# Shocking



## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

As many know, I've had several various health issues lately but only talked a little about a few. Last month my home pacemaker/defib monitor reported my device was malfunctioning. I came in and after several tests, the doctor decided they couldn't program around it and had to surgically replace the device. It was deeply buried under my left pectoral muscle and the new one would have to be installed on my right side, upside down. I won't get into why. They scheduled the operation for the 26th of this month, but after additional home scans, they moved it up to the 23rd, then the 16th as the device was deteriorating faster than expected. 

Anyway, around 1:30 AM on Tuesday the 14th, I got a little defibrillation (shock) which I shrugged off and went back to sleep. Then at 3:00 AM, I got a shock worse than anything I've ever felt. It was like I'd imagine being struck by a lightning bolt over and over. They told me later, the device had totally malfunctioned and was dumping all the capacitors until empty, then recycling for around 30 minutes and doing it again. I didn't call an ambulance because they'd have taken me to the closest ER and not where my cardiologist practiced and my surgery scheduled. I called some family but couldn't get hold of anyone, so called an UBER cab. They picked me up and I scared the heck out of the driver when I got defibbed in his car. It threw me into the windshield and hurt unbearably. I had warned him earlier but don't think he really understood the significance of a malfunctioning device. The doctor was surprised I didn't suffer irreparable damage. 

The good news is I got the surgery as soon as the doctor arrived. My brother, also a doctor, called him on his personal phone. I only spent two nights in the hospital and am home and have been for a week now. The scary thing is I think I actually have PTSD. I don't like suggesting I might have the same thing our nation's heroes get in a war zone, but darnit, I think I have it, so I'm basically asking if anyone has experience with this to chime in. What's going on is that any little noise makes me jump and I get ice cold. When a neighbor set off some firecrackers, I literally half jumped out of bed and couldn't sleep for hours, shaking uncontrollably. Two days ago, lightning struck a tree at a neighbor's yard. I fell out of my desk chair and had to crawl to my bed where I shook for an hour, at least. You might think, how can a defibrillator cause that kind of stress? Remember, this was a broken device and discharging far greater current than normal and for very long periods, over and over. It was probably the most painful and intense thing I've ever experienced. I can't imagine ever having that again and would rather be put out of my misery than to experience it again. It was just that horrible. Is this Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? I'm also getting flashbacks, nausea and a pounding heart just thinking about it. I guess it will go away over time. I hope so.

This all said, I'm not looking for sympathy, just answers if you've also had something similar happen to you or a family member.


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## blackshirt (Jan 12, 2018)

Craigh said:


> As many know, I've had several various health issues lately but only talked a little about a few. Last month my home pacemaker/defib monitor reported my device was malfunctioning. I came in and after several tests, the doctor decided they couldn't program around it and had to surgically replace the device. It was deeply buried under my left pectoral muscle and the new one would have to be installed on my right side, upside down. I won't get into why. They scheduled the operation for the 26th of this month, but after additional home scans, they moved it up to the 23rd, then the 16th as the device was deteriorating faster than expected.
> 
> Anyway, around 1:30 AM on Tuesday the 14th, I got a little defibrillation (shock) which I shrugged off and went back to sleep. Then at 3:00 AM, I got a shock worse than anything I've ever felt. It was like I'd imagine being struck by a lightning bolt over and over. They told me later, the device had totally malfunctioned and was dumping all the capacitors until empty, then recycling for around 30 minutes and doing it again. I didn't call an ambulance because they'd have taken me to the closest ER and not where my cardiologist practiced and my surgery scheduled. I called some family but couldn't get hold of anyone, so called an UBER cab. They picked me up and I scared the heck out of the driver when I got defibbed in his car. It threw me into the windshield and hurt unbearably. I had warned him earlier but don't think he really understood the significance of a malfunctioning device. The doctor was surprised I didn't suffer irreparable damage.
> 
> ...


Hang in there man...Prayers your way!


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

Trauma is trauma. Doesn't matter where it happens or what causes it. Any health issue that can result in death or incapacitation would certainly put a scare into someone. That could definitely cause PTSD. My sister & I were raised by a raging witch. She has severe incapacitating symptoms that resemble a heart attack & takes anxiety medication. I'd consider that PTSD. I don't think it has to happen on a battlefield or be a big bloody mess to cause it.
One woman at my diabetes support group also had a pacemaker that was malfunctioning. She's one of those people who can "handle everything." She was crying while describing what she went through several weeks ago.
Us guys like to put on a brave front; we're less likely to cry but we will worry when we have something to worry about. That's PTSD in my book.


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## denner12 (Oct 14, 2017)

Hopefully you got a more advanced pacemaker and won't have to go through that nightmare again. Modern technology is quite amazing compared to just a few years back and I'd guess that would apply to pacemakers as well.


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## Tangof (Jan 26, 2014)

PTSD is no joke, although it's seems people that have it are often the butt. Of jokes. Duck at loud noises? Yes. Don't like to sit with your back to the door. Yes. Love to hike in the woods, bur feel uncomfortable without a gun? Yes. I was diagnosed with it years ago by the VA. I still had a successful career in Law Enforcement. You can take drugs, and talk to a psychiatrist, but I was never "cured". It's something that's always with you like a limp or hearing loss.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you, everyone so far.



denner12 said:


> Hopefully you got a more advanced pacemaker and won't have to go through that nightmare again. Modern technology is quite amazing compared to just a few years back and I'd guess that would apply to pacemakers as well.


