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Scared of the procedure
- by raiderralph
- 2011-12-21 04:12:06
- ICDs
- 1734 views
- 8 comments
The cardiologist told me I should consider an ICD because I have cardiomyopathy and left bundle branch block, a condition I have had for 14 years. My pulse is fine and I get around pretty good. I am at risk for sudden cardiac death however. I am scared to death of the procedure. I have never been in the hospital as a patient, but I do work at one. Any advice? please and what does the conscience sedation feel like..Thank you
Oh yes I meet with the doctor late next month
8 Comments
Procedure
by Sue H. - 2011-12-21 06:12:11
Since you work in a hospital, your fear probably comes from seeing too much. Ignore the fear.....if I was told that I was at risk because of sudden cardiac death if I didn't have an ICD implanted......my fear of hospitals would disappear real fast. And for conscious sedation....you won't remember a thing....it's pretty nice. Good luck to you.... Sue
Try not to worry
by SarahB - 2011-12-21 06:12:50
I know thats easy for me to say but i was admitted to hospital as an emergency to have a dual chamber PM installed while my parents were away on hol and i was TERRIFIED but honestly the procedure was very straightforward! in and out of surgery in less than an hour under conscious sedation and barely remember a thing :) can't fault the care i got whilst in hospital either the nursing staff were all lovely and so helpful! the only nasty part for me was being sick a couple times as the morphine made it's way out of my system.
Ralph
by donr - 2011-12-24 02:12:06
What a Christmas Present!!!!
You are authorized to be scared! Why not - some guy w/ a knife & a harpoon is going to be mucking around inside your one & only heart! And you will be asleep. Helpless. Yep, you ARE authorized.
Now - let's approach this issue w/ logic: You have selected the EP who will do this carefully, right? You have total confidence in him, right?
NO? Then why the Heck are you letting him/her do this to you?
You are going to have it done in a hosp w/ a good record of successes. Very low infection rate from surgeries. Right?
Wrong? Then why are you going there?
The above things YOU can influence/control. You need to in order to reduce your anxiety level.
Let's look at FEAR: Fear comes from the subconscious mind. It is the result of the "Fight or flight" issue. You cannot keep it from coming to the surface - it is like lava from a volcano. In your case, it is submit to the procedure or fly. Sounds like you have decided that submission is your answer. You can control/minimize fear/anxiety through use of your conscious/rational/logical mind. It is illogical to think you can eliminate anxiety completely. But you can minimize it.
You've never been into an OR on a gurney - new experience. The best way to control anxiety at that point is to blurt out - "I'm scared outa my gourd!" That'll get the attention of the OR crew & they will start talking to you to ease your anxiety. Ask questions; get them to explain everything they are doing to you. You will be amazed how much it will relax you & give you confidence in the crew working on you.
Conscious sedation. You will be able to interact w/ the OR crew - IF THEY ask you questions. But you will not (probably) be able to initiate conversation. When I went through it, I recall a nurse sticking her head under the sheet covering my head & asking "Hey, are you still there? Just checking!" Next time I saw her was a t a formal dinner about 6 wks later - turns out she was the wife of a friend!
True, you will remember almost nothing of the procedure. To kill the pain, they will give you some sort of pain killer - short acting, like Fentynal. You should wake up cleanly & without a hangover.
This procedure is a piece of cake. Tough to appreciate that till after you have been through it once.
Wish you the best.
Don
General Anesthesia
by ZiKo - 2011-12-25 02:12:26
I did it under general anesthesia last month and I don't remember a thing. All I remember was a lady wanting to do a survey before the procedure and I kicked her out of the room !
The Anesthesiologist was pretty good apparently as I woke up exactly after the procedure and I didn't feel the impact of the anesthesia.
Ask them if you are really scared of being conscious during the procedure.
Conscious Anesthesia
by MojaveMike - 2011-12-27 09:12:14
I too am new to this web site. I had mine put in about a year ago and I remember much of the procedure. I was feeling very good though and they had to tell me to be quiet several times. I was running off at the mouth cracking jokes and making fun of their college (USC) football team since I'm a UCLA fan. I was doing the 8 Clap (a cheer) and talking smack. Not wise to do while at their mercy, but it all worked out. I think they gave me some more medicine at some point to put me out for about 30 minutes until it was done. I was awake while he was putting the leads in though. It was no big deal. I just found it interesting and I couldn't really feel them in my heart - I guess there must not be many nerves to feel that there. The procedure is easy. The only problem I had at all was a little leakage in the artery they went into at my groin. Kinda bruised up a bit after a couple of days but then it went a away. Piece of cake. PM me if you have any questions I might help you with.
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I, too, am feeling tons better since my implant.
Their is good news
by monoyoung - 2011-12-21 04:12:10
My husband was diagnosed with Cardiomyapathy in August. We were very apprehensive about having a PM installed until cardioligist explained to us that it may help reduce the size of his heart back down to more normal size and plus he really hated wearing that Life Vest thing. He is now 2 1/2 weeks post surgery and is really feeling good. I have him sleep with his left arm under a t-shirt so he doesn't raise his arm up in the middle of the night. He started driving just a week after surgery ( I wasn't happy ) but he really hasn't had any problems. I don't remember him taking any pain meds once he was home either. He doesn't remember the proceedure at all, just that he was starving due to not being able to eat at all.