Confused about Heartworm Treatment

Hello,

I just acquired a very cool 4 year old dog from a friend of mine who had never taken the dog to a vet for shots or put her on heartworm prevention pills. I took her to the vet and got the shots and had her tested for heartworms and she tested positive. The vet recommended a $385.00, 2 injection treatment with a follow up visit, I believe, in 4 months.

My dad recently acquired a dog in much the same manner that also tested positive for heartworms and his vet, instead of offering the treatment, sold him some Iverhart Max and told him that , over time, those would help.

I have been cut back on hours at my job and I recently bought a house so things are kind of tight so I decided that I would get some of those same brand pills for Lucky (my dog) and give her those until I could put back enough money for the treatment, which I’m sure she needs. I don’t know how long she has had them but we are in Clinton, Mississippi and Mississippi has a lot of mosquitoes so its possible she could have had them for the whole 4 years.

Anyway, I ordered the pills and put in my vet’s contact info, this is the first time I have used this doctor, and he denied me the prescription. He said he denied it because the dog tested positive for heartworms. I already knew that and didn’t consider that much of an explanation.

Now I’m confused.  Are Iverhart Max any different from any other heartworm pill, (I use Interceptor or Heartgard Plus for my other dog) and why can’t they have the Iverhart Max or any other heartworm pill if they have tested positive for heartworms.Isn't something better than nothing until I can get her the treatment? If my dog shouldn’t be taking it, then neither should my dad’s. And finally, is there any alternative treatment for heartworms that doesn’t involve 2 very dangerous injections?


Steve

[Jaybay]

Iverhart is merely a preventive medication that can kill only the juvenile form of heartworm.  It will do absolutely nothing to the adults.  It's possible that your dad's vet was thinking only in terms of rendering his dog non-contagious for the sake of other dogs in the area.  Here is a good link that deals with heartworm treatment.  It's extremely difficult to get rid of, but easier now than it was even 10 years ago.  Read over the article and see if things don't make more sense.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=610

[peekawho]

Often, they will initially give your dog a dose of the regular monthly heartworm preventative prior to getting the injection, but the only proven effective treatment are the injections.  I think the first, oral dose, is to help kill off the juveniles prior to treatment.
It is expensive, but the $385 price you were quoted is very good.  We fostered a dog a few years ago who was positive, and it was $1200 for the 2 injections.  

I agree with Jaybay, if your dads dog was only given the pills, they will sometimes do that if the owner will not consent to proper treatment with the injection.  The theory is that over much time (years) of treatment with the oral monthly preventative, the adult worms will naturally die off and the juveniles will not grow to the adult stage.  Unfortunately, during this time the dog can sometimes develop severe heart and lung disease and die.

So that is why you can't just take the monthly pill for treatment.  It is not proven to work, and IF it does, it will take many years and during that time the dog can become severely ill and die anyway.

If she is 4 years old and lives in the south and has never had treatment, chances are good that she has a heavy worm load.  Treatment only with the monthly preventative will likely be useless, and she would remain at risk for heart and lung disease.  

If you can't start treatment right away, be honest with the vet.  They may allow you to give them postdated checks for the treatment cost, and they may very well let you start the dog on the monthly pill for a few months until you can get the $385 together.

Discuss all this with your vet.  Be honest.  But do not put off getting the dog treatment for long.  

[ddeiman]

I rescued a coonhound after Katrina that had heartworms and the treatment was 2 injections of Immiticide (to kill the adult worms) while in the hospital for observation, then crate rest for 6-8 weeks. The she went back to the hospital for an morning drop off, a dose of heartworm preventative like heartguard (more then the regular monthly dose) or interceptor ( 1dose) and she was observed and then released that p.m.  After 2 weeks you test for microfilaria which is the baby worms if positive it doesn't always mean their are still adults reproducing so a second dose of preventative should be given and then retest in 2 more weeks. If dog is negative then preventative is given monthly and in 0 months you test for adult antigen and microfilaria. My girl did great but they are very sore from the injections when they come home. Crate rest is VERY important. No running, walks etc for that time period because as the worms die off the pieces can result in an embolism in an active dog. That is why the return visit for the 1 day is important too. The injections only kill the adult worms the babies are still in the bloodstream at that point so when they give the preventative dose in the hosp. they need to make sure while the babies die off they don't cause that either. That is why they denied preventative to a heartworm positive dog because first it can cause embolism and 2nd the adults won't be killed and just produce more babies.

[peekawho]

There is a certain HW preventative that cannot be given to a positive dog, but the monthly one can be, and is often given prior to Immiticide.  

Our foster dog was given Heartgard first, then the Immiticide injections about a week later.  

Then after he recovered from the injection treatments, he was then started on Heartgard again.