Got to visit with my cardiologist.

[LDM]

I have an ICD. Last checked in December there's three years left on the battery. Wish I could just hook up jumper cables and give it a recharge. Electrophysiologist says he just needs to swap out the unit but the leads should still be good.

 

[Skeet 028]

Last check on mine was December...Had 5 1/2 years left on the battery. Not really sure what the recall was for...Talked to the contact person and she said they are going to replace the unit...except the leads...So I guess the warranty starts over.LOL

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Too bad they don't make one for the brain to override the stupid

 

[Skeet 028]

My wife just said that's what she's around for. Went to the pharmacy yesterday to pick up a prescription for an antibiotic.. Pharmacist said I had to rub it up my nose. I asked if it was really an antibiotic. He said unfortunately yes! He also said he had fill 5 prescriptions for the same medthe last week. Evidently I'm not alone in this recall.. locally

 

[Jon651]

Too bad they don't make one for the brain to override the stupid

I thing Elon Musk is working one that...

 

[crazyphil]

I just had my pacemaker/defibrillator replaced.
They don't replace batteries.
My unit is a Meditronic.(that replaced a Meditronic).
There is a small incision involved with a mild seditive,
and a follow up. I don't know the cost because the
VA picked up the tab.

 

[Rustyt1953]

My recent Boston Scientific ICD replacement was just north of $50K.

 

[Skeet 028]

Mine is a Boston Scientific...but not a defib type. Just keeps my rate at about 60-62 rather than an average of 35. At that rate I can almost stay awake...LOL BS is supposed to be paying the freight on this one...but as in all things medical...of that we shall see

 

[crazyphil]

Changing the subject just a little bit. I have been accumulating fluid in
my feet, ankles and about half way up to my knees. It is a side effect of
heart failure. Went to my Cardiologist the other day. She told me to weigh
every day and call if more than a 3# gain in any one day, or 5# gain in a
week. Cut my sodium intake down to 2,000 mg per day (or less). Start
taking a 3rd torsimide every day. (I already take 2) Torsimide is a water
pill. I take 2 usually at around 6AM and then I pee until Noon. Now I will
take the 3rd one at Noon and try to get all done before bedtime.

 

[Skeet 028]

Just an update...I guess. Got the pacemaker "generator" replaced I also got more info. According to the Boston Scientific guy out of umpteen 1000 pacemakers 65 had " battery problems". The BS guy was in the op room. I was also told BS was picking up the cost! Say what? It was a recall. The replacement surgery was what I consider a lot more painful than the original....I was also reminded I can't do any arc welding! Oh Darn.... STILL???

Crazyphil 3 torsemide a day?? You gonna be a prune...or a raisin

 

[GaryS]

A friend had his replaced two weeks ago. He didn't get any beeps, he just felt like he had no energy. His battery was low and the pacemaker had gone into "lazy mode."

I think this is his third pacemaker.

It was day surgery and he was home in time for dinner.

 

[DWalt]

Wife’s first Pacemaker lasted almost 11 years. She has been on her second one for almost 12 years, and the battery is apparently good for about two more years. I guess that is an improvement. She worries most about an EMP.

The first pacemaker I saw was back in the early 1970s. A co-worker had hers replaced and was given the one that was removed. That thing was about the size of a hockey puck. She used it like a paperweight on her desk.

The first implantable pacemaker came out in 1958, even though the principle of heart stimulation by electrical pulses was known much earlier. The problem was that the earliest pacemakers were too large to be implanted. It required the invention of the transistor to make them small enough to be implanted.

 

[Skeet 028]

I wear tinfoil coverings over my pacemaker JIC of an EMP...yep one day surgery...but I was not home in time for Din Din

 

[Golddollar]

The first implantable pacemaker came out in 1958, even though the principle of heart stimulation by electrical pulses was known much earlier. The problem was that the earliest pacemakers were too large to be implanted. It required the invention of the transistor to make them small enough to be implanted.[

/QUOTE]

Plus the vacuum tubes would get rather warm and it was a pain in the neck to test them at the drug store!

 

[LDM]

My ICD has three years left on the battery as of last December. Too bad you just can't hook up jumper cables and recharge.

 

[Skeet 028]

The first defibrillator pacemaker I ever saw was worn on the persons belt. It and the heart were NOT in sinc. Yeah ...it was not from the 90s or even the 80s
By the way...they showed me a bunch of pacers...they had one about the size of a 38 wad cutter round...had a bunch of little hooks on one end. Was implanted in the right ventricle of the heart. Scared me a bit...but they told me it wasn't mine...whew! Mine was Slightly smaller in diameter than a silver dollar and twice as thick...plastic end with 2 wire plug ports. Silver in color.. Stainless?