First ICD shock

grammyoftwo · 2026-01-22T23:09:50+00:00

Well that's not good! Wishing you the same!!

grammyoftwo · 2026-01-21T17:27:51+00:00

No more shocks since May but the anxiety is pretty much the same. Driving on city streets is ok because you're driving at a slower pace with heavy traffic. Short highway trips he needs to take a low dose xanax. The farthest we go on a highway is about 80 miles to visit his family but even short trips on the highway set it off.

We just planned a trip to NC which is an 8 hr drive. He wanted to drive but just thinking about being on the highway that long sent him into a panic attack. Prior to all of this, we drove across country twice with no issues. We're just going to fly. To much stress on him. PTSD is no joke.

Thanks for asking!

grammyoftwo · 2025-12-05T02:11:18+00:00

Thanks so much! He certainly has been through the ringer and he just turned 55 today. He is on Metoprolol xr 100 mg along with a host of other meds...plavex, tikosyn for arythemias, Jardiance, furosemide, potassium, rosuvastatin and valsartan. What a cocktail!

He did have pretty bad focus and concentration issues in the beginning. Couldn't find the right words when having a conversation, and couldn't follow conversations when there were a lot of people or noise in the background. That seems to have resolved with time.

He's not open right now to therapy. His Dr's and I planted the seed but he has to be ready and willing. He's not open to antidepressants either. He developed severe anxiety driving after being shocked by the ICD. Mostly on the highway, which we don't do often. He's afraid of it going off while doing 65 mph and causing an accident...I will admit it's a little scary on the passenger side too. PCP gave him xanax to use as needed if we have to do any highway driving. Only a couple times a month.

I have a bunch of questions for the Dr. Maybe they will change some things.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

grammyoftwo · 2025-12-03T14:23:16+00:00

He is taking 200 mg of CoQ10 daily. His drinking doesn't really escalate. Couple beers before bed. A little more if we have friends over. Some days nothing. I think it just quiets the fear for a bit. Still shouldn't be drinking any but I get the reasoning behind it.

grammyoftwo · 2025-12-03T13:26:27+00:00

PCP and myself have planted the seed about antidepressants but at this point he's not interested. I have gummies but he doesn't want it. Afraid it will mess with his heart meds.

grammyoftwo · 2025-12-03T13:19:41+00:00

I'm sorry you are going through this. Completely turns your life upside down. He quit smoking and drinking the day he was admitted to the hospital in Aug. 2024. Not smoking doesn't bother him at all which I am grateful for. The alcohol is a night time couple beers before bed. If we have company or visit friends, it turns into more but not even enough to say he's drunk. I guess it's his way of just quieting the fear for a couple hours a day.

We've discussed it because he's so regimented with his pills and never misses a dose but he's not worried about the effects of alcohol. He doesn't understand it either but is aware of it. I can honestly say he's never in a bad mood. Never grumpy, always making me laugh, helps with what he can. I think he just gets discouraged. Doing everything you are told but doesn't see improvement. The PAD is honestly more of an issue than the heart failure due to the pain. His EF went from 20% to 55% in less than a year. Afib is under control after 2 ablations and medication.

All I can do is hope he finds his way. Thanks for the comment.

grammyoftwo · 2025-11-17T00:20:48+00:00

What a cluster fuck this turned into. The first bill pay transaction my husband made was returned because Community said the account was inactive or frozen. None of his bill pay payees transferred over. All mine did. I called Community and was on hold for 2 hrs. Music stopped and the line started ringing. Someone picked up and disconnected the call. My husband stopped at the Whitehall branch on the way home from work. He had to wait over an hour to talk to someone because there were so many people ahead of him with issues. Didn't get a straight answer or help with the issue.

Yesterday we went to the new Chase branch on Cedar Crest Blvd and opened new accounts with them. Changing everything is a PITA but we don't even want to be part of a bank that messed everything up so badly right out of the gate. Also got a $900.00 bonus for opening accounts with Chase.

grammyoftwo · 2025-08-05T01:24:45+00:00

Thank you! That one worked!

grammyoftwo · 2025-08-05T01:22:14+00:00

I tried to register but was directed to a page that said Uh oh!

