10 Shocks from hell !

I would like to share my story of the scariest day of my life. I had my AICD implanted 12/09. I went to the hospital throwing 20-30 PVCs a min. The heart block and the fact that my EF rate was down to 25-30% was the reason for the AICD. I have felt fine and I have been in for my AICD checks and all was good. I had another echo back in april and my heart had gotten stronger (EF 40-45%).
Hear is the story>>>> on 8-4-10 I was out weed eating as usual
and yes it's hot but I had just cooled off for an hour and had only been cutting for about 10 min. I was cutting a friends yard and as I was weed eating the icd went off and knocked the crap out of me. As I was laying on the ground for around 3-5 min and felt my pulse and everything was good. I got up and went to get a cool towel and as soon as I got the towel over my head it slammed me to the ground again. By this time I was getting worried and my pulse was good so I was crawling to the door of my friends house and as soon as he starts to pull me in it hit me again. He said that he could feel it. I was in a lot of agony laying there while he was calling the ambulance. My pulse felt fine, I felt fine and had not been dizzy. By this time about 2 minutes later it hit me again. My friend and his wife and daughter started throwing ice on me because we could not understand why it was shocking me. When that dang thing hit me the fifth time I am screaming in pain. ( I now know what the 10 pain level is on a scale from 1 - 10). I started asking if they had any magnets or something because by this time I knew that something was wrong. The device shocked me 5 more times while I was laying there in the floor. I was alert and had a good heart rate the whole time. I don't know why it stopped shocking me but it finally did. The Ambulance rushed me to Methodist in Houston and when the Medtronic guy finally got there he connected with my history and said oh no! He said that when my heart was so weak they had the settings way too low and now that my heart is stronger ( and I could have been a little out of wack on electrolites but not bad) my T wave was elevated some and the AICD was seeing it as another heart beat. So my heart rate only got up to 100-105 the device thought I was going in to V-Fib 200-210 and was shocking me.
The positive side. They reset my ICD and stated that my heart had gotten so strong that I probably don' t need the ICD part and just keep it pacing because of the bundle branch block. They did a threshold test to make sure that it would still fire if I really went to V-Fib and sent me home. I have to admit that I am still a little gun shy after being shocked like that for no reason.
For now I still feel great and I am a very active 47 year old and hopefully this won't happen again. I have another appointment the 26th and I am hoping that we schedule a time to disable the icd part. That hurts like nothing I have ever felt.
The best news of all after my heart has been paced for 8 months my EF went from 25-30% to 60-64% which is a miracle and I am very happy about that. Take care everyone, I am fixin to head out on my Harley and continue to enjoy life. Rich

9 Comments

God Bless You ~ ~

by Carolyn65 - 2010-08-17 10:08:27

What an experience! Sometimes I do not understand why the professional medical field does not anticipate your future happenings after the implant. Where else would you go but to a stronger heart? Why wouldn't the 'settings' be re-set for this beforehand?

Gee, I hope that there are many people who read your experience who ask their Dr's. What?, Why?

The main thing is you are doing so well and feel like taking chances again to have a full life. We love to hear gratitudes from our fellow PM Club friends.

Viva Harleys and Richards. My Son's name is Richard, he is 47 and has a red Harley!

Ride On Harleys,
Carolyn G. in TEXAS ~ May You Wave in the Wind ~

WOW!!

by 8thID - 2010-08-17 11:08:40

Glad to hear you are now OK! Sounds like you had one horrible day. I'm 44 and have an ICD. Just got mine on 7/27/10. I hope your settings are now correct. How was the Harley ride? Take Care!

