I feel like I'm going crazy!!! I'm 34 years old and I have a ICD / Pacemaker....for about 2 years now. Last April it shocked me...I was running upstairs and my heart rate jumped to 200 bpm. Since then, I have been shocked three additional times for VF and AF. Because of these shocks, I get panic attacks and I am always scared about "the next time." I am a public speaker and youth advocate...I am always on the road. Everytime I get ready to speak, I panic and my heart goes crazy. I am now seeing a psychiatrist and have Xanax to get me through some tough spots. I would love to hear about others experiences...am I the only one that is having these feelings.

 

 

T. Bear, I know exactly how you feel. Going from the strongest toughest construction worker on the jobsite and I was 44. To the most weak and run down guy around. Yes, all since December 2007. 2 years ago they put in a dual chamber 2 lead with defib, and my doc's said no restrictions , go run a marathon if you want....I was cleaning my garage 2 months ago and only about 15 minutes of working I got zapped twice in a minute, and I too, can't sleep now, or concentrate, or anything waiting for the next Zap....I don't know about you , but I was wide awake for mine and felt everything, it hurts like hell, I hit the ground so hard I knocked out 2 post and crowns (teeth)......I flatlined at my EP study, had to be externally zapped..And to top it off the SSA Disability board said go to work part time somewhere, so I appealed put in for reconsideration, I just got the call yesterday I have to go see a SSA "Shrink" doctor for a mental evaluation..LOL....I too have the a-fib, v-fibs, and v-tach's, In total I've been Externally Zapped back from flatlining at 3 different hospitals (2) of them VA Hospitals, and including testing I've been zapped 6 times by my defib....I'm getting sick of living, to die.............

Nope your not crazy.............

 

I forgot to mention I am already taking 6MG's of Xanax everyday for over a year now, even before being Zapped....I am on Xanax to control my adrenal gland (believe it or not) to try and control my hyperactivity and irritability to deal with morons..Which is supposed to not allow my body to produce more adrenaline than it needs, I can still get upset even with 6MG's.........Good luck to ya.....

 

My own feeling is if you have an ICD and been shocked more than once, then if you do NOT have panic attacks, you are a little nuts. I've had 8+ shocks over several years-last one I was in a grocery store-I still won't go back into the store. And it is a rare night that I do not take a .5 mg Xanax before bed-I got zapped one time in the middle of the night. I had a ventricular ablation done 7 months ago-been zap free since and EP says unlikely I'll get shocked again, but I still take the Xanax. He said it usually takes about a year being zap free before you begin to "adjust" (whatever the hell that means).

6 mg? I'm on .5 mg! Maybe that's what I need though-I can't deal with morons either.

 

Teddy Bear, there are a lot of people here who have worked through the panic attacks you are having. Totally understand this problem. I personally only have a dual pacemaker but I would suffer form panic attacks as well. At first I kept thinking that my PM would fail and that I wouldn't know it and I'd, well faint or worse. I took a lot of work to get passed it. The one thing that did help me was talking to a friend. A friend who explained to me that I was not alone, that he too was suffering just as I. Together we supported one another. So I advise you to keep talking to people who have an ICD. Talk to your Dr.
Good luck,
Pacergirl