Major Heartworm Med Rant!!!!
 

FYI: Heartworm can be deadly. We all know this. Treating an active Heartworm case can be deadly. Why??? Because the HW are adults and if you kill them all at once, the dead worms clog the heart= heartattack=death.

The life cycle of the HW: (This may not be exact, but it's close enough)
The adult HW in an infected dog reproduce, larve=microfilaria. A mosquito bites that dog and picks up microfilaria, bites another dog and transfers it to the new dog.
It takes 2 months for these baby heartworms to mature enough to begin their migration to the dogs heart, where they continue to grow for 2-4 months when they can reproduce. And it starts over. blah, blah, blah.

Begin Rant: Okay, day 1: Dog is tested (neg) and given dose of Heartworm med (Heartguard or whatever). This kills microfilaria for one month, so at the end of this month, the dog is HW Negative.

Day 31: Dog's owner forgets to administer HW Meds. Dog gets infected with microfilaria. It takes 2 months for these baby heartworms to mature enough to begin their migration to the dogs heart, where they continue to grow for 2-4 months when they can reproduce.

Day 61: Dog is HW infected with 1 month microfilaria, which can still be safely killed with a dose of a monthly HW Med.

So, I asked my vet: Why do we treat them every month? After some thought, he said, "Probably so owners will remember to do it." So, technically, one could give HW meds every other month, or actually every 3rd month and still be safe. Answer=YES. (BTW he only tests my dogs every other year.) Why do I have extra HW meds? Oh, my friend's dog passed and she gave me what she had left. (They won't remember)


Point of Rant: Is this a money maker or what? I always read how people are tight for $$$$, and it breaks my heart that they feel bad and may be considering not using HW meds at all bc it's so expensive. Every other month would cut costs in half! And to cut costs further, look into using Revolution. It does HW, fleas, ticks, mites and other stuff. I like it bc it's a single drug, it's topical, and my vet lets me buy it in bulk. I can treat 3 cats and 2 dogs for 4 Years for $103.00!!!! To save more $$$$, I'm going to alternate the Revolution with my leftover Frontline....

For those of you financially stressed: Ask that your dogs only be tested every other year. Insist that you HW medicate monthly and you don't see why it's necessary. (Friend's dog died and she gave you her meds)

And don't throw away expired HW meds: pesticides do not expire. If anything, they may be less effective, but I figure in Yorkies who are totally OD'ed anyway, they're probably just right.

Google heartworms to see area maps of reported cases, areas of infestation and life-cycle charts

Most heartworm meds are given monthly just for that reason.
It is easier to remember. In other words, the company gets more money this way.:rolleyes: Not all drugs work the same though and there are some that you probably can't wait 2-3 months to give. If your dog does get heartworms, some companies will pay for treatment if you follow their protocol exactly like Heartgard. These drugs only kill certain stages of larvae too, so it is important that your vet is in agreement and helping you come up with a different schedule. I am going to be talking to Ellie's vet about the grace period of Interceptor and I may stop giving it monthly. I think Heartgard's is said to be 15 days.

By the way, there are a lot of reports about Revolution failing and dogs getting heartworms anyway while on it...

I only gave Lady her heartworm medication every other month for years with my vet's approval, but a couple of years ago Dr. Suzy said they had seen cases of heartworm in dogs who had only missed one dose.

Haven't seen any to date...

Selamectin, the active ingredient in Revolution, is a macrocyclic lactone compound. These compounds effectively prevent the development of adult heartworms when administered to dogs and cats within one month of exposure to infective (L

You live in a state with a high occurance of HW. If your pup hasn't contracted it ... I seriously doubt she will. I'm leaning more towards business may be down a bit???? And ... When cases are found ... do people really want to appear irresponsible? Of course they're going to say "I only missed one dose". The vets can only go by what the client tells them. And then these results are what make up the reports.

Kathy (kjc)... What do you think about opening a dose of Frontline Plus into an airtight container...giving 1/3 of the pipette then, then another 1/3 in a month and the last 1/3 in the following month? In essence, it's being stored for 2 months after it's been opened.

My pooch is 4-1/2 lbs and the pipette is for dogs up to 23 lbs. It seems reasonable a reasonable course of action to me. I called Frontline (Merial) and they said OH NO!!! So naturally I asked why. The rep said it had only been tested for 23 lbs. Again...I asked why. Well...'because that's what they did.' Argh.

What's your opinion about this one?

Thanks for this rant. :) I actually don't have Thor on heartworm meds yet because HW incidence is very low in SF. However, this summer we'll be going to Napa and maybe further, so I need to get him on it. From what you say, I'll consider a bi-monthly dose.

Buddy get tested for HW once a year. Without the test I can not get
a new prescription. The prescription is good for only one year.
I wouldn't take a chance of missing one month. It's not worth the risk.
However, I did start last year with giving Flea meds every 6 wks instead
of once a month. It works fine.

kjc, I'm glad to see your educating yourself rather than following the herd..;)

You are correct that this is about scare tactics and it works and it works well.....I'm in no way saying that there is no heartworm out there it's just it's not as epidemic as we are led to believe....Where you live has a huge factor in how at risk you are. When the temps drop to below 57 degrees the risk is about nil for transmission. When I see a person who lives in cold climates saying their vet has their dog on heartworm treatment year round it just gets me.....

