but it needs more boost.... lol anyways, thanks for all the kind words everyone... they still have me locked up here at abott but they say I should be leaving late tomorrow or early saturday... heres hopen for tomorrow. Nate.. quit changing my posts... but hey I might as well test it out while I am here instead of having to come back.
Did the doctor stay at a holiday inn express last night?? Hang in there, your mind has the most power over your body.
Well I should be leaving the hospital in about an hour or so. I will be heading right from here to up north for the week. Thanks again everyone for the kind words and the laughs. See you all in a week. Bill
Well I am back at it. Last friday 4-24 I had my anuall check up on my heart. They made me wear a holtier monitor for 24 hours which records the beat of my heart. While I was wearing that I had to episodes of ventricular tachacardia (v-tach) and well that thats bad, so I go in on 5-3-10 for 3 things. The first one is an electrophysiology study (test of the electronics of my heart), then I get my last MRI ever in my life because after that I am getting a pacemaker and defibrillator in stalled. The bad part is because of my heart condition and the way it works this is not a normal procedure, The will have to open me up to do the install. With all that said I will be in the hospital for about a week starting tomorrow and then out of work for 2 weeks unable to drive for 4-6 weeks. So if you could all send a prayer or 2 up for me that would be awesome. Thanks all, and I will post as soon as I can or I will have Mrs.02blubru post and let you all know I made it!!!
I have no knowledge on all this heart stuff but I can definately grant your prayer wish. And definately give us an update when you guys can. And remember chicks dig scars
Wow. I just read the whole thread. It's been a long ride for ya! Hopefully the pacemaker and defibrillator will solve your problems! Good luck! You're in my prayers!
Wow, I just read this whole thing. And I don't kno u but good luck for sure man! I can definetly fit u into my prayers next to more hosepower and dating a supermodel! You should ask the surgeon if adding a BOV to the pacemaker and defibrillator install will add any power, or atleast give it a cool pshhh sound! Then when he looks at u funny ask it will need a retune after install! (sorry, my poor attempt at lightening the mood) But srsly, best of wishes bro!
Damn brother, you need to file a warranty claim. Seriously, my prayers are with you and Beth right now. If you guys need anything let me know. I went through an open heart surgery with my father in law earlier this year so I've got some idea of what you guys are going through. Which hospital are you going to be at?
Bill, Best of luck. What company and model are you getting? (I work for boston sci) V-tack isn't something you f around with. Being where I work I've taking a few medical classes on that stuff. I'd be interested in knowing the procedure if you said it's not the normal one though the main vain (Can't remember the name of it off the top of my head).
I will find out what brand I am getting. how long are the batteries good for in these things?? the procedure they are using is "split my rib cage open", not sure what the technical term for that is... lol
Wow that's some scary ****. Hope all goes well, and that afterword you won't have to have any more heart sugery
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My best friend went through heart surgery this year and he was talkin **** on facebook before he left the hospital, hehe. I am sure it will all work out great for ya.
Yes, I know exactly what they are going to do, I've witnessed one of those procedures. I cannot remember for the life of me the technical name of the procedure. As for battery life, don't worry about that too much. They are good for 3 to 5 years, and you'll be warned long before it needs to be replaced. All of the major companies (Boston Sci, Medtronic, St. Jude, and Biotronic) all have home monitoring devices that are free and part of the implanted heart device that you're going to get. My job is to work on the data that comes in. For Boston Sci we have a program called "Latitude". www.aboutlatitude.com Knowing your condition and the device you said you were going to get (CRT-D) if you get Boston Scientific you'll have a wireless device. Latitude is this box that will be by your bedside. In the middle of the night (between 2am and 4pm) on the night your clinic has setup (most have monday or tuesday nights) the Latitude communicator, using RF, will remotely integrate your device and send data about it over a phone line to our servers. From there the nurses will be able to remotely monitor you. There is things called Yellow alerts and Red alerts. When your battery starts to get low (about 6 months left) it will throw up a yellow alert. When there is about a month left it will throw up a red alert. No matter what company you go with, you're in good hands. Of course I'm going to be a little selfish and hope you get a boston sci device, at which point I will owe you a beer because you're paying for my salary, but there's a good chance you'll be going with a medtronic being that they are the market leader. I hope that helps some. I know this is a scary point in time, but trust me, that thing can save your life. I've talked to a lot of patients and the first time that thing goes off you'll be happy you've got it. I'm not a dr so please don't look for me for medical advice, but I'll PM you my phone number if you have any additional questions. Worse case I can get you in contact with people who can answer all of your questions. I've got access to a lot of medical people who are more then willing to talk about everything. Due to legal agreements I have to state that if you do need immediate medical attention please call 911. All medical questions you should consult your dr. (I know it's lame that i have to say that, but i'm really under a legal obligation to state that).
