What happens when the phone line is disconnected?

Greetings All,

Does anyone know what happens to the Merlin monitor when the phone lines are down?

The 1st time the line was down for just a few minutes, so I did not worry about it.  The other day my dear husband was backing up a large trailer into our drive way where the phone lines hang low. Not thinking about them, as he backed up he pulled the lines off the side of the house.  We are very blessed to have a retired telephone company employee living next door. Together, they patched it and then my husband called telephone repair.  The next day the ATT man came out and made the proper repairs.

The phone line was down for 30 minutes or more. I wondered why the Merlin did not alarm or go off. I also wondered if the monitor station even knew that the lines were down.
Any information would be helpful.

punkie

3 Comments

phone lines

by franko1966 - 2011-05-27 08:05:06

if you did not have to send your reading in that day,it's probaly ok

Loss of phone line

by ElectricFrank - 2011-05-28 02:05:46

Any monitoring system that depends on the phone line can't be depended on for critical response. These systems are used to give the doctor updates on the pacers operation and any events that need attention.

How they handle phone interruptions or times when you are away from the monitor is determined by the doctor and the monitoring service. So the best thing is to call them and ask.

I have the Medtronic Carelink system where I only connect it to the phone when I do a test. If I have any reason to think the contact didn't work properly I give them a call to confirm.

neat devices!

frank

Merlin

by pacergirl - 2011-05-28 09:05:49

As many of you already know, I have the Merlin system here at home. The Merlin uploads my data every night during my sleep. If the power is off or the phone line is down it makes no difference until it is programmed to send a "check" to the monitor system. I have had my Merlin disconnected for over a week and there was no concern from my monitoring people. They do get a bit excited when my readings are erratic, or I'm experiencing a new symptom. That is the only time I hear from them.

So you probably should call the Dr. office and ask, but I have found that unless my pm sends in a change in my heart function they really don't want to hear from me.

I do have a full cardio workup/checkup on June 15 and I will ask about this question.

Take care,
Pacergirl

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