What's on your mind today?

[OldGit]

JJ - hope the engine's OK!

[jumbojak]

Farm truck lives!!! And best of all, it wasn't my work that went bad.

[hermes2015]

I got tired just reading about your busy day. I am heading towards something similar soon. A year ago we removed the old deep pile carpeting in my apartment and had the floors sanded and sealed, The result was beautiful (the  floors are teak parquet) - I will post some photos some time. Now the doors have 50mm gaps at the bottom I want to fill in to end up with 6mm gaps. I have already done the front door, so I have an idea how to do it.

Perhaps I should invite you for a working visit to my place, Gloucester. I think I have a defibrillator somewhere, in case your ticker needs a bit of stimulation.

Don't need the defibrillator, got one permanently implanted!



About the size of a small dumbphone. Sits just under the skin below my left collar bone.

Are you aware of it? I imagine it's a bit uncomfortable.

[Dave]

I got tired just reading about your busy day. I am heading towards something similar soon. A year ago we removed the old deep pile carpeting in my apartment and had the floors sanded and sealed, The result was beautiful (the  floors are teak parquet) - I will post some photos some time. Now the doors have 50mm gaps at the bottom I want to fill in to end up with 6mm gaps. I have already done the front door, so I have an idea how to do it.

Perhaps I should invite you for a working visit to my place, Gloucester. I think I have a defibrillator somewhere, in case your ticker needs a bit of stimulation.

Don't need the defibrillator, got one permanently implanted!



About the size of a small dumbphone. Sits just under the skin below my left collar bone.

Are you aware of it? I imagine it's a bit uncomfortable.

It is a very obvious lump (especially since I have lost weight) but 99.99% of the time I am not aware of it. The only time it makes its presence known is if the skin over it suffers even a fairly small impact - no padding under skin - or if I get my left arm at an extreme angle in bed, that tends to strain the "encapsulation," the sort of internal scar tissure now lining the pocket. This causes a minor stinging long before it gets critical.

Any sign of infection over the implant site is cause for a quick trip to hospital. Infection can invade the veins via the cable entry points, then travel down them into the heart itself. The cables are about 2mm diameter and are triaxial: pacing signal, monitoring signal and shock pulse conductors.

I do have to be a little careful when a passenger in the left hand car seats, a sudden stop with the safety strap in the wrong place could do serious damage if it shifted the unit and put a strain on the cable entries to the veins. Severe internal bleeding would be the worst outcome. The cables can actually be felt through the skin and there is a loop in them to reduce the above strain.

I could make a case for not using a seat belt as a passenger in a two seater, in a four + seater I would be expected to sit in a right side seat - no excuse.

A few years ago the battery, normally having a 7 year life, went flat at about 3.5 years - a phone type buzzer alerts you that it is 90%,  then 95%, then 98% expended. It went to the third warning in three days! By the time I got on the op. table for a replacement there was insufficient energy left to give me a therapeutic shock (which was bipolar + - 813 Volts at 32 Joules for that model!)

This caused something of a panic in the company that made it. It was due to a reduced internal resistance because of metalic lithium "whiskers" growing across the electrolyte. That used to be a problem with Ni-Cd batteries.

Now I live with a box next to my bed that interogates the unit, via a Bluetooth like radio link, for battery usage and charge state (plus a couple of other things) every night. This is sent via its own, free to me, Internet telephone dongle connexion to a base computer that alerts my local hospital if there is a problem.

It still amazes me that a device that constantly paces my heart, constantly records the last few minutes of heart action on a rolling "fiifo" memory window -  but passing any anomalies into a permanent store - and communicates daily with this new gizmo can still operate for up to 7 years when my phone, with a battery that alone is about a third of the volume of the whole ICD unit, can only manage a very few days on standby!

It is an amazing piece of technology and I love it and the teams that developed it. A variation is used to dramatically reduce the effects of Parkinsonism, and another is being developed to alleviate some forms of severe depression. Other neurological conditions may come later.

My life literally relies on this electronic pal and some strong chemistry.

[hermes2015]

That is a fascinating explanation - thank you. I suppose they will develop a a model at some time that can be charged from outside with an induction coil.

