Cardioverter Defibrillator implant

IT WORKS!

Hi all, just wanted to give you an update on Iwinder. He is back in hospital since Monday (Apr 14) for observation and tweaking on his medications.

Monday morning, after I left for work, he ate his breakfast got up and put the dishes in the sink, this was just before 7:00 am, at this point he felt dizzy/light headed and decided to sit down. Once back in the chair the feeling worsened and he thought being on the floor might be a good idea. Apparently that thought was a tad slow in coming, as the next thing he new he was looking at his coat and it was on the ceiling...or rather it was on the kitchen chair and he was on the floor looking up at it. The chair he had been using was now laying on it's side.

He got up and called for an ambulance and then dialed my office. Figures I was out getting my morning tea, when I got back and checked the voice mail the number was there but no message left. I called right back (4 mins after the incoming call) and he answered the phone "I passed out, ambulance coming, are you coming here or to the hospital?" He is a man of few words. I chose to come come home first. I arrived just as they were getting ready to leave, so I saw that he was stable and coherent. WHEW. That gave me some time to gather my thoughts and a couple books, mints and bottled water (knowing that it could turn into a long day). And it did, I got home at 9:00 that night.

The first thoughts were that his blood pressure was low and he fainted, but given his recent & long term history, with the cardiomyopathy they decided to keep him overnight in COD (continuous observation dept). The next morning they were able to retrieve data from the ICD and send it to the hospital in a larger city near us. The results showed that he did in fact have an episode of very low heart rate and therapy was administered (yup, he got ZAPPED). Since the device did what it was supposed to do by applying a small jolt, and the heart rate returned to normal, there was no reason to send him there.

So now he is being given another drug, name ????, that is to help correct the arrhythmia, and they have taken him off the potassium supplement. Last night around 7:00 monitors detected a short burst of Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) of 14 quick beats that lasted only 2 seconds, had it got up to 24 beats in that time span he would have received another jump start from his bionic buddy (yet to be named).

The doctor has decided to keep him in for the weekend, which makes both of us more comfortable, until the heart rate is stabilized.

That's all I have for now, thanks to all of you for your support. HAPPY EASTER everyone.

Namaste,
YogaGinns & Iwinder

a reply to: YogaGinns

I just found this thread by chance and now Iwinder has one
more friend pulling for his well being. He is a noteable personality
on ATS and my prayers tonight will include him to be back up
and posting soon. My wife almost had to have the same procedure
recently. She got to the hospital and her blood pressure was 190 over
140. Absolutely scared the crap out of me.

You're in my prayers Iwinder.

Get well immediately my brother.

Randyvious

a reply to: randyvs

Thanks for the kind words of support and sorry to hear that your wife has had her share of problems.

I brought Iwinder home this afternoon and he is pretty tired. Says that the mind is not functioning well enough to interact intelligently right now. We are hoping that they have the right buffet of medications and that the heart rate will smooth out. Time will tell, at least we know that the ICD is doing its job (scary as that is).

The home monitor has arrived and once it is hooked up and activated it will automatically send a report to the Heart Clinic every night. It is amazing to think what technology can do now.

Namaste,
YogaGinns & Iwinder

ps: He got caught making a break for it early this morning. He snuck out of the unit, into the basement and out through the parking garage for a smoke. Little did he know that he would be locked out and that security was following his every move on closed circuit cameras. One security guard kindly escorted him inside and two more were waiting to show him the way back to his room. Guess he was feeling much better.

a reply to: YogaGinns

Sounds really good except ( you know ) but I get to say it once only
and he won't have to worry that I'll mention it ever again. Damn it man,
quit the cigs and you could add years to your life my brother!
i'm done. Tell him I said I won't bug him. But tell him to e mail me when it
feels right for him, if you will please YG ?

Thank you for the positive update.

prayers

Randy

a reply to: randyvs

a reply to: YogaGinns Sounds really good except ( you know ) but I get to say it once only and he won't have to worry that I'll mention it ever again. Damn it man, quit the cigs and you could add years to your life my brother! i'm done. Tell him I said I won't bug him. But tell him to e mail me when it feels right for him, if you will please YG ? Thank you for the positive update. prayers Randy

Thanks again, and he has been getting "the speech" from everyone on smoking. Only he can make that decision, and he has to be ready to do it. I know from experience.

I would have loved to have been a birdie in the tree and watched all the cloak and dagger stuff. Nothing worse then getting caught out like that.

