LadyHawk108
03-19-2005, 07:27 PM
Maybe this can be useful to anyone who has to deal with a dog being treated for heartworms....
We picked up a black lab that had been abandoned at a convenience store. It was several months before we took her to the vet (our fault). When we did, we found out that she had a fairly severe heartworm infection. We made the choice to treat her to the tune of somewhere between $600-$700 that we really didn't have to spare. However, she was such a good dog and we are such softies, we had to do it. The vet said we would have to bring her in 2 days in a row for the heartworm treatment which consists of a shot in each side of her hip. One shot one day and 24 hours later, a shot in the other hip. After that we would bring her back a couple weeks later for a dose of meds that would kill the eggs in her blood called microfilaria. We took her in for the shots and a few days later we noticed a large swelling at the site of one of the injections. We took her to the vet (it was on a Friday). He drained some fluid with a needle and told us to bring her back the next day because he would need to put her under, and drain it. Ken took her in at 8:00 on Saturday and picked her up at noon. The vet had put a drain tube in that stuck out and the entry point and the exit point. He said the arsenic from the heartworm treatment had created a reaction and the area needed to drain...it would bleed alittle and keep her calm as possible. She came home with a victorian collar dripping blood. We put her in the kitchen on her doggie pillow covered with towels and sheets. Within a few hours she was bleeding profusely from both drain points. There was no stopping it. We took her to a 24 hour vet site and carried her in. That vet talked about putting her down because she had nearly bled to death. Her gums were flesh colored at that point. Being the huge baby I am, I was in tears talking to Ken about what we were goin to do. Meanwhile, the vet had put an icepack on that side and after several hours, the bleeding had subsided significantly. She suggested that if we kept the icepack on, she would probably live until Monday when we could take her back to the vet. I literally stayed up the entire night to ensure that the ice pack stayed in place. Got Ken up at 8:00 am and he took over the guard. Monday morning we took her back to the vet. He gave us some antibiotic fluid to shoot through the drain canal. After 2 weeks she was not draining nearly as much and it was time for the microfilaria treatment to kill the baby heartworms in her blood. We took her back and they removed the tube and gave her the last treatment. Within a week, this dog is like a new puppy. She is so active and playful. She had never been like that. She obviously had the heartworms when we got her and that is probably why the previous owner abandoned her. The vet said in 20 years of practice she was only the 5th dog he had seen with that reaction to the heartworm shot. Anyway, the moral is, don't forget your pet's heartworm meds!! And if they have complications, don't give up on them.
We picked up a black lab that had been abandoned at a convenience store. It was several months before we took her to the vet (our fault). When we did, we found out that she had a fairly severe heartworm infection. We made the choice to treat her to the tune of somewhere between $600-$700 that we really didn't have to spare. However, she was such a good dog and we are such softies, we had to do it. The vet said we would have to bring her in 2 days in a row for the heartworm treatment which consists of a shot in each side of her hip. One shot one day and 24 hours later, a shot in the other hip. After that we would bring her back a couple weeks later for a dose of meds that would kill the eggs in her blood called microfilaria. We took her in for the shots and a few days later we noticed a large swelling at the site of one of the injections. We took her to the vet (it was on a Friday). He drained some fluid with a needle and told us to bring her back the next day because he would need to put her under, and drain it. Ken took her in at 8:00 on Saturday and picked her up at noon. The vet had put a drain tube in that stuck out and the entry point and the exit point. He said the arsenic from the heartworm treatment had created a reaction and the area needed to drain...it would bleed alittle and keep her calm as possible. She came home with a victorian collar dripping blood. We put her in the kitchen on her doggie pillow covered with towels and sheets. Within a few hours she was bleeding profusely from both drain points. There was no stopping it. We took her to a 24 hour vet site and carried her in. That vet talked about putting her down because she had nearly bled to death. Her gums were flesh colored at that point. Being the huge baby I am, I was in tears talking to Ken about what we were goin to do. Meanwhile, the vet had put an icepack on that side and after several hours, the bleeding had subsided significantly. She suggested that if we kept the icepack on, she would probably live until Monday when we could take her back to the vet. I literally stayed up the entire night to ensure that the ice pack stayed in place. Got Ken up at 8:00 am and he took over the guard. Monday morning we took her back to the vet. He gave us some antibiotic fluid to shoot through the drain canal. After 2 weeks she was not draining nearly as much and it was time for the microfilaria treatment to kill the baby heartworms in her blood. We took her back and they removed the tube and gave her the last treatment. Within a week, this dog is like a new puppy. She is so active and playful. She had never been like that. She obviously had the heartworms when we got her and that is probably why the previous owner abandoned her. The vet said in 20 years of practice she was only the 5th dog he had seen with that reaction to the heartworm shot. Anyway, the moral is, don't forget your pet's heartworm meds!! And if they have complications, don't give up on them.