Fatigue caused by pacemaker

[Dralit]

I have had my pacemaker for 4 years and have been tired every day since it was implanted.  I have postpartum cardiomyopathy and have a biventriccular icd.  When implanted was exhausted for 3 weeks until Dr finally changed the settings and it made it 75% better. No one can figure out why i have to take a nap everyday. Saw 3 EP's, used ECHO to get optimal  settings and saw IM but no one can find anything wrong. I have 3 kids and should not be exhaused like I am. I was asymptomatic and got diagnosed during a chest xray for another issue and even with a 20% ef, I feel 1000 times worse with the device.  I fall asleep in the middle of the day1pm while reading to my children.  Help!!

[Dralit]

Thank you for the response. I did forget to mention that we did turn the pacemaker off for a week to see if symptoms did improve and they didnt. EP from Loyola says it most likely isnt the device but they cant deny the timing and that it is probably attributable to the procedure or something they just cant find with the device. My battery has another 4 years, do not know where else to turn.

[CCFHeartMD 15]

Hello. If impossible to give you a specific recommendation through internet as the treatment of a cardiomyopathy is not the same for all the patients. In general, I can tell you that some patients feel worse with the CRT (cardiac resynchronization therapy), and after trying different configurations, we sometimes need to turn off the ventricular pacing and see if there are any changes in the patient's symptoms. If you have an ICD-CRT device (also with defibrillator), your doctor can leave the ICD turned on and change the pacemaker (ventricular pacing) as a backup if needed (e.g. when your own pacemaker runs too slowly or if appears a blockade between the upper and lower part of the heart). You can discuss about this option to your doctor and define with him the pros and cons.
Good luck.