Good lad ! 
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Hug for you JBR
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Thanks OGF.
Oh yes, they’ve told me not to reach up high with my left arm and I need to go in for another checkup in a month.
I refrained from driving in January 2021 when I first had a fit, as I knew what the consequences might be if I had one while driving. I didn’t bother to mention it to DVLA, though. Not after having to wait for 3 months to get my licence back after I mentioned to them, incorrectly, that I might have glaucoma.
I haven’t felt any extra or missed beats myself, and hope I never do or I’ll have to go back and tell them. Whenever I feel my neck I find a steady beat just over 60/minute. If I’m walking about it can be higher, as you’d expect.
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Thanks Muddy.
Is it an ICD JB? (Implantable Cardiopacer & Defibrillator)
Same here JB, I refrained from driving for one month but haven’t informed DVLA or my insurance company yet, I hope they don’t follow us on the forum…
No, I believe it is just a pacemaker; as far as I know I have never had VF, only missed beats (and of course a 10 second suspension!).
I am surprised if your pacer doesn’t include a Defibrillator JB…Especially if your heart has a habit of stopping…Did you receive a document to carry around with you at all times with the details on?
Oh yes. I’m afraid I assumed a different meaning.
I assumed that a defibrillator’s function was to stop (ventral) fibrillation, which is when the heart is fluttering and I’m pretty sure that mine has never done that. Perhaps a defibrillator is also effective to restart the heart if it has stopped completely.
In any event, when I looked through all the bumf I saw no mention of ‘defibrillator’.
Having said that, I’m pretty certain that the thing will send a shock to the heart if it has stopped beating.
Oh yes, they gave me a card containing information. It is especially necessary when required to pass through those security gates at airports: one of the magnetic things that need to be avoided. Flash the card and you can then carry through all sorts of illegal drugs, etc. 
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Well done, JBR!
If you get any spare hugs, can you send me one?
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I haven’t had any hugs from some of the women. If I do, I’m not giving them to you!
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Blimus, I nip out for five minutes and come back to find all sorts of worrying drama has taken place.
My pacemaker jobby has a built in defibrillator with several different settings. I have severe heart failure, which means my heart muscle is damaged and can’t pump properly. I also have something called Left Branch Bundle Block, which is like an electrical short circuit. The signal telling the heart to pump should take a specific route to a specific part of the muscle, but instead takes a shortcut and fires the wrong part meaning the heart wall does a bit of a wobble instead of giving a good squeeze.
The pacemaker gives tiny jolts to tell the heart when to pump, and makes sure the signal gets to the right part as well.
My understanding is that the defib will give a big jolt if my heart either stops completely, or fibrillates (flutters). Imagine an old village lift-pump. If you give the handle a good workout, the pump chamber fills on the upstroke, and squirts out the spout on the downstroke.
If instead you moved the handle up and down rapidly a couple of centimetres at a time, you would get hardly any water in and hardly any out, with much reduced pressure. That’s yer fibrillation.
The defibrillator effectively gives the person using the pump a kick up the jacksie to get the handle going full travel up and down again in rapid fashion.
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That’s interesting and informative.
I was told some time ago that I had RBBB and was assured that it is not too much a cause of concern. On the other hand, LBBB is a good deal more serious.
You explained things very well if I might say so.
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Old Pacemaker out, New Pacemaker in.
Done today.
Will give more details if asked.
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Is it a modification on your first one Ted, or just like for like?
Did your old pacemaker have a defibrillator?
Was it easier to do than your first procedure? They just connect up to the old wires don’t they?
Sorry about all the questions Ted, but it will be my turn someday…
I hope it wasn’t too painful… 
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Morning, OGF.
Pacemaker is, as you suggested, just plugged onto the same wires as the old one was on.
Mine does not have a defibrillator, at least I don’t think so.
Procedure was Monthly checks, of the old one, to watch for the loss of battery power.
That went down to 6 months, then 3 months, then two months, as the battery started to age.
Then, when you’re down to two months they book you in for a replacement.
Now that the new one is in, it looks like the monthly drives, to the Hospital, are no longer needed as they have provided a “Latitude Communicator” box which hooks up to the phone & sends them reports whilst we sleep. (Heartbeat, etc).- seems to be very secure!
As for the op, I went in, to Harefield, at 8am, was given first slot of the day, op was done under a local, and all over by noon.
Then lots of checks before going home by 5 pm.
No pain, except some pangs when the surgeon was pushing & shoving the new one into place.
Back to normal, this morning, except must not drive for a week!
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Great stuff Ted… 
Do you have any details about your new unit? Is it an ICD (Implantable Cardiopacer and Defibrillator) and not just a pacemaker? They have incorporated both now in the latest models…
I also have a “Latitude Communicator” sitting quietly on my bedside table. When I questioned whether my pacemaker was doing it’s job correctly (it didn’t seem to have made any difference) they told me to press the button on the communicator and it sent an instant download to the hospital. She (the person with all the answers) mentioned that my heart was still going into VF occasionally and started me on beta blockers. That was several months ago and I haven’t had a problem since.
I’m glad everything has gone well Ted…
Have they told you how long the new battery will last? At my six month checkup they told me it would be 13 years before I needed a replacement.
Yes, Mine is just a “Dual chamber PPM
Boston / Guidant/Proponent MRI DR/L11”
Old one was about 11-12 years ago.
All I can add is that this is the best side of the NHS, in my opinion, and Harefield made me feel like a king!
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I agree Ted, the treatment I have received from the NHS has been outstanding.
You’ve probably seen this Ted, but in case you haven’t…
Yes, I read this and decided i’d leave it all up to the gods!
Thanks for that!
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