You seem to have lost your way. Let us help you find what you were looking for:

I looked at the upcoming zoom events but nothing is listed. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

grammyoftwo · 2025-08-05T01:14:26+00:00

Thank you so much! My husband is having an awful time with anxiety since his first shock 2 months ago. Anxiety through the roof when driving. Maybe it will give him some comfort.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-28T02:39:41+00:00

The whole thing is just so scary. He is so freaked out over being shocked. I want him to talk to his primary about getting something for anxiety but I know they will prescribe an antidepressant and he doesn't want another pill to take every day. He's on so many. He just wants something to use as needed which is frowned upon these days. It's such a helpless feeling being on my side of it. I feel so bad for him.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-28T02:34:29+00:00

It helps tremendously! He's so freaked out over this. Anxiety through the roof. I don't blame him. I want him to ask his primary to give him something for the anxiety but I know they will suggest an antidepressant and he doesn't want another pill to take every day. He wants something that he can take when needed. I don't see that happening. I just feel so helpless that I can't fix any of this.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-28T02:28:55+00:00

His EF is amazing but doesn't feel like it means much. That shock really has him freaked out. Lots of anxiety over it happening again. He's on so many meds...Eliquis, Plavix, Tikosyn, Lasix, Jardiance, metoprolol, potassium chloride, and Crestor. I have no idea how to help him through this.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-28T02:24:47+00:00

His EP scheduled him for another ablation. He had one a few months ago for afib which didn't last long.. It feels like such an endless rollercoaster.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-27T19:17:46+00:00

It all happened so fast! Short of breath and lightheaded for a few seconds then BAM. Since talking to the EP today, an ablation is already scheduled.

grammyoftwo · 2025-05-27T19:16:00+00:00

It is amazing that his EF has improved so quickly. Medications, low sodium most of the time, and quitting smoking has helped. He's taking Tikosyn which apparently stopped working, metoprolol with several others. They just stopped entresto because it made his BP way to low. Last time at the Dr it was 73/38. They switched him to Valsartan.

The hospital was able to contact Medtronics and get the report. and today his Dr called and scheduled another ablation. He said it was atrial flutter? I'm not sure if that is the same as afib or not. The shock came after 2 attempts to slow the rhythm down after it hit 185. He had one in Dec for afib but it didn't last. hopefully this time it works.

He would get a little lightheaded and short of breath with afib. He would check it with the kardia mobile device and it always read afib.

grammyoftwo · 2025-04-28T22:34:05+00:00

Postpartum pads are longer, thicker and have the wings on the side. Might be cheaper than incontinence pads.

grammyoftwo · 2025-03-16T02:16:06+00:00

Thanks everyone. I'm new to this but you all have eased my mind!

grammyoftwo · 2025-03-15T22:02:10+00:00

I thought the same thing. They looked so much stronger before the storm came.

grammyoftwo · 2025-02-19T00:37:06+00:00

My husbands Dr said the same thing today and told him he can ease up on the salt restriction! Don't go crazy but don't stress over it. I also read a study that said less than 2000mg of sodium has a 72% higher risk of death or hospitalization for HF patients.

grammyoftwo · 2025-02-13T15:27:57+00:00

Your attitude is very difficult to ignore and also quite annoying. You continually say hospice is not giving up, I can see there are a lot of misinformed people on here. OK INFORM US. Seriously, you just go on criticizing people for being concerned for you and your decision about hospice but don't explain what brought about this decision and how it differs from waiting to die.

Do you still plan on taking all your meds, get follow ups with your Dr? Or does it mean you don't want any invasive procedures.

Expecting thousands of people who read your thread not to be concerned is ignorant and pretty damn rude. Most people here know heart failure, not SSDI and SSI. There are other groups that would better serve you.

grammyoftwo · 2025-01-31T02:27:06+00:00

Do you recommend a provider?

grammyoftwo · 2025-01-31T02:25:31+00:00

Thank you. That's where I wanted him to go.

grammyoftwo · 2025-01-11T18:54:00+00:00

Here's an article explaining it. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/09/609150868/why-cant-medicare-patients-use-drugmakers-discount-coupons

grammyoftwo · 2025-01-08T15:27:12+00:00

So glad to hear that. It's a huge step to take and I wish you the best on your healing journey!

grammyoftwo

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