18 months
have since passed and I have discovered that my fears for both of us were
largely unfounded and we’ve adapted smoothly and with minimal impact on our
lives.
When my
need for an ICD and its workings were first explained to me I had three
immediate reactions . . .
would I
still be able to carry my iPod?
would I ever
be able to go skiing again?
how much
would it hurt if it went off?
My concern
about the iPod and ICD interfering with each other were soon answered in St
George’s Hospital pacing clinic where I was told that as long as I didn’t lay
one on top of the other, there wouldn’t be a problem. The same applies to my
mobile phone. So the ICD didn’t bar me from enjoying the most crucial items of
21st century technology.
As for
skiing, the doctor advised me to give the ICD a year to bed in and then I’d be
okay to return to the piste. His comforting words were that, if I collided with
something forcefully enough to dislodge my ICD, then the impact would probably
be heavy enough to kill me anyway! I went to the Alps with my ICD a couple of
months ago and thoroughly enjoyed the skiing. No collisions, no problems.
As for my
third concern, my ICD was activated when I was walking up the side of a
mountain in the Lake District about six months after it had been implanted. It
turned out afterwards to have been an “inappropriate” shock which required the
settings to be slightly altered. But at least I now know what it feels like. It
wasn’t as painful as I feared, although I hope it doesn’t go off again any time
soon. After a few minutes rest, I managed to walk back down the mountain
unaided.
I attended
a six week cardio rehabilitation course at St Peter’s to restore my confidence
in taking exercise and accelerating my heart rate. I’m now back to regular gym
sessions where I jog, cycle and swim. There are a few things I’ve had to give
up. I was advised against vigorous, intense sports so wrestling, weight-lifting
and rowing are all out. This has not been a great sacrifice to me, nor is it a
blow to the 2012 medal hopes of the English Olympic team.
I’ve also
visited Rome and New York. I waved my European Patient Identification Card to
sidestep the metal detectors at each airport and then again at the Vatican, the
Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. There was never a problem. The
security staff recognised my predicament instantly in all cases though in the
USA it was all taken very seriously (understandably so, in the circumstances).
And my
son? I haven’t seen him for the last four months while he’s been taking his
“gap year” world tour. He’s been to Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand
and USA. He went to the world’s longest and biggest beach party in Thailand,
drove a camper van down the east coast of Australia and parachuted out of a
plane in New Zealand. The only cautionary advice given by the Pacing Team before
he left was to keep hydrated and avoid bungee jumping (because of the pull of
the straps near the ICD). We also armed him with a list of ICD-friendly
hospitals at each of his destinations, discovered on the Medtronic website. He
sidestepped the security gates by waving his ID card, though in some cases the
body-searches were a little more intimate than he would have liked. But,
overall, the Icelandic dust cloud and the BA strike were as disruptive to his
plans as the ICD. He’s had the time of
his life!
I still
think we’re both too young to be carrying pacemakers. But we’ve got used to
them, got on with life and, weighing it all up, there are not many things you
can’t do.
Phil MitchelI
ICD patient
ICD patient
1 comment:
Very interested to read. I’m 47 and just been fitted with an ICD due to cardiomyopathy. Weeks ago I was mid wainwright walking in lakes and swimming competitively and also swimming length of Windermere and Ullswater.
I’m only a week after op and still very sore but wondering about my future. I get mixed vibes from consultants and pacer team. I want to carry on walking the wainwrights sbd swimming but in a pool as a compromise. I note your incident on the mountain…… how could I do them any safer ?
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