Setting off stores' anti-theft device!!!

My Guidant Insignia I Ultra (model 1290) was installed on Nov. 21/07. Yesterday I went to the Pacemaker Clinic for a 3rd adjustment. The rate response feature was turned off to help quell the strong and almost continuous thumping in my chest that started after the 2nd adjustment.

Some other adjustment must have been made yesterday as now I have an unexpected problem. I am now setting off the anti-theft devices at the entrances/exits of stores. I went shopping today and the devices beeped in the two stores that I visited. It had never happened before today. Not a serious problem but very embarrassing!

Any ideas out there on what adjustment/setting change might have caused this new problem?

Great site!

14 Comments

hi

by jessie - 2008-01-03 07:01:00

hellow fellow ontarian. i am from s.w. ontario. lol wallaceburg between chatham and sarnia. where do you hail from.this is a great site! i have amedtronic dual lead installed aug. 2006 jessie

hi

by CanadianKirk - 2008-01-03 07:01:02

Hello Jessie,

I live in Welland, Ontario in the Niagara Peninsula. Nice to meet you.

CanadianKirk

do not linger

by jessie - 2008-01-03 07:01:30

i know that these devices are sensitive so if you longer it is not good.maybe someone with more knowledge will answer like smitty good luck jessie

funny enough

by jessie - 2008-01-03 07:01:42

when i was a child we moved to thorold and it was during ww 2 and we lived in a little place called wendall village. it was right close to the canal because we were for bidden to go there but my brothers went and sure enough the eldest on fell in. lucky enough someone got him out of the drink. anyway i remember the men coming home. i had 2 uncles return my mom's brothers and we spent many a sunday at niagara for a picnic. lol jessie

Homebody

by CanadianKirk - 2008-01-03 08:01:07

I, on the other hand, have never been farther west than Tillsonburg. I'm not much of a traveller. I live a hop and a skip from Thorold but have never heard of the term "Wendall Village".

I'm a retired teacher.

CK

okay

by jessie - 2008-01-03 08:01:20

i am a retired nurse. you would not have heard of wendall village as it no longer exists. it did tho during the war. so we lived in that village which sat on the welland canal and their were a bunch of wartime houses at the time. my dad worked in a chemical plant and he then moved after the war to t.o. and then to the chemical valley. small world huh? jessie

oh lordy

by jessie - 2008-01-03 09:01:56

i agree. see what you find out on this site? knowledge is power tho so find out if the symptoms you have are related. sharon is very knowledgeable and a man named ted who is an american attorney is also involved as he has a guidant i believe. did you get you pacemaker in niagara falls. i got mine in london at university hospital. mine is a medtronic as i mentioned. some are recalled but not my brand or type. thank god. so hope this helps you jessie

Guidant (Boston Scientific)

by auntiesamm - 2008-01-03 09:01:56

You have come to right place to find wonderful folks who are caring, supportive and willing to share their experiences with you.

Ask your physician if the Guidant 1290 is still on recall. In a letter date November 2006 Guidant stated all recalled Guidant PMs would be pulled from shelves, storerooms, operating suites, etc. Looks like that did not occur. That didn't happen because there are others in the club who had Guidant PMs implanted after that date. One of the earliest letters, I believe, went out sometime in 2005 before I was implanted with a Guidant in May 2006. Shortly after I found this terrific website and one of the first things I read was about Guidant Insignia 1290 which is what I have. If you will Google Guidant recall you will find all the info.

I'm not trying to scare you but you should be armed with all the facts and best information. At the time my cardiologist wasn't too concerned and didn't advise replacement. I am 100% paced in the ventricle and 56% in the atrium and just hope it keeps going! Please don't let this upset you but be aware of the history. Good luck and God bless you in 2008.
Sharon

Me Too!

by TwoCents - 2008-01-03 09:01:56

I just received my second pacemaker on Dec. 20, 2007 and it also is an Insignia 1 Ultra 1290. I am also having a lot of thumping going on, so my ears went up when I you reported that feeling. Did the docs have anything to say about this particular model? I haven't tried to go into a store yet, but here's hoping I don't end up in jail! I checked the recall list today and the 1290 (at least my serial number) isn't on the current list, but was on previous lists. I would be interested in your particular pacing situation since we both just received the same model and comparing potential problems might be useful in figuring out what's going on. My sense of it is that the rate responsive feature may be a little overactive. I am paced 100% in the atrium and 40% or less in the ventricle, so they tell me.