Take care,
YogaGinns

So the poor bugger got his first "zap" did he ?

Hell, I'd need a puff of a ciggy too after an episode like that... and then a stiff shot of whisky to wash it down.

I can't believe all the high-tech gadgetry they have nowadays. An at home monitor now to boot ?!

"Bessie the monitor" and "Buzz the shockmeister".

... and Iwinder The Bionic Man. Has a catchy ring to it !


"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man... Better, stronger, faster."

Go Iwinder !!

a reply to: CranialSponge

Hell, I'd need a puff of a ciggy too after an episode like that... and then a stiff shot of whisky to wash it down.

Yes, its scary to think about it. There is the peace of mind knowing it works, but the unknown factor of when, or if, it will go off again is the spooky part. We are hoping that the medication is right now and that the irregular heart beats won't happen again.

I don't like the idea of him being here alone and will need to work something out. We have quite a few doctor's appointments coming up and hope to have the monitor/transmitter up and running this week.

Did you ever get in to see your doc? If so we hope everything is OK with you.

So many things to think about, makes the head spin. Thanks for your concern and take care of yourself.

Namaste,
YogaGinns & Iwinder

a reply to: randyvs

I just found this thread by chance and now Iwinder has one more friend pulling for his well being. He is a noteable personality on ATS and my prayers tonight will include him to be back up and posting soon. My wife almost had to have the same procedure recently. She got to the hospital and her blood pressure was 190 over 140. Absolutely scared the crap out of me. You're in my prayers Iwinder. Get well immediately my brother. Randyvious

Thanks for that post Randy, much appreciated and I hope your wife is feeling better too.
This is my first post since getting out of the hospital and I will post more tomorrow.
I am feeling ok and its good to be home, I just need a few days to charge up the batteries and I should be good as new:-)
Many thanks
Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: Iwinder
hey Iwinder
GET WELL SOON

a reply to: Iwinder

Adda boy Iwinder!



For you and your precious.

And my wife is doing fine my man. She scared the hell out of me
but between some fantastic heart doctors and all the prayers and
support from family. She is better than she's been in along time.
The song is just so good for the heart I had to send.

a reply to: randyvs

Sounds really good except ( you know ) but I get to say it once only and he won't have to worry that I'll mention it ever again. Damn it man, quit the cigs and you could add years to your life my brother!

I will be working on that but not quite yet, I need them for de-stressing and times are stressful at the moment.
They took all the other good stuff from me bit by bit over the years (salt/sugar/coffee/processed foods/etc etc)
I won't let them "take my smokes" I will give them up on my terms.

Your correct though in that they are very bad for me but I already new that. :-)
I imagine its going to be much worse than giving up the coffee and that was a tough one, just ask YogaGinns about what an animal I became for about 4 months......LOL

Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: CranialSponge
So the poor bugger got his first "zap" did he ?

Hell, I'd need a puff of a ciggy too after an episode like that... and then a stiff shot of whisky to wash it down.

I can't believe all the high-tech gadgetry they have nowadays. An at home monitor now to boot ?!

"Bessie the monitor" and "Buzz the shockmeister".

... and Iwinder The Bionic Man. Has a catchy ring to it !


"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man... Better, stronger, faster."

Go Iwinder !!

You betcha I needed that smoke, and I could have used a beer too but our hospital is in no-mans land.
Probably a 2 mile walk to the nearest bar.
As it was I only got a few drags of off it before the security guy nailed me.

Thanks for the kind words and the laughs too!
Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: Danbones
a reply to: Iwinder
hey Iwinder
GET WELL SOON

Dan, I will do my best.....trust me.
Much appreciated
Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: randyvs
a reply to: Iwinder

Adda boy Iwinder!

For you and your precious.

And my wife is doing fine my man. She scared the hell out of me
but between some fantastic heart doctors and all the prayers and
support from family. She is better than she's been in along time.
The song is just so good for the heart I had to send.

Glad to hear that she is better and all is good.
We can relate to that alright.
Thanks for the vid and YogaGinns will be home soon and I know she will enjoy it as much as I did.

Regards, Iwinder

As the wife explained up top of this page I got zapped last week and it saved my life for sure.
Regarding this unit in me I think now that the settings are such that am going to be out of it before it zaps me.
I felt nothing but upon awakening I suspected I didn't just come to on my own.
The cause of my slow heart rate was the new meds so they have changed them all again so we will see.
Perhaps "PARDON?" from page two will read this and comment.

