Fitting of ICD

[Sanpedro2019]

Having ICD fitted tomorrow a little anxious can anyone say about their experience of the procedure..?

[Lezzers]

My husband has had an ICD fitted. It's very straightforward, local anesthetic, took about an hr. Kept in overnight as a precaution & sent home next day. The next few days the site will be painful so make sure you ask for painkillers & follow the instructions about what you can & can do afterwards to ensure no problems. There's a Facebook page called ICD/CRTD support-UK, lots of advice there.

[Sanpedro2019 in reply to Lezzers]

Thank you

[Hanibil]

Hi had CRT-D fitted Monday local anaesthetic, felt a lot of pressure being applied as they worked on the area, other than that nothing. Bit painful afterwards but paracetamol sorts that out. And now I have a guardian angel that goes where ever I do.

[Driver11]

Hi had mine fitted in September following cardiac arrest. It is very easy and it takes about 1 hr under local anaesthetic. I had no residual pain and now I don't really think about it, its just there and you get used to it - good luck it will be fine

[Hidden]

i had an ICD fitted 2nd May,and all went well . Took about 1/1.5 hrs and back to ward for

observation for approx 2 hrs then allowed home. I needed some Paracetamols for the next 3 days for the uncomforable pain at wound site but no big issue. 3 weeks now and everything has settled down. You are in good hands.

[MEW123]

I had an S-ICD fitted less than two weeks ago, they did this under general anaesthetic and went home later that day. Very impressed by the procedure and almost no pain, right now I don't even know it's there but must not do any heaving lifting etc for 4-6 weeks after. I was told I cannot drive for one month by the hospital and have notified the UK DVLA online. Hope all went well for you. Going to bed at night and going about your day to day life with some built in protection is very reassuring I find.

[BTGodwit in reply to MEW123]

Best of luck with your recovery. Mine went really well.

One note of caution, you will probably find the DVLA insist on 6 months before driving again together with own doctor plus hospital consultant reports and mine took 9 months as no Consultants were available from 3 local hospitals to write the clearance report. A real nuisance.

[FeetheBookworm]

I had an overnight stay only because mine had to be put on the RH side due to reconstruction on LH side and had a fair amount of bruising. Slight infection for about 6wks on the incision and since then absolutely nothing.

[not2worry]

My husband had his done in September. They will instruct you not to raise your left arm above your shoulder for 6 weeks. The ICD “computer” needs to settle in and the leads from this little computer need to create scar tissue to grow around them so they are part of the new you. We found getting a comfy long sleeve button down shirt and pinning the left sleeve to the body of the shirt will give you a “reminder” not to lift your left arm. Wear it to bed as well.

Sleep will be a challenge the first week. The first day they had my hubby wear the arm sling for 24 hours after the procedure including sleeping with it on. Then you will have the adjustment period of fighting with the sheets and pillows as you figure out how to sleep on your right side, not raising your left arm over your shoulder, figuring out why your favorite pillow isn’t cooperating. Every night gets easier. You can rest during the day. Right now the most important thing is babying your new ICD Mate.

Also keep an eye on your incision. It needs to be kept clean and heal as well. Many folks ignore this aspect of their surgery. You don’t want an infection. Ask doctor or nurse specifically how to take care of your wound.

One other thing my hubby did was as the wound healed and he felt better he did some exercises with both arms. Simple ones that don’t lift your arms over the shoulder. Just gently swing your arm at your side back and forth; start “walking” your fingers up a wall half way from your to the shoulder the. Increase a little every week. Be gentle! Just a wee bit of mobility works.

Keep hydrated and eat a healthy diet it will aid in your recovery.

Be sure to avoid electronic devices from hiring your new Best Mate. Don’t put your mobile phone on your left shirt pocket, don’t get under the hood of your car while the engine is running. You will get a card before you leave surgery that gives you a free pass to go around security devices at the airport or at security detection devices anywhere - no WAND either. Get us to the occasional Pat Down.

Be sure your spouse, partner or friends know your new restrictions as you travel. It’s something we just are so use to doing in the normal flow of things. Someone else may remember when you forget.

Last but not least be grateful for your new Mate and the advances that have been made by research that we never knew would some day extend our lives and give us all a second chance.

All the Best from Across the Pond

[Rishmain]

I think it depends on what type of device is fitted I had an ICD fitted at royal Brompton last year, I was given fentanyl so I was completely out for a few hours there was some discomfort but I didn’t require painkillers, it’s an amazing piece of equipment I have a home monitor which means it’s in constant contact with the hospital

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

Hi. I've had my ICD for about six years now. It's all good! If you look at this post ( healthunlocked.com/bhf/post... ) near the bottom of the replies is one I left with lots of links to previous posts about ICDs - there should be plenty in there to reassure you. Good luck!