This may seem self-indulgent and honestly if so or if you have no interest in the topic please feel free to avoid like the Plague. But I'm seriously hoping on some level that someone is either a cardiologist/ close to one or has family/someone in their life who has an ICD implanted and has experienced being "shocked" or just has some advice to offer.
I had my ICD implanted around 2013 I believe and at the time my cardiologist told me it would prevent me from dying from sudden cardiac arrest. That knowledge has always sort of been in the back of my mind, but until recently the extent of me being aware of my device was basically when I'd go in to have it checked and they'd speed up the pacing to check that it was functioning properly. It can be slightly disorienting and I usually feel light headed and my pulse seems to race for a few seconds, but nothing major...
For me all of that changed drastically at the end of last weekend's IU/UM game. I'm not sure what I expected experiencing the shock to be like, maybe a tingling or buzzing, but the unexpected shock that my device delivered has really messed with my psyche. It was totally unexpected and luckily I was sitting on my bed instead of driving or even walking. It's hard to remember exactly, although
I remember being exasperated when Trayce missed both FTs with just about a minute to go. I probably yelled at the tv, and then all of a sudden I felt like my chest exploded from the inside, and things sort of went dark. I saw stars and was disoriented to the point where I wondered if I had died. It probably took 10 or 15 secs for the realization to don on me that my device had shocked me and after calming down I realized that I was OK physically...
Of course I haven't watched an IU game since then, but that is not a miracle sloution because just knowing the game is ongoing contributes to my nervousness. I've always been a person who gets nervous over certain things, and right now the fear of a repeat incident when I don't honestly know what triggered the response in the first place is at times overwhelming. Esecially concerning since I don't know what triggers the PCVs that cause the arrhythmia in the first place.
They did blood work and my levels were good, but I'm wondering if anyone has a similar experience and how you were able to deal with what for me amounts to PTSD that I'm afraid my own anxiety will trigger a repeat incident. Just taking my BP and being notified that an irregular heartbeat has been detected seems to elevate the unease that was never really there before but now seems ever present.
I'm consciously avoiding tonight's game because I wanted to get this posted and see if anyone had any experience to draw on, but for me this is a pretty traumatizing situation to have to deal with.I don't see my cardiologist until 1st week in March, and I'm (half seriously) wondering about the possible re-programming of my device or maybe disconnecting it during times IU is playing? I'm just wondering how I'm going to live like this and if anyone else has experienced this and can offer some hope.
This is just all so new to me, even though I've had the device for close to 10 yrs. IU games are the most serious issue, but any time my heart rate starts to elevate my mind starts playing tricks on me and that is just something that started in the past few months. The heart clinic had called me the morning after a couple of IU games (particularly Iowa a few weeks back) wondering what had caused my heart rate to go up the night before, but previously they had reported that my device had paced me down to an acceptable rate and it was no huge deal.
Blow outs (either direction) are not a problem, it's just when the game is tense and I live/die on each play. I just checked the online score and it appears IU has laid a 2nd half egg, so I won't need to check the score periodically or watch highlights,which I only do if IU wins.
So I don't foresee any problems on the elevated heartbeat front tonight. But if anyone has had to deal with the psychological effects of having a defib shock, I'd love to hear how you were able to overcome the situation. TIA
I had my ICD implanted around 2013 I believe and at the time my cardiologist told me it would prevent me from dying from sudden cardiac arrest. That knowledge has always sort of been in the back of my mind, but until recently the extent of me being aware of my device was basically when I'd go in to have it checked and they'd speed up the pacing to check that it was functioning properly. It can be slightly disorienting and I usually feel light headed and my pulse seems to race for a few seconds, but nothing major...
For me all of that changed drastically at the end of last weekend's IU/UM game. I'm not sure what I expected experiencing the shock to be like, maybe a tingling or buzzing, but the unexpected shock that my device delivered has really messed with my psyche. It was totally unexpected and luckily I was sitting on my bed instead of driving or even walking. It's hard to remember exactly, although
I remember being exasperated when Trayce missed both FTs with just about a minute to go. I probably yelled at the tv, and then all of a sudden I felt like my chest exploded from the inside, and things sort of went dark. I saw stars and was disoriented to the point where I wondered if I had died. It probably took 10 or 15 secs for the realization to don on me that my device had shocked me and after calming down I realized that I was OK physically...
Of course I haven't watched an IU game since then, but that is not a miracle sloution because just knowing the game is ongoing contributes to my nervousness. I've always been a person who gets nervous over certain things, and right now the fear of a repeat incident when I don't honestly know what triggered the response in the first place is at times overwhelming. Esecially concerning since I don't know what triggers the PCVs that cause the arrhythmia in the first place.
They did blood work and my levels were good, but I'm wondering if anyone has a similar experience and how you were able to deal with what for me amounts to PTSD that I'm afraid my own anxiety will trigger a repeat incident. Just taking my BP and being notified that an irregular heartbeat has been detected seems to elevate the unease that was never really there before but now seems ever present.
I'm consciously avoiding tonight's game because I wanted to get this posted and see if anyone had any experience to draw on, but for me this is a pretty traumatizing situation to have to deal with.I don't see my cardiologist until 1st week in March, and I'm (half seriously) wondering about the possible re-programming of my device or maybe disconnecting it during times IU is playing? I'm just wondering how I'm going to live like this and if anyone else has experienced this and can offer some hope.
This is just all so new to me, even though I've had the device for close to 10 yrs. IU games are the most serious issue, but any time my heart rate starts to elevate my mind starts playing tricks on me and that is just something that started in the past few months. The heart clinic had called me the morning after a couple of IU games (particularly Iowa a few weeks back) wondering what had caused my heart rate to go up the night before, but previously they had reported that my device had paced me down to an acceptable rate and it was no huge deal.
Blow outs (either direction) are not a problem, it's just when the game is tense and I live/die on each play. I just checked the online score and it appears IU has laid a 2nd half egg, so I won't need to check the score periodically or watch highlights,which I only do if IU wins.
So I don't foresee any problems on the elevated heartbeat front tonight. But if anyone has had to deal with the psychological effects of having a defib shock, I'd love to hear how you were able to overcome the situation. TIA
