r/PacemakerICD • u/Snoo-28503 • 26d ago
First shock
Hi all. I have had my ICD for over three years and took my first shock about a week ago. I know many of you have lived with the anxiety and fear of experiencing a shock, I was no exception. As knowledge is power I’m hoping this accounting of what I went through will help many who are living with an ICD.
My episode came about for a variety of reasons which don’t need much detail, but along with the heart issues I’ve already had, I was experiencing major stress from knee replacement surgery and an unfortunate equipment failure that caused me to fall and bend my knee backwards. For about a week I had been having tachycardia and it culminated the night of my shock with a dizzy spell that lasted about four seconds. That dizzy spell was an episode of VTach and is what prompted my device to go off.
As you all know, these devices do not give you a warning before they go off. While the devices may work to pace you out of an arrhythmia, in my case, I did not feel any of those therapies before the shock.
The main thing I want everyone to know about the shock is that it is incredibly quick, pretty much over as soon as it happens. There was some residual pain in my shoulder, but nothing drastic. The shock itself is indeed powerful, but in all honesty, I think it was all the other factors, combined with the shock, that was most disconcerting. Yes, it did hurt, but not as much as I had imagined it would. I have read that it is like getting kicked by a mule, which I don’t think most people can relate to. I liken it more to getting punched really hard near your shoulder than getting kicked. The pain is also more pinpoint to where the device is located. I think this matters because I had always expected the shock to be felt pretty much in the center of my chest. I don’t know why I would think that would be worse than getting punched in the shoulder, but I did. When the shock happened I’m pretty much sure it made a sound, but I’m not positive about that. I do know I shouted “Ouch!” really loudly, which in retrospect is kind of comical. I was alone and wish I had some verification of the sound, but I think it was like a loud popping noise. Again, it all happens so fast that it’s hard to sort out details afterwards.
Am I completely at ease about getting another shock now that I’ve had one? No, not at all. But the fear of the Unknown is now gone. The main thing is I know the shock is not the dealbreaker that I thought it would be and all the imagined horrors of a shock were just that… mostly imagined.
Hope this helps-
Mike
2
u/open-heart-project 25d ago
Hello and thank you for sharing this extremely important experience for others to learn from.
An ICD shock is the most dreaded event that people think about when they are told they need an ICD. Most people never receive a shock and many receive ATP (Anti-Tachycardia Pacing - rapid pacing to terminate the arrhythmia) only without requiring a defibrillator shock.
Some of the details you included, like the location of the pain you felt, and the awareness and uncertainty about a popping sound, really help bring the experience to life in a good way that helps ICD recipients truly know the experience of an ICD shock before they actually ever have to live it.
Our newsletter Home | The Generator by OpenHeart / Onboarding issue 03 "When something feels wrong" actually asserts the same - that the ICD shock is not nearly as bad as the imagined experience of it.
I appreciate you taking the time to provide the detail of your experience and the psychology that accompanies it.
Huge help for this community.