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Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 28th 06, 07:04 AM
Mickee Mickee is offline
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Question Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

I know this has been discussed before, but I did not find a definitive answer to my question. I know I will get slammed for this, but I did not have my dog on preventative, as I had others on preventative and they still got heartworms and still died, and he has heartworms. I cannot afford the medication from the vet and was advised from a rescue of an alternative treatment of Ivermectin (Heartguard plus) at a higher than recommended doseage. I did not worry about it at first because I figured that this way he could survive and otherwise it was sure death. Has anyone personally known of a dog cured of heartworms using this agent? I just want to know there could be a positive outcome. I don't want to put him through this unnecessarily and cause him any suffereing if there is really no hope of a cure. Here is what they told me.


Use Heartguard plus, nothing else, no generic. Find the appropriate dose for his weight, but do not purchase that one, go up one step and keep him on that dose for one year. So he weighed in at 17# and I got the one for 26-51#. I gave him one dose and I saw a slight improvement I thought, but did not last long. After 2 weeks he was not eating and having labored breathing and just plain looked sad.

I called the rescue again and was told to give him 1/2 dose that day and in 2 weeks on schedule give him the other 1/2 dose. So I did this and he perked up in 3 hours. He is now eating and playing and wagging his tail. So here is my question.

I am trying to research this on the internet and every article states this will not kill the adult worms. So if we keep them from reproducing what happens to the adult worms. Am I in essence fighting a losing battle? Will they indeed die off as I am being told? If the life cycle is 5-7 years then does he have enough time to let them die off. He is 7.5 years now. He is a dauschund.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this form of treatment? Positive or negative.
  #2  
Old December 28th 06, 02:37 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
nay
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Posts: 8
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

sorry, but i am the new chap and I dont have a clue what a heartworm is
and how do dogs get it and how do you know if your dog has it and what
can be done to prevent it?
sounds scary...

Nay


Mickee wrote:
I know this has been discussed before, but I did not find a definitive
answer to my question. I know I will get slammed for this, but I did
not have my dog on preventative, as I had others on preventative and
they still got heartworms and still died, and he has heartworms. I
cannot afford the medication from the vet and was advised from a rescue
of an alternative treatment of Ivermectin (Heartguard plus) at a higher
than recommended doseage. I did not worry about it at first because I
figured that this way he could survive and otherwise it was sure death.
Has anyone personally known of a dog cured of heartworms using this
agent? I just want to know there could be a positive outcome. I don't
want to put him through this unnecessarily and cause him any suffereing
if there is really no hope of a cure. Here is what they told me.


Use Heartguard plus, nothing else, no generic. Find the appropriate
dose for his weight, but do not purchase that one, go up one step and
keep him on that dose for one year. So he weighed in at 17# and I got
the one for 26-51#. I gave him one dose and I saw a slight
improvement I thought, but did not last long. After 2 weeks he was not
eating and having labored breathing and just plain looked sad.

I called the rescue again and was told to give him 1/2 dose that day
and in 2 weeks on schedule give him the other 1/2 dose. So I did this
and he perked up in 3 hours. He is now eating and playing and wagging
his tail. So here is my question.

I am trying to research this on the internet and every article states
this will not kill the adult worms. So if we keep them from
reproducing what happens to the adult worms. Am I in essence fighting
a losing battle? Will they indeed die off as I am being told? If the
life cycle is 5-7 years then does he have enough time to let them die
off. He is 7.5 years now. He is a dauschund.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this form of treatment?
Positive or negative.




--
Mickee


  #3  
Old December 28th 06, 04:44 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
Rocky
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Posts: 1,678
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

"nay" said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

sorry, but i am the new chap and I dont have a clue what a
heartworm is and how do dogs get it and how do you know if
your dog has it and what can be done to prevent it?


The first hit on a google search:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/heart.htm

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
  #4  
Old December 28th 06, 09:49 PM
Mickee Mickee is offline
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First recorded activity by DogBanter: Dec 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 36
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Default

Well I will try to answer you Nay. Heartworms are bad, no awful. They get it from a mosquito bite. It is tested by a blood test. You can give them preventative all their life to hopefully prevent it. I personally had 2 dogs die from it and had them on preventative their entire lives, so I did not have faith in the preventative and did not do it with this dog.


  #5  
Old December 28th 06, 10:04 PM
Mickee Mickee is offline
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First recorded activity by DogBanter: Dec 2006
Location: Texas
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Default

Matt:
I read the article, but still am not sure I am doing the right thing. I mean the article did not really confirm the preventative will work to treat the worms. I am giving it at a higher than normal dose and that concerns me a bit. So what I wanted to know is if anyone here "personally" did this type of treatment and successfully won the battle over heartworms. My doggie seems better than he has in a while and I tend to think it is working, but am told we cannot really tell for several months and he has only had 1.5 doses of medication.

Any help is appreciated.

Mickee
  #6  
Old December 29th 06, 01:16 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
Lynne
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Posts: 2,609
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 20:49:06 GMT, Mickee
wrote:

Well I will try to answer you Nay. Heartworms are bad, no awful. They
get it from a mosquito bite. It is tested by a blood test. You can
give them preventative all their life to hopefully prevent it. I
personally had 2 dogs die from it and had them on preventative their
entire lives, so I did not have faith in the preventative and did not
do it with this dog.