The doctors and the booklet that comes with it say to get on the ground ( I am quick to do just that but not by choice)
before you get zapped.
I can't see the need for a zap if I am walking around or standing up, but I really have no idea?

I do know now that it covers the high end (rapid BPM) and the slow end of the scale as well.
Today was my first day on my own since last Monday and we were very lucky to find a PSW (Personal Service Worker)
who stayed with me this morning and will do so for the next few weeks.

The Mornings seem to be my "witching hours" all three of my events were in the morning hours so its nice to have someone here.

We are worried that one of these times I am going to pick a bad spot to crash, top of the stairs or the bathroom or when cooking you get the idea.
We will see what happens.

Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: Iwinder
sounds like a good excuse to stay up late and sleep late too
take a load off at peak so to speak...
if you are into late movies
might be a real boon

originally posted by: Danbones
a reply to: Iwinder
sounds like a good excuse to stay up late and sleep late too
take a load off at peak so to speak...
if you are into late movies
might be a real boon

I like that "take a load off at peak so to speak", good idea.
Alas morning beckons me with cold cereal and lots of pills....LOL
They put me on a schedule for just about eveything you do during the day.
Regards, Iwinder

Ok, we now have the home based scanner unit up and running so that adds quite a bit to the comfort zone regarding what is going on inside me at any moment.

It is currently in our living room but as soon as we get a phone jack installed in the bedroom that is where it will be situated from then on.

After it does an auto scan it will dial home to the University hospital in London every night with my status for that day and if there is a problem they will phone us with instructions, like get your ass to the hospital now or your doctor asap.

It is really easy to use, plug it in then hold this pad (looks just like a computer mouse) over your implant and it does the rest. Takes about two minutes for the scanning then about 5 minutes or so to upload the information to the hospital.

The only time we do a manual scan is if I have an "event" zapped or feeling very unwell and within minutes the Cardio specialists in London will have all the information they need to take any actions they deem necessary.

The unit is quite small and is portable so if we travel or I end up in the hospital here in our town it goes with me.
I am being treated by two different hospitals which are about 110 km's apart so the flow of information is vital to my well being.

University hospital is the base for surgery and the deep analyzing of my implants data output.
Our Local hospital is responsible for meds and most tests and stuff.

So we are very pleased with this new addition to our war room and thought we would share the information.

On a side note I have posted in a few threads in the past about how expensive health care can be without insurance be it private or Government.

I shudder what my bills would be in another country that does not have a health system like Canada. We most certainly would be bankrupt by now or very shortly as there are tons of tests and stuff in the future yet.

Regards, Iwinder

When we first were informed that an implant was necessary and should be done immediately they did mention a driving ban of up to 3.5 months and that would be discussed at the end of that period of time.
We now suspect that after that one Zap I received odds are very good that I can't drive for a year now, we learn something new everyday and some is good and some is bad.

I can't really argue the driving ban as I have no desire to take an Innocent life by any means.
The second time I "crashed" it was fast.....maybe 5 seconds from "I feel funny" to hitting the floor full speed so I realize the danger I pose to others driving at this time.

I have no idea if my insurance company has been informed of this or not and I do not plan on offering up that information at this time because of an almost guaranteed insurance rate hike of huge proportions.
Do any folks here know how the driving ban works for medical issues? What I am asking is who informs who about who is banned and why?

If we keep our mouths shut will it fly under the radar?
We do not want to go through the official channels to ask because then we definitely will be a blip on the radar, and I say we because of the insurance rates are for both vehicles we own.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: Pardon?
Hi Pardon, If you every read this we have another question for you.
It is apparent that the clock in my device is off and needs resetting, at the moment it is fast by 1hour 20 minutes.
We are hoping its just a minor thing and we do have an appointment to get this fixed/checked out in the near future.

Would you have any ideas of why this has happened? We are assuming the clock was fine after the operation and the follow up checks.

My Cardiologist is having fits about it because when I had an episode in the hospital he assumed the time was correct and questioned me thouroghly on my activities in that time frame which turned out to be incorrect.

We are concerned that it may not just be the clock.......They are checking it in London so I am packing a bag.
I am actually hoping the remove the unit and replace it even considering the risk and pain.

Much appreciated.
Regards, Iwinder