Audiophile Electrocution

Long term effects?

When I was 13 I belonged to an Explorer Post, an adjunct of the Boy Scouts. Our sponsor was a local company that built closed-circuit television systems, and after hours we could go into their shop and use their machine tools, equipment, test benchs, etc. to build our own gear, fix stuff, whatever we wanted.

I brought in an old tube radio to see if I could get it working. Took off the cover, everything looked intact. Plugged it in, nothing lights up. I was going to unplug it to take the tubes out for testing when I grabbed the metal chassis to move it closer first. Unbeknownest to me, the power cord had frayed and the hot side was shorted to the chassis while the return was broken off completely. As I grabbed the case I simultaneously put my hand on the metal workbench, grounded well as it should be. The jolt stiffened my entire body, catapulting me about 10 ft straight back off the shop stool. After everyone came running and picked me up, I was okay except for a bruised tailbone and a burn on my hand, just like Tireguy. I didn't think much of the incident.

But after a couple days I started to feel warm all the time, not feverish, just warm like summer and I don't need a coat. Problem was, this was February in northern Indiana. We went to the doctor and told them what had happened, but they found nothing wrong. From that point on my metabolism ran way higher than it had, so I was warm winter and summer, high energy, never gained weight.

Now fast forward 35 years; I'll be 47 soon. Just this year I slowed way down, no energy, gained weight. I went to the doctor and they found my thyroid is running at only about 10%. The doctor speculates that after all those years of running in high gear, my thyroid just burned itself out. I started Synthroid a few weeks ago and I'm feeling better already.

And having never lost my fascination, I'm back to a tube preamp...

:-)

David

Much of this is because people are stupid and lawyers are asked how to protect companies. The one I love is on rotary lawn mowers, or at least mine, there is notice to not pick up the mover with your finger underneath while it is running. Apparently some guy decided it would be great to trim his hedges with a lawn mover and cut off all of his fingers.

My father used to repair electronics, this entailed checking out the set while it was on. I can remember several times when he ended up on the floor. Usually, however, the voltages were not too high. Big old output tubes with 1600 volts on them were probably not survivable.

Amazing story, armstrod. So you think the shock changed your metabolism? It sounds like it was for the better except for having worn out your thyroid too soon.

Hmmm...I'd love to have more energy and could stand to lose a few pounds. Think I'll try a little DIY on my tube amp.

Drubin,

Yes, I'm quite sure the shock changed my metabolism. Up until that point it seemed quite normal; after the shock, definitely revved up, and stayed that way for years.

My doctor said he studied cases in med school where people where people had the same thing happen from a blow to the head. Rather than sticking your hand in your amp, maybe you should just take up listening to headbanger music!

Armstrod:
I wonder whether the shock damaged your thyroid and thereby exposed previously sequestered thyroid antigens to your immune system, and triggering Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis, or some other subtype of autoimmune thyroiditis. Hashimoto's classically has a hyperthyroid phase during which the gland is being destroyed and releasing excess thyroid hormone from the destroyed follicles. Then there's a euthyroid phase when the amount of hormone released roughly equals normal values because many of the follicles have been destroyed. Finally there's a hypothyroid phase where most of the gland has been destroyed by the immune response. I don't know whether that's what happened iin your case, but it seems possible.