Question RE ICD replacement

Hi all. I have a St. Jude defibrillator. Implanted august 2008. It has never shocked me. I have long a t syndrome. I'm getting monthly checkups because the battery is low. But the clinic can't give me even a rough estimate of when it will be replaced. I guess I'm just frustrated and anxious, and looking for some guidance on how quickly you go from monthly checkups to a replacement. I know it's different for everyone. Thanks to those who respond.

4 Comments

ICD replacement

by bribet - 2014-12-15 01:12:27

I am on my third ICD and when it was running low the Pacemaker clinic started checking me every three months. The last change was in 2012 and at the moment I am checked twice a year, once through my Medtronic and once a year an actual visit to the consultant and pacemaker clinic

good news!

by Tracey_E - 2014-12-15 08:12:04

Well that settles that! Glad you have a date. Replacements are super easy. The soreness the first time was from making the pocket, the restrictions were from the new leads. As long as you aren't getting a new lead and they go in the same place, this will just be a matter of the incision healing. I've left for vacation less than a week after two of my four.

varies

by Tracey_E - 2014-12-15 11:12:29

It depends on the dr and your insurance. Does your insurance require it to be EOL before they'll cover it? Or some drs just wait for that anyway. They can't predict when that will happen, so that might be what they're waiting for. Once that happens, you have approx 3 months to get it done. Technicians sometimes get in trouble for talking to us too much, have you tried calling the dr directly? Maybe say you are trying to make travel plans.

I've had 4 replacements. They usually switch me from quarterly to monthly when it says 3-6 months left. The longest I went after switching to monthly was 6 months, the shortest was 1 month. That time a lead was bad (we already knew that) but it went from bad to worse and sucked the last of the battery life from one check to the next so I had it done that week. But every other time, I had plenty of time to plan it at my convenience, at least a month. If no one already told you, this is a piece of cake, nothing at all like the first one.

Thanks

by alexisbagel - 2014-12-15 12:12:21

Thank you both. The clinic called hours after I posted this to schedule my replacement. Anxiety reduced! And, I'm happy to hear a replacement is better than the original implant surgery. This is my first replacement. Thanks again for your time and help.

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