Jeff

Thanks for the comments

by r.hart_62 - 2010-08-18 01:08:07

I would like to say that I asked both my doctor and my pacemaker guy and they both said that the weed wacker did not cause this. I was thinking the same thing at first but why did it keep shocking me? Well, they said it was all about the settings and not being adjusted as my heart grew stronger. I could have been running and got hot and my heart rate jumped up and then the T wave jumped as well it still would have happened. They also stated that I was close to it happening on a couple of other days and those days I was golfing and then out all day fishing and throwing horse shoes the other day. If I was not so active this may not have happened but I wanted to get it out their for my ICD buds to at least ask the Doc about the settings and make sure that they stay on top of it. They said that my heart getting that strong is one of tens of thousands that it happens to. I think that this web site is a good place to share our experiences with and help one another. I know that I was scared to ride my bike because of possible interference with the ICD but I do not think that is the case. I have experienced both sides of it and pushed it to the limit and found mine. The most important thing is to ask a lot of questions. I am fairly new at this but have experienced a lot. I hope that I have helped at least one person from my experience. Take care, Rich '''''''''''''''Keep the shiny side up always.

Yes,

by Settingthepace2 - 2010-08-18 06:08:30

Yes, that is what I was talking about. I was told not to use the weed wacker because the vibration would make my PM think I was working out hard. But, another person here said they asked their Dr.s and were told it would not affect their ICD so I just thought they must be different from the PM.
Just glad they are all ok. Scary.

Cool!

by r.hart_62 - 2010-08-18 08:08:10

Carolyn65,
I think that is neat about your sone being same name and rides a Harley. The only difference is I have a Black '09 Heritage Softail. Thanks for the comments. I am fairly new at this AICD stuff and had to learn the hard way. ( I am kind of hard headed anyway LOL) I just hope that people ask the docs about the settings in a few months just to see if they need it. When I go and get it checked they are just checking history and stuff like that and I never see my doc until a follow up later. The echo was probably the key factor here and if anyones heart gets a lot stronger like mine did I would strongly advise them to get with the doc and get the settings raised.
Jeff,
keep in touch and stay on top of your EF % and ask the doc a lot of questions. Also be careful and don't pull those wires loose . I was a good boy for about 8 weeks then I slowly started getting back at riding my bike and golfing. The Harley ride is awesome no matter when I am riding. There is nothing like the freedom of the bike.
Zombie,
I guess you know what I am talking about on the pain factor. Try and stay off the roof if you can help it. I would sure hate to see you fall out. My problem is a little different than yours and I guess that is another lesson for all of us is that no two People are exactly the same.
Settingthepace2,
Thanks for the comments and keep sharing information because in the end we can all learn to live with our devices and it helps to have others to talk to about it.
Everyone stay positive and live life to the fullest. We all have to deal with it but it could always be worse Take care everyone
Richard Hart
Danbury, Texas

wow yes!

by Settingthepace2 - 2010-08-18 12:08:12

I was told I could no longer use a weed wacker because the PM thinks my body is moving from the vibration and would make the PM go really high. So of course I will never again use one. But were you not told the same thing? Just wondering.

New type of therapy

by ElectricFrank - 2010-08-19 02:08:46

Sounds like the device got your hearts attention.

Seriously, it doesn't sound like the Medtronics rep thought the weed whacker had anything to do with it. You would likely have had the same thing happen if you ran around the block.

Glad you are able to see the Medtronics rep. My experience is that they are very knowledgeable and give you the best care.

good luck, and no more 12 out of 10 pain level shocks.

frank

Medtronics folks

by r.hart_62 - 2010-08-19 09:08:52

Frank, you are exactly right. The Medtronics reps are great. I have been with about three different ones since my implant. I have been extremely pleased and they are very knowledgeable . I am an EMT-I running the streets for many years in the box as a volunteer and can see BS when it is there. I have learned a lot and will keep learning. Take care
Rich

harley rider

by bigdog - 2010-10-11 01:10:15

I;M A HARLEY RIDER TO. I GOT MY ICD PUT IN 2/1/10 AND I STILL RIDE. NEVER BEEN SHOCKED BUT IT IS ALLWAYS IN THE BACK OF MY MIND. I LIVE HERE IN HOUSTON TO . MY NAME IS PETE CALL ME SOME TIME I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT 832-875-6055

You know you're wired when...

Intel inside is your motto.

Member Quotes

I'm 35 and got my pacemaker a little over a year ago. It definitely is not a burden to me. In fact, I have more energy (which my husband enjoys), can do more things with my kids and have weight because of having the energy.