These are toxic poisons and should be only given when absolutely necessary and as little as possible for effectiveness....The dosage can be spread out longer than the 30 days stated, it's at least 45-60 days.....You are correct that the vet tells the client it's monthly because they figure a client is incapable of remembering....


Heartworms | Truth4Dogs

- Terrierman's Daily Dose -

There you go! Try here: eBay Store: Search results for No More Fleas Please.

This person is super nice to deal with .... I wanted to use Revolution which he doesn't carry, but he sold me the storage tube and syringes and I bought bulk Revolution from my vet...


He used to have a .com store too but I can't find it. Maybe email him thru ebay or I'll look for my old receipt....

He gives you the exact dosages too... very safe.


Ouote:Kathy (kjc)... What do you think about opening a dose of Frontline Plus into an airtight container...giving 1/3 of the pipette then, then another 1/3 in a month and the last 1/3 in the following month? In essence, it's being stored for 2 months after it's been opened.

My pooch is 4-1/2 lbs and the pipette is for dogs up to 23 lbs. It seems reasonable a reasonable course of action to me. I called Frontline (Merial) and they said OH NO!!! So naturally I asked why. The rep said it had only been tested for 23 lbs. Again...I asked why. Well...'because that's what they did.' Argh.

What's your opinion about this one?
__________________
Debby...owned by Zoey, the Porky Chorkie

I already had the Frontline Plus and a 1 ml syringe so I got a container from the pharmacist & just did it myself. I've been fussing about it ever since...only because of ticks & Lyme disease. Now I'm thinking maybe I should vaccinate her to be safe. :confused: I was born to worry, I swear.

Heartworm meds I dont take the chance with I give it monthly. However I only put flea meds on as needed

Wish I'd thought of that! Good Job! As for vaccinations... I don't vaccinate against stuff that's easily treated. Lymes=Tettracycline, Giardia=Metronidazole, dental dx=toothbrush +paste...

Interesting thread.. thanks for making this.. I will also do some research.. I use advantage mulit 10 each month.. and I have to do it pretty well all year round due to being in Florida all winter.. although my dogs do not walk on the ground... then being in Canada in the summer... so I will keep watching and reading posts from others.. anne

I'm going to ask my vet today about giving Interceptor every other month. I'd much rather do that (or at least every 50 days?) then dose Meg up each month.

Well, my vet said not to go more than 40 days between pills. What do you all think?

I only pay $5 per month for Heartworm meds, giving every month so I don't forget seems reasonable to me. Plus we live in a very high risk area.
But I did give the full dose of Frontline over 2 days last month. I was wondering why the dosage needs to be so high. Lexi is only 6.5 lbs. I think I will try the 1/2 dose next month, since that is costing me $17 per tube! She had several dead ticks on her after our last weekend at the lake, so I know the full dose worked!
Interesting thread.

I just want to reiterate, I did not make this info up. It's part of the small print that's included in the packaging with the product. If you read it, you will see it does not make sense. I am really more concerned with the amount of poisons we have to treat our pets with to keep them healthy?, than I am with saving money.

What product are you using?

Interceptor. I jsut picked it up today and haven't read the label yet. I'll prob go the max between doses though.

Interesting... the label says that if you miss a dose, you MUST give the next dose IMMEDIATELY. I will prob still go 45 days though.

Hi. Found this on their website:
INTERCEPTOR Flavor Tabs Product Information - Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

INTERCEPTOR Flavor Tabs are given orally, once a month, at the recommended minimum dosage rate of 0.23 mg milbemycin oxime per pound of body weight (0.5 mg/kg). A 5lb dog should be good with a half tablet.

INTERCEPTOR Flavor Tabs must be administered monthly, preferably on the same date each month. The first dose should be administered within one month of the dog's first exposure to mosquitoes and monthly thereafter until the end of the mosquito season. If a dose is missed and a 30-day interval between dosing is exceeded, administer INTERCEPTOR Flavor Tabs immediately and resume the monthly dosing schedule.

Efficacy
INTERCEPTOR Flavor Tabs eliminate the tissue stage (=2Months)of heartworm larvae ...

The label doesn't say how long past a 30 day interval if you miss a dose, but it does say The first dose should be administered within one month of the dog's first exposure (or 30 days after his last pill), and it says it eliminates the tissue stage which is 2 months.

I'm confused but hope this helps... Kathy

Interesting. You could try contacting the company and/or trying to track down the actual prescribing info to see if it has half-life info in it. I'm not sure if these types of meds have half-lives, but I'd kind of assume they did.

I will still give every 30 days. But, now I wonder about Marcel's dose bc he is 3lbs. - according to what they say, a 1/2 pill would be more than enough for him (but not Wylie).

If I am understanding this right, even Wylie would be covered with 1/2 a pill because they use 4/5 more drug than they need to to protect against intestinal parasites. If you don't care about that, 1/5 of the dose recommended "may" work. I am not recommending that anyone attempts this