the injury kept returning over the years and I have since had two discectomies and epidural injections, and when I was working in the UK I basically paid for my chiropractor's Mercedes. Even my french doctor, who is excellent in every respect, has washed her hands of me now. There's nothing more to be done without screwing up the discs even more apparently. So it's daily codeine and diclofenac forever it seems. I control it quite well, so as not to get addicted, but I am basically a reluctant prisoner of big pharma. Yoga and regular stretches help a bit, but there's only so much pain relief available. I can go months with just the usual daily background pain, followed by a fortnight of agonising spasms, then back to 'normal' again. It hasn't yet stopped me attending one of our dirty moron days though, and I would rather finish myself off over one of Phil's single-track cliff paths than fester at home moaning.

Cheers for the supportive words though. And very best of luck with the ticker. Sounds like it's gone well.

Dave
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