Doctors Still Implanting Recalled Guidants

by ted - 2008-01-03 10:01:18

With all of the publicity about Guidant Corp. concealing the facts about their defective products while continuing to sell their pacers and ICD's so as to maximize profits even though patients were dying, it is amazing to me that any doctor would implant any Guidant, let alone one that was on recall. Why do physicians continue to support a company who cared more for money that the lives of the people who were implanted? The only way to keep companies honest is to boycott their products if they are caught (as Guidant was) hiding the facts about dangerous defects. Ted

CanadianKirk Replies to TwoCents et al

by CanadianKirk2 - 2008-01-03 10:01:30

I checked at the Guidant site and my serial number is not part of the recall. I presume that it was manufactured after the recall. I am very relieved!

My atrial lead is displaced and shut off. I just have the ventricle lead pacing and at 50%. The advice I was given was to leave it alone. At my second adjustment session I was told the ventrical lead was now iffy (micro dislodgement?) but it might improve with time. There was some improvement at the 3rd interrogation. Would definitely have to go back for lead repositioning (both) if second lead dislodged. Was told the window of opportunity for repositioning is 60 days and I am getting close to that cutoff time.

Shutting off the rate response helped a lot. I still feel some light thumping but it is not as bothersome as before.

I was not expecting the complication of the beeping anti-theft devices. I hope someone out there will have insight into this problem. I'm going to call the pacemaker clinic tomorrow to see if they have an answer. My next appointment is in 2 weeks. Don't think I can give up shopping for that long. LOL

I'm a real newbie and had trouble with log-on and had to re-register in order to make this reply. Couldn't find anywhere on the screen where it said to click on the screen to log on. Had left the site and then couldn't log on when I returned. What did I do wrong???? Had to re-register with new name: CanadianKirk2 but I am one and the same person. CK

Info

by ela-girl - 2008-01-03 11:01:37

Hi, CK.

As far as your trouble logging into the site...email Blake, the founder of the site (click the contact at the bottom of the page). He can help you out. I know OIMAPRINCESS also had trouble with logging on recently, too, and she kept add numbers to her username. Blake can help!

As far as setting off anti-theft devices at stores...some of us have also had this happen, me included. I usually only set the one off at our Linen-n-Things store. Pacemaker recipients are told to avoid lingering around the security devices at stores and to walk right through them because they can cause disturbance. I think it also depends how any particular store has their units set. I believe some are more sensitive than others. It's a hoot! And we have one PetSmart store where I can feel the security device bothering me while standing at a cash register by the doors! Now I don't know why you are all of a sudden having problems if you didn't before...definitely something to mention to your doc and tech. And I wouldn't know if your Guidant is the problem as I have a totally different pm!

Hope this helps some!
ela-girl

Followup

by TwoCents - 2008-01-04 01:01:26

Well, I have my first pacer check since implant on Valentine's Day (appropriate don't you think), and I will discuss the rate responsive issue with the doc at that time. I just can't tell if all the tachycardia, etc. episodes are my normal arrythmias getting worse over time or if this new Insignia 1 Ultra settings or functions have something to do with it. Is this your first pacemaker? It sounds like it is not your first given that your atrial lead is shut off and you have a micro displacement on the other lead. My question would be if this is not your first pm, do you notice a difference in the way you feel from the one you had previously? Two Cents

Re: Followup

by CanadianKirk2 - 2008-01-04 07:01:43

TwoCents, I have sent you a private message. Check your inbox. CK

You know you're wired when...

Muggers want your ICD, not your wallet.

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