My friend. Hopefully this one won't do it. This is my second time. My clavicle (collar bone) rubbed the lead causing it to short out and damage the device. The doctor said it was unheard of pretty much. He'd only heard of it twice in his career not counting me, and I've had it twice. Three years ago, they pulled the damaged one out and put a new one under the pectoral muscle, hoping the new location would not rub on that bone. It did and it damaged it again. Last time, it just fired over and over but at normal power. Different surgeon, different device, and different location. The doctors have no clue and told me it is nothing I'm doing wrong. It's just unheard of, they say. This time,it's a newer smaller device from a different company about half the size of a small cellphone. They put it on the other side and upside down to keep the lead further from the clavicle. That's why it required two surgeries. They only make a few devices which can be implanted in that manner, so I had little choice, but did opt for the most expensive. 

The sad part is I don't need the pacermaker part of it, and the defibrillator has never had to shock because of a real issue. Nevertheless, I've been shocked like crazy two different occasions. They installed it initially because they claimed my heart had a rhythm or something which made me susceptible to a quick, no warning heart attack of the kind they call the "widow maker." No pressure, no pain, just the heart quits. The device is supposed to put out just the right level of shock to cause the heart to go back into sinus rhythm.

Well, thanks again and I'll maybe ask my doctor for some help with this. I'll see if I can be referred to someone. My church has already been a lot of help, especially visiting and doing things I need as well as talking to me and praying. It has to get better with time. I really don't think I could stand it ever again, His will be done.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Tangof said:


> ...talk to a psychiatrist...


Good advice, this.
Particularly, talk to a psychiatrist who has experience with PTSD patients.

You need calming reassurance, and that's part of a psychiatrist's job description.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

Good Lord, that's a heck of a wakeup call. Good that you make it okay.

Pass on the psychiatrist and just watch some crazy movies. That'll put things in perspective and make you feel normal again.

[/humor off]


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

I now have an appointment with a Clinical Psychologist who came recommended for PTSD (he recommended himself, but a Doctor friend agreed).

As far as crazy movies. No need. I can just watch some of the news feeds linked from this forum or read some of the Taurus debate threads. :watching:


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## crewchief (Jul 25, 2018)

Prayers on the way brother!!! PTSD is in alot of folks, not just ex GIs...


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## Tip (Aug 22, 2012)

Give it a little time before calling it PTSD or calling in the big guns.

Undergoing anesthesia can whack one out a bit. I was very fragile mentally from it following valve replacement. As time goes on the effects diminish until things are normal again. It gets everybody differently- in their own unique way. I was warned to expect it but that it really should be temporary.

If I recall it took the better part of six weeks or so before things returned to normal.

Good luck.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

Tip said:


> Give it a little time before calling it PTSD or calling in the big guns.
> 
> Undergoing anesthesia can whack one out a bit. I was very fragile mentally from it following valve replacement. As time goes on the effects diminish until things are normal again. It gets everybody differently- in their own unique way. I was warned to expect it but that it really should be temporary.
> 
> ...


On the phone, the doctor told me that electrical shock was one of the major causes of the disorder because it could be traumatic when powerful enough, but also the shock directly effected the frontal cortex of the brain. He reminded me how shock to the frontal lobes used to be a frequent therapy.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Craigh said:


> On the phone, the doctor told me that electrical shock was one of the major causes of the disorder because it could be traumatic when powerful enough, but also the shock directly effected the frontal cortex of the brain. He reminded me how *shock to the frontal lobes used to be a frequent therapy*. [emphasis added]


Yup.
And, generally speaking, it caused more problems than those which it attempted to cure.


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## Argon18smith (Nov 4, 2016)

Definitely glad you are still talking with us Craig. Be good to yourself.


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

I read an article in the Reader's Digest the other month when an airplane computer went rouge and took over the flight... Scary situation....... Somehow the pilot manged to land the aircraft.........

Flight 72 is in trouble......
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20180601/281539406553143


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## TheReaper (Nov 14, 2008)

Xanax will calm you down. I had to take it after my Aortic valve replacement and it worked.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Cait43 said:


> I read an article in the Reader's Digest the other month when an airplane computer went rouge and took over the flight... Scary situation....... Somehow the pilot manged to land the aircraft.........
> 
> Flight 72 is in trouble......
> https://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20180601/281539406553143


Well, that story is sure to make Craig feel better.
Not.

I am very glad that Jean and I have given up all major travel.
I don't want to die at the hands of an aircraft's runaway computer.

And I want nothing to do with self-driving cars, as well.


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## wirenut (Dec 16, 2015)

Prayers and good thoughts your way..


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

I think, as well, it could be PTSD for you. 
Like our soldiers over in the Sandbox, you know the enemy is out there laying IEDs, but yours just happened to be a little closer and it didn't just go off once, it kept going. You didn't know if it was done or if it was going to hit you again before you got to the hospital.
A lot of scary worrying to see if it was over or it was still waiting for you to blink.
It's often the Not Knowing that gets to you.


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