ICD explantation

3 years ago I was coerced into accepting the implantation of an ICD for my alleged VT. I had 2 heart attacks in 2004 due to congestive heart failure and underwent quad bypass surgury. The 2nd heart attack damaged my heart. From that time my Cardiologist had been trying to get me to consent to an ICD implantation, which I successfully resisted. Then in 2007 I began to experience "palpitations". My cardiologist had me attached to a heart monitor for a month. While on the heart monitor I had an "event" that the monitor never recorded and that I had to call them about rather than the monitoring facility calling me. They claimed I had no event! My Cardiologist claimed I had no event. I know I had an event.(that later turned out to be PVCs). He was however, convinced that I was suffering from V-tach. I was kept in the hospital for 4 days all the while having to endure the badgering and threats, yes threats from my soon to be EP. In the end I caved in and now have an ICD that I do not want delivering treatment that I find barbaric and inhuman. All I have ever wanted was to be allowed to live to the end of my natural life. The "Professional Medical Community" however doesn't seem to agree with my desires and has in my opinion denied me that right. All I want is to know what I must do to MAKE my EP explant this hell device and respect the wishes of his patients.
(unless you are a qualified MD, please do not respond to this posting, I neither need nor want to be told how "sorry you are for me" or that I should "hold on" or any other such drivel.)

[Mom2four85]

since this is the member community it will be difficult for a qualified MD to reply to this - you may want to try at different times in the heart disease expert forum or your question will never be addressed - I haven't seen any MD's reply to the heart rythm forum for quite some time

[Mom2four85]

oh btw, I was about as ticked off as you are about this stinkin thing in my chest that has done nothing but give me problems and cause me pain for the past year

I was revived during surgery 3 times which I didn't want - even had an order not to revive me, but because I had signed a consent form before surgery (like I knew what I was signing and what it meant?) the state of FL says they had to do whatever to keep me alive - I'd like to know your answer too

have you thought of talking to an attorney instead of a dr? that thought crossed my mind many times over the past year

[rogera]

IL is even better than FL!! I told these bloodsuckers NO until I was blue in the face, and only acquieced (different from voluntary consent) after 4 days of duress. I never used the words I REFUSE. So in IL until one says I Refuse the Docs have every right to browbeat,badger,dragoon and threaten until you break to their will. This may sound dumb, but I didn't know that then and of course they were not about to spill the beans. I was taught as a kid that when an adult says NO it means just that, apparently my folks were misinformed. Anyway, I've considered a lawyer but not for malpractice,instead I'd like to prosecute them for violating my civil rights. After all I do have the right (or at least I did) to live to the end of my natural life and that right has been taken away from me. As much as I hate them I wonder if the ACLU would jump on this bandwagon?

[Mom2four85]

I didn't know about the laws and the little small loophole - even though I had a written directive that said NO do not revive - because I signed the consent form before surgery that I thought was just a consent form - they were allowed to do whatever necessary to keep me alive.

Over the past year, I've gone through a gambit of emotions - just too many to list here and too much for me to say on this kind of forum lol maybe on the depression one no one would mind...

I don't know about the ACLU; an attorney might be your best route since you specifically said NO and they didn't listen.

I really try not to think about anything because then I'll be depressed more, in pain and start to think about the next surgery to take this stinkin thing out of my chest that may kill me anyway...the dr who put it in when my EP was out of town was not the highly skilled surgeron my EP was and I've been stuck with problems from it since day 1.

[rogera]

Yeah, don't sign anything at the hospital except an authorization to bill your ins.co.

Don't let this get you depressed, they'll just want to treat that with more meds. Get angry and stay that way until they get the message. Having a good loud abusive vent really feels good.

[Mom2four85]

Luckily I'm not on any meds right now; I gave my dr's 4 mths and when no explanations of why I wasn't getting any better and no help when I didn't get better I told them no more meds - but they still prescribed a short term drug Inderal that I'm glad I do have.

I'm 43 and have 4 children.  Even though I didn't want them to revive me - after going through all I've gone through I am torn to what I feel I want (hence the gambit of emotions) .  I went the rounds with anti depressants that were supposed to help what I was feeling that didn't really do anything for me - a month did nothing.

Oh yeah I'm angry...livid because I trusted yet another doctor who led me to believe his partner was as skilled as he was - which he wasn't.  I know in Nov I have to have something done with this stinkin box in my chest and probably hire an attny to make the original dr fix the mess he made.

I guess this is the grieving process? I lost over a year of my life, my family suffered and now I have to make another life altering decision - keep the ICD or take it out knowing I have malignant heart arrythmia's and just take my chances...seems a bit like playing russian roulette

[heartwonderer44]

Your story is hitting so close to home to me. I to feel I'm being badgered to accept an ICD. I've posted my EP study experience that reveals the attitude my specialist took with me and my wife. Please read it for me and tell me your thoughts. I know you wanted medical advice here and I'm not offering any help for your case but I am at the cusp of what it appears you are going through and I need desperately to connect with people like your self. I welcome your thoughts on my experience a few days ago concerning my EP study and the apparent coercion I feel I'm receiving to have an implant sewn in. The details of my condition are explained further in my "EP study experience story". sorry I couldn't cut away and paste the link to that post to make it easier for you to look at, but, it can be found at my profile and in the heart disease forum. Thanks for your cander concerning how you feel about having this device. I'm pretty scared by the thought of having one myself and pretty damn angry about the way my EP study went.