[Dave]

That is a fascinating explanation - thank you. I suppose they will develop a a model at some time that can be charged from outside with an induction coil.

Fairly certain that is in tthe chain, but it may need quite a few hours every day, no missing, to get the energy across in suffucient quantity without a very strong signal. I would also consider a portable back-up system, with a high capacity battery to power it, to carry st all times. The event of having a flat battery in an rmergency or away from a mains supply is terrifying! I am also wondering about the relative energy capacity of primary v secondary cells of the same physical dimensions. Perhaps a changeable battery, external to the ICD, could mean a larger one with a longer life and not dumping the expensive (£20 000 was mentioned to me 8 years ago) electronics just because the battery is flat! The unit is in an electron beam welded titanium case.

Those with a significant battery life left at the demise of the implantee are often recovered for re-use in 3rd world countries. A replaceable external bsttery could extend that practice, but it might also hit the economics of the companies making the ICDs!

I should also mention that there are rumours of installing a cellohone transmitter and GPS reporter triggered by dangerous heart states wherever you are.

PS. It seems that secondary lithium cells have a reduced life on repeated recharge. I know my phone batteries get silly  low capacities after a couple of years.

[Dave]

Just found out, via a radio prog, that "The Wizard of Oz" was a political allegory with all the characters representing constituencies or actual people. Even "Oz" was taken from the abreviation for the standard measure of gold, the ounce.

Another childhood pleasure deflated! I had to bribe my sister to accompany me to see it because I was so short they would not let me in on my own! They thought I was too young.

[Davin]

Haven't seen Magdalena around for a few days.

[Dave]

Haven't seen Magdalena around for a few days.

Was thinking the same nyself.

[Arturo]

Haven't seen Magdalena around for a few days.

Was thinking the same nyself.

I didn't notice that she was gone but I was thinking about her. I was waiting for her to respond to one of my posts after my trying provocation.

[xSilverPhinx]

Haven't seen Magdalena around for a few days.

Yes, I hope everything's OK.

[xSilverPhinx]

I think I've fried my brain. I was looking all over the place for a datasheet I thought I had misplaced but turns out I never had it at all. 

Still dealing with lingering feelings of confusion.

[Dave]

I think I've fried my brain. I was looking all over the place for a datasheet I thought I had misplaced but turns out I never had it at all. 

Still dealing with lingering feelings of confusion.

Bin there, dun that...

[Magdalena]

Haven't seen Magdalena around for a few days.

Was thinking the same nyself.

I didn't notice that she was gone but I was thinking about her. I was waiting for her to respond to one of my posts after my trying provocation.

Yes, I hope everything's OK.

You guys are so sweet, thank you for thinking about me. 

Well, the reason I haven't been around the forum is because of health issues--kind of. I went to the doctor and it didn't go well.
The person who takes your temperature and weight asked, "Why are you here?" I told her, and she said, "Oh, wow!"
My reaction:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

The doctor sees me and asks, "Why are you here?" I told him, and he says, "Oh, wow!"
My reaction:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

He ordered a blood test and an ultrasound, he said depending on those results, we might also need to do an MRI of my brain.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

I think I just need Father Bruno to perform an exorcism--That's all. 

Anyways, I'm sorry for leaving you all of you alone. I'm just concentrating on feeling "good" despite everything else. I don't need to worry until all the results come in. I miss being here with all of you, but I think I need to spend more time on other things, right now. I'm not feeling "happy" or "funny" these days. I guess I'll be doing a lot of this:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

But I'm ready for whatever life throws at me right now.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Before I go, I want to share a funny story with all of you. Well, maybe some of you won't think it's funny. I'm sorry if you're offended by it.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

I noticed that my six-year-old son was trying to hit a fly that flew inside the house. A few minutes later he came with something in his hand and asked me, "What is this?" I said, "That's a Rosary, I think each of those beads represents a prayer." He said, "Oh, well...can I wack the fly with it?" I said, "No, you can't do that, use something else!" My man thinks I should've said, "Yes, you can whack the fly with it!" 

I don't even know how that thing--the rosary--not the fly, got in my house. 

Anyways, I'll come say, "Hi" another day. 
OK?

[Dave]

We luvs yer, Mags, take care!