My buddy from Jared has an older model that they make him hold a phone to a certain part of his chest and it communicates like an old modem. haha I think he just got an upgrade, tho. His battery lasted 4 years.
i sure hope the battery can be changed easier then they install it cuz doing this every 3-5 yrs would SCUK!!!!!!!!!!!
This made me lol, hard! I would do the same thing if I were in your position... and maybe follow up with a steak and bbq bacon cheeseburger for dessert. Good luck with the surgery and recovery, Bill! Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Yeah, its surgery to replace it. Not cracking the ribcage like they're gonna do now.. But they cut you open again.
Good luck Bill, we'll be eating Chipotle again in no time buddy. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys out.
Yes, he had a true pacemaker. What he was performing was called "TTM" monitoring. It's for brady (slow heart beat) people. What Bill has is different Yes, They will need to cut open the pouch they'll make for your device in your upper left pectoral muscle to change out the device. They cannot just change out the battery. Please remember that the times I gave are average and everything is based on how much usage happens. Device swap is a very quick procedure which they don't even put you under for. It's typically a 15 minute operation. It's leads placement that sucks ass. Leads are good for a long time and are reused for devices. Best of luck! -Ryan
I guess I should write just a little now that I think about it of why they cannot just change out the battery and they have to change out the whole device for everyone's information. What Bill is getting is called a Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy with Defibulation or CRT-D. What happens is if people go into ventricular tachycardia their heart starts beating too fast in a not-good sort of way. When the heart starts beating super fast it becomes efficient and doesn't pump blood to the body. What the CRT-D device does is first defibs the heart, which is shocking it. It's sort of like hitting the reset button. From their the "CRT" part comes into play. The device will pace, or give small shocks, to set the rhythm of the heart back to normal. Your heart is basically an electrical storm of very small shocks that causes the muscle to expand and contrast. How this is different from a pacemaker is a pacemaker is for people who have bradycardia, or slow heart beat. A pacemaker just gives the small shocks to keep the heart running at a minimum set beats per minute. I should say that when these devices are pacing, the patient does not feel it. It is very small shocks. Defibulation on the other hand is a very different story. The CRT-D devices that my company offers are capable of doing up to a 41 jewel (spelling?) shock. Devices are made in a titian casing which are laser welded and sterilized for implant. Therefor when it's time to replace the battery, they just replace the whole device. Devices are getting smaller and smaller every year. Currently Boston Scientific's COGNIS CRT-D is the smallest CRT-D device out on the market. Compared to models only 10 years ago it is leaps and bounds above them. I'm sure Medtronic and St. Jude will be making super small devices here shortly. Hopefully that sheds a little light on the implanted heart device world. I'll be watching this for updates on how you're doing Bill, and of course I'm going to be interested to know what you got
I am gettin an MRI at 230ish then I will be getting EP studdy! Depending what they see will depend on if I really get one! Odds are I will be but because they have to split my chest open to do it they want to double check with the other tests before they do an unneeded chest opening. Thanks for the info ryan!!! If I do get a crtd it won't be until tomorrow or wednesday!
NP. I was just looking around in the system now and I might be off on those battery end of life (EOL) numbers. As always, talk to your dr, but it might be longer then 5 years. A test device that I was just looking at, which was the Cognis CRT-D device, said EOL was 6.5 years. As always, there's lots of things that change that number.
Ryan knows his stuff. You in Lattitude? Depends on useage it'll last 5-7 yrs but you'll end up with a more advanced device before the 7 yrs is up. I make the batteries that go in the Cognis Telegen and they are the most advance battery out there and the best thing about it is that there has been 0 reported issues regarding the batteries so far.
Yeah, I work on the electronic medical records integration with Latitude. You must work in building 12 or whatever that is that is off on its own?
Got the MRI done yesterday and that was it. Was discharged for the night. I am now back in the hospital with a scheduled time of 9am for my EP studdy. (Someone who knows what that is please explain or I will later) When that is done we will determin what needs to be done to fix these issues. They are 90% sure it will be a pace maker and defib unit. I will post when I get out Subaru love!!
while your under you should ask for metal legs, I know its risky but it think it would be worth it. Hope to see you out and about right away!