Did the dogs get heartworm at or around the same time? Were they using the
same batch of preventative? What preventative were you using? Was it the
proper dose and within its expiration date? Did your vet report the
failure of the preventative to the manufacturer?

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/
  #7  
Old December 29th 06, 01:57 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
Sharon Too
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Posts: 664
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

Did the dogs get heartworm at or around the same time? Were they using
the
same batch of preventative? What preventative were you using? Was it the
proper dose and within its expiration date? Did your vet report the
failure of the preventative to the manufacturer?


I'd also be interested in this info as well:

Brand
Where product was bought
expiration date
dose and weight of dogs


  #8  
Old December 29th 06, 07:30 AM
Mickee Mickee is offline
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Default

Well this has been like 10 and 15 years ago. They died like at least 5 years apart and were not using the same medication as one was a Pom and the other a chow/lab. Obviously a little difference in size, thus different meds too. All I remember about the package was it was blue with little heart stickers for each month and they were not chewable pills. I did purchase them from the vet. Like I said it has been many years ago I have no idea the expiration date, dose or any of that information now. As far as the vet reporting it, I doubt that very seriously.

Brand
Where product was bought
expiration date
dose and weight of dogs[/quote]
  #9  
Old December 29th 06, 06:06 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
Lynne
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Posts: 2,609
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:30:21 GMT, Mickee
wrote:

Well this has been like 10 and 15 years ago. They died like at least 5
years apart and were not using the same medication as one was a Pom and
the other a chow/lab. Obviously a little difference in size, thus
different meds too. All I remember about the package was it was blue
with little heart stickers for each month and they were not chewable
pills. I did purchase them from the vet. Like I said it has been many
years ago I have no idea the expiration date, dose or any of that
information now. As far as the vet reporting it, I doubt that very
seriously.


There are, frighteningly, documented cases of failure of heartworm
preventatives. The vast majority of those cases aren't well qualified
for owner compliance in proper dosing, etc, but a significant number of
them are. It's really quite scary, but not enough to make me risk not
giving preventatives at all. I expect that as these things are studied,
certain factors will come into play such as drug interactions, geographic
locations, and perhaps even dog breeds or dietary factors. Or it might
even turn out to be shitty quality control by the manufacturers. The FDA
is keeping records and I think it's crucial in order to determine when
and why heartworm preventatives fail.

I wish I could help you with your original question. Were I in your
situation, I would take on a second job or borrow money to get the
treatment that is proven to work for a heartworm positive dog. I
wouldn't risk trying what you are doing. I'm not trying to be snarky or
judgemental, just saying what I would do.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/
  #10  
Old December 29th 06, 07:11 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
Puddin' Man
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Posts: 34
Default Ivermectin for treatment of Heartworms

You are delving into "No Mans Land" here ...

Are you absolutely, positively certain the dog has a mature
heartworm infestation?

This is Critical. C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L!

Consider getting a second opinion on the heartworm infestation
if there is the slightest doubt.

If the diagnosis is certain, consider getting a pre-treatment
physical before -any- treatment. The treatments involve
administering poisonous chemicals in very, very tightly
controlled dosages and administration circumstances.

You've perhaps read at:

http://placervillevet.com/canine%20heartworm.htm

?? It indicates that treatment for a small dog is
around $700.

If all indications are for treatment, I'd recommend
trying to find the $. Your vet might allow installment
payments?

My vet wouldn't prescribe Heartgard (Ivermectin) without
a heartworm test, said it could kill the dog. Others
might be able to reflect on whether this was just to
get the $50+ for the test.

Good Luck,
Puddin'


On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 06:04:29 +0000, Mickee wrote:


I know this has been discussed before, but I did not find a definitive
answer to my question. I know I will get slammed for this, but I did
not have my dog on preventative, as I had others on preventative and
they still got heartworms and still died, and he has heartworms. I
cannot afford the medication from the vet and was advised from a rescue
of an alternative treatment of Ivermectin (Heartguard plus) at a higher
than recommended doseage. I did not worry about it at first because I
figured that this way he could survive and otherwise it was sure death.
Has anyone personally known of a dog cured of heartworms using this
agent? I just want to know there could be a positive outcome. I don't
want to put him through this unnecessarily and cause him any suffereing
if there is really no hope of a cure. Here is what they told me.


Use Heartguard plus, nothing else, no generic. Find the appropriate
dose for his weight, but do not purchase that one, go up one step and
keep him on that dose for one year. So he weighed in at 17# and I got
the one for 26-51#. I gave him one dose and I saw a slight
improvement I thought, but did not last long. After 2 weeks he was not
eating and having labored breathing and just plain looked sad.

I called the rescue again and was told to give him 1/2 dose that day
and in 2 weeks on schedule give him the other 1/2 dose. So I did this
and he perked up in 3 hours. He is now eating and playing and wagging
his tail. So here is my question.

I am trying to research this on the internet and every article states
this will not kill the adult worms. So if we keep them from
reproducing what happens to the adult worms. Am I in essence fighting
a losing battle? Will they indeed die off as I am being told? If the
life cycle is 5-7 years then does he have enough time to let them die
off. He is 7.5 years now. He is a dauschund.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this form of treatment?
Positive or negative.


Pease pudding hot,
Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot
Nine days old ...
 




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