Fatigue after ICD

[GramEmmie]

My husband (72) had an ICD implanted about 18 months ago. His EF has improved to 45 from the low of 25 . This was discovered during pre op screening for TKR. He had zero symptoms at the time. He had to get clearance from the cardiologist due to an A-fib incident a couple of years prior. Although the knee did restrict some things, he was very active and has always been an outgoing, positive and happy person.

He healed well following the surgery. However…He has never felt well since. Honestly he felt better when he was at 25 EF! He has extreme fatigue, joint pains, muscle aches and has experienced significant weight gain. His cardiologist sort of blew this off with “it might get better with time., remember..you do have heart failure”. His internist has run periodic bloodwork and nothing concerning shows up. He does have pseudo gout which he takes meds for. The rheumatologist regularly does autoimmune panels He’s also on thyroid meds and is monitored by an endo every 6 months.

I was curious if others have experienced these issues post ICD. He’s now becoming depressed because he has always been active and fun-loving. He initially attributed it to his knee arthritis but now he has had TKR (in March) and did extremely well. Not a lot of pain and ROM is better than the goals set for him. He just knew that once the knee healed he would “have his life back”. He’s very discouraged and if he’s unhappy, I’m unhappy. 🙁 Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for adding me to your group!

[Penoir53]

hi there. Oh it’s such a worry. I’m on here for me but my hubbie has also a device after af and a heart attack/stents. He gradually felt worse and worse and depressed even. And…his Consultant played around with the drugs he’d been put on since the heart attack (albeit 2 years after to give them a fighting chance of doing their thing). Maybe the thyroid meds are a bit challenging too? Particularly challenging for my hub at least was the huge statin dose and the beta blockers. The rest he tolerates although a bit lethargic. It is ironic that the life saving drugs also can contribute to feeling a bit lifeless. The drugs which cause low bp are fun too. Worth investigating? It’s not always the mechanics but sometimes the drugs. I’m on a lot of heart drugs for heart failure myself and know that they have bigggg side effects but in my case can’t be changed. Hope this helps. It can be exhausting navigating this path. X

[GramEmmie in reply to Penoir53]

Penoir, thank you so much! I will suggest he get more aggressive in seeking answers. He’s a people pleaser (including doctors!). I likely should go with him every time since he tends to downplay things. I’m going to research his meds today. I feel a bit foolish not thinking it could be that. I was hyper focused on the device/condition. He can’t take statins due to severe side effects. He’s on some kind of “statin replacement”. I think I’ll start with that one.

He has always been such a joyful person and people love him (most of all, ME🥰). I want to see him smile again.

Thanks again

[Penoir53 in reply to GramEmmie]

Good luck. It’s very hard and I think sometimes the adrenaline of experimenting is good too. My husband had to be v v bad before he mentioned it in a very ‘in passing’ way to his Consultant that he didn’t feel very happy (I’m the same with mine and assumed it was me rather than the drugs but it isn’t). We can’t just accept ‘being alive’ even though that is wonderful so deserve tweakings if possible. Obviously surgery and devices do affect our psychology though. I’m sorry it’s a bit sad for you and hope it gets better soon for your hubbie. X

[GramEmmie in reply to Penoir53]

Thank you for your kind response. I did research Nexatol (sp?) today and it is contraindicated if you have gout. We will ask if the same holds true for pseudogout. The side effects are similar to statins, which he could not tolerate. Thank you for dropping me down this rabbit hole 😀

[Penoir53 in reply to GramEmmie]

I’m sorry it can be v tiring can’t it? My thoughts with statins are if they are essential we have to suck it up and if they always work to reduce cholesterol and we eat well anyway then too little good cholesterol can make us feel down. However that’s just my hubbie. His cholesterol on them was 2 ish and lower even with the v odd pie or pastry. Thyroid drugs are also really strong and in fact none of these things are just vitamin pills. But general research about drugs is good. Compliance is essential but knowing that we are in pain or down for medication reasons rather than outward reasons does help. And my Consultant says ‘there’s always something to be done’ and that’s been my mantra for 15 years now for me and 4 for my hub. Don’t get too terrified going into the rabbit holes though. A cup of tea and taking stock helps too. With a biscuit. Or even a satsuma. Xx