OT: Heartworms?
 

Okay sad news, my beloved pet of 8 yrs was diagnosed w/ heartworms this wknd.......:(

I want to know if anyone has gone thru the treatment and what their outcome was. There's no sure thing, but I want to know.....

the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help me.........please.

My girlfreind's dad has 8 bird dogs that were all diagnosed with hearworms several years ago. The vet gave them a shot I think, then treatment once a month, I don't remember if it was a shot or pill. The last I checked with him, none had died of the heartworms. You know you can't give them the heartworm medicine after they have them, because the worms will die and the dog will bleed to death from holes in the heart. The way the treatment works after they have worms, is the medicine kills the eggs so no more worms will be hatched. Eventually, the live worms die off naturally a few at a time and are passed from the dog. The vet won't tell you, but after a couple years, the worms have died off, and you can put them back on heart medicine. My gf's dad did it. They catch the worms from mosquitos, which are not in short supply down here in Florida, and since I use my dogs to hunt wild hogs, I am sure to keep them on the med. They give you a little sticker to put on your calender to remind you when to give them.

So take heart, there is treatment for your dog, but you have to keep up with it. I think her dad told me it was $1100 when he took all 8 dogs in for treatment the first time.

What kind of pet? Dogs can recover if caught early enough. Cats don't fare as well...

Haven't gone thru it, but I did get the lecture the last time I was at the vet's office. Good luck. I hope everything turns out ok.

Christine (Freckles)

We have had 4 dif dogs that have had them .. the treatment was approx $ 400.00 .. although there are a couple if not few dif treatments..it has been 3 yrs and 3 are just fine... the 4th that had them was too old for treatment prob 9-10 at the time she finally passed away 2-3 yrs later but not due to heartworms....Just talk to your vet... and trust his/her judgement... that is all we have done.....good luck

Today's vets have much better technology than was available 15-20 years ago. Back then heartworms were really toucgh to whip though it was done some. As I understand it it is much easier today with better medicines and techniques. Trust your vet,he will tell you the odds,go for it.My vet pulled my old buddy thru it 20 years ago,chances are much better now. Good luck.

We had our youngest dog go through treatment with great results. She was probably 3 at the time (picked her off the street so I'm guessing at the age). The hardest part was keeping her quite during the treatment. Failed to do that once: She escaped the fence, chased a bunny at full speed. (The bunny was faster). Scared the hell out of me, but she was no worse for wear thank God. I was though. It is scary, and you feel like you let your pet down. But I think most dogs pull through.

During the treatment, our dog forgot she was house trained. After the treatment, she has never had an accident. That was years ago. So I assume the medicen was the cause.

My wife works in the pet care industry, and worked in Vet clinics for years. If she has any insight not already given by the time I can ask her, you'll hear it here.

Good Luck,
Michael

Here's what the Admiral said:
 

1. You should learn from your vet what stage the heart worms are in.
2. Get a second openion/test from a different Vet, to compare results, prices, and types of treatments.
3. The old treatment was arsnic (sp?). Very effictive, but hard on the pets too.
4. She suggested you keep your pet at the vet's during the key periods of treatment.
5. And she will inquire at work tomorow to learn more.

Once again, good luck to you and your pet.

Thanks for everyone's input. I have a Vet appt for Monday 9AM.
My dog is a black lab/ retreiver mix @ 8 yrs old. The cheapest trmt I've found is $465!! And that's not including any xrays. I will call a couple of other vets tomorrow.

They will keep her for 3 days. Then I have to take her back 2 wks later & again 2 wks later? The Vet did say he would re-test her for heartworms to verify the result. He said sometimes doing "mass calls" for dog vaccines, etc can get shady results. Kinda like some pregnancy test outcomes.

Either way, I feel I must take care of her. She was my first "baby"
I'm praying that there are no underlying problems. She is a wonderful dog and absolutely great w/ the kids since birth. I'll keep ya'll updated. Keep your fingers crossed.