Still angry

I watched my dad suffer all night after they put in a ICD. He said he hurt so bad, they gave him darvocet, really darvocet. 6 of them through the night, he was thowing up hard. I couldn’t get it through his nurses head, he was really sick. Was hot, could not walk 2 feet to a toliet to use the bathroom. Was falling out of a chair he was setting in. But the next day they came in that morning and checked the stupid ICD and said it was working fine. I told them how he was doing that night, they sent him home. For real. My dad was 76 years old, could not stand on his own and was sent home. He was there 2 hours, his heart rate dropped to 24. The paramedic said the ICD was shocking him but the pace maker wasn’t picking up. He was giving adrenaline, too much grant it, had a heart attack. The bad part, he did not make it. The family went in to see him one last time after he passed. the ICD stuck out of his thin body like a cigerette pack. After we all left his room, I went back wanted to see him alone, but was told the makers of the ICD was in the room, I couldn’t go back in. Next time we seen him was at his funeral. We notticed what looked to be a t-shirt was actually white tape. Taped all over his chest, ICD gone. They went in and took it. And of course, no ICD, can’t prove anything than. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Thankful for the ones who are helped by it, but as far as I am concered, I don’t trust them or their makers. Take my chance with what God gave me.

12 Comments

lylitrrell

by Marie12 - 2013-09-13 06:09:54

I am very sorry for your loss. It is most difficult to lose a parent. Not every procedure is perfect and you need to understand that ICD's and Pacemakers save lives. I am 53 and would not be able to have any quality of life without the ICD. I am more inclined to feel that God gave people the ability to be healers, including the manufacturers of devices.

problem

by Alma Annie - 2013-09-13 07:09:12

I am so sorry that all this has happened to you and your family. It seems as if your Father had another problem which the IUD could not fix. Even so he probably should not have been sent home.
Unlike ROBO Pop , I am glad you could share this with us. Sometimes you just need someone to listen to your hurt.
Try now to think of all the good times you had with your Dad. You will probably cry lots and that is ok.
As Marie says, not every device works for everyone, and not all medical treatment works for everyone.
I hope you and your family may consider having some counselling to get through this.
All the best
Alma Annie

icd

by Tracey_E - 2013-09-13 07:09:32

I'm so very sorry for your loss and I understand your anger. This is not what you want to hear, but I'm not hearing anything that was done wrong. Icd's are meant to increase our survival chances when we have a serious problem that puts us at risk, but there is no guarantee. They can send out shocks to stop a dangerous rhythm, the heart may or may not respond. The pacer portion can send out signals to beat, but it can't make the heart muscle contract and actually beat. And last, a heart attack is not a dangerous rhythm, it's part of the heart dying. All it can do in that case is try to pace and make the heart beat

They always stick out until they heal, sometimes if a person is thin they always stick out.

A paramedic cannot read what the icd is doing, he was just guessing.

They never bury us with the device, they are always removed first because of the battery. It probably would have been interrogated one last time. You should be able to get a copy of that if it gives you some closure. It will show if it fired and/or paced.

Had he ever had a reaction to pain medications or anesthesia? I'm no medical professional, but the symptoms he had in the hospital overnight sound to me more like drug interaction than the icd. I am allergic to darvocet, very similar reaction.

Was he under Medicare? Most US seniors are. Under their rules, if you do not need full time MEDICAL care, they send you home. I went through this with my grandmother. She couldn't stand up or keep food down, was on a catheter, but that is all CUSTODIAL care and therefore not covered by Medicare. A visiting nurse takes care of the part time medical care. Once medicare says you go home with a visiting nurse, your secondary insurance won't pay anything so they sent us home. It sucks and it's wrong, but it's legal and standard procedure.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss. I hope you can find peace and closure.

Still Angry

by iheartemh - 2013-09-13 08:09:11

I'm sorry to hear about your father. We are told that there are risks that accompany having a pacemaker implanted. After all, it is being hooked up to the heart. Also, some patients are in better physical/health conditions than others may be. There are places where implanted patients are sent home the same day. I was fortunate enough to be somewhere they had you stay overnight before discharging.
Unfortunately, the insurance companies determine under what circumstances a doctor may be authorized to keep a patient longer.

I tried to prepare my family in the event that I didn't make it through the procedure or recovery. I don't believe in miracles, but I do believe in science --which may have it limitations. My condolences to you and your family. Try to cherish the memories you have of your father.

Condolences

by Bostonstrong - 2013-09-13 08:09:45

I am so sorry for your loss. It is painful to lose a loved one. It is sometimes harder when we have the expectation that a surgery, device, medication, or other treatment will help and it doesn't . I hope the good memories of your father bring you comfort in the days ahead.

darvocet

by jessie - 2013-09-13 09:09:21

at 76 who knows how an analgesic like darvocet would affect him. seems to me that darvocet had a bad name at one time. maybe tho i am confused with another drug.darvon was one they used in canada and i believe they were removed years ago. i am totally sorry for your experience and your grief. my condolences to all your family and friends. it seems like a lot of pain killers in one night.jessie

Condolences

by Grateful Heart - 2013-09-13 10:09:15

I am very sorry for your loss. I hope you get some answers to help ease your pain. Prayers for you and your family.

Grateful Heart

I Am So Very Sorry

by Many Blessings - 2013-09-13 10:09:33

I am also so very sorry for your loss. I hope and pray you find the answers you need to be at peace. My heart was breaking for you when I read your post. I know others hearts were breaking as well.

I wish I had some good advice for you, or caring words that would bring peace to you and your family. Again, I am so very, very sorry for what you and your family are going through.

Please know I will keep you in my prayers, as I know so many others out here will.

Blessings to you and your family. May your father be at peace in Heaven.

So sorry

by Gypsie Jo - 2013-09-14 01:09:46

I am so very sorry for your lost and I know that you heart is breaking.
I am glad that you found your way here to a site where people understand your grief.
I also understand the fact that something that should have help your Dad, like it has help us, seems at least to you be the thing that took his life.
Please do not blame the device though as these devices are life savers.
Most of us on this site wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for them.
These life savers though depend on medical people to make sure that they are fitted properly and that they are working the way that they should.
Some of us and myself included, during a check up have been told that everything was fine and then only after being asked how we were feeling and us letting them know that things weren't right did further investitation revealed that there were problems that needed to be fixed.
It is so very wrong that your Dad was discharged when he was obviously so sick, and what was causing him to be so sick should have been sorted before he left. Sadly this can happen all too often, and you have every right to be upset and angry.
You need to though overcome your angry so you can go on living as your Dad would want you to do.
Even though people know that things can go wrong with any operation when they do go wrong it still comes as a enormous shock.
My heart goes out to you during this sad time and I hope that finding out why your father died will bring your some closure.
Maybe the medical people in charge of his care while he was in hospital failed in there duty of care, maybe it was caused through the drugs he was own, maybe his body was too frail, maybe he was part of the precentage of people that fall with in the risks that we know about, maybe his body reacted to the device as it is a forein body. There are so many maybe's of what could have caused this to happen, and I just listed a few.
I am hoping that when you find the answer you wont blame the machine, in case one day your own life might depend on one.

So very sorry

by jane32 - 2013-09-14 12:09:44

to hear of the loss of your dad, it would have been a huge shock for you, when you would have been thinking that the device was going to improve his life. Given time you will be able to remember the good times, at the moment you will all be hurting too much. My thoughts are with you and your family,

peace will come....

by buffie - 2013-10-06 06:10:44

I am very sorry for the loss of your father. since 2002 I have not really liked hearing or saying those words. I lost my father in Oct of 2002 to a massive heart attack. I was very close to his home the night before, but decided not to pop in on him because I had to get up early for work and didn't want to end up talking too long. I've kicked myself for years about that, he loved it when we surprised him. he was on a run and was found a few hours later when he didn't return. now, my husband and I are preparing for his upcoming PM procedure, and I know we're both scared, but, if this is what can give him more time to be with our family and myself, then this is what he feels he has to do. when I said peace will come, I mean it. someday. unfortunately, there isn't a time line, or any simple words. I still think of him EVERY day, sometimes still through tears, but, more than not now, with smiles. I hold tight to my Faith that I know I will see him again, he waits for me, he still comforts me, i still talk his ear off, and i know that he truly knows who i am now because he can see the whole picture now. may sound crazy, but that's where i found my peace. you did every thing you could, and he knows that. God Bless you and your family and take care. buffie

Darvocet was bannd by FDA in 2010

by jtaheri - 2013-10-25 12:10:58

I am so sorry for the loss of your Father.

In 2003 when I had my first implant, I was given Darvocet at the hospital and threw up all night. Since then I have always written in my medical files that I am allergic to it.

Some doctors should not have been doctors in the first place..

Here is the sight that you might want to see. If your Dad passed away after this date then you may have a case.

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20101119/darvon-darvocet-banned

You know you're wired when...

“Batteries not included” takes on a new meaning.

Member Quotes

Life does not stop with a pacemaker, even though it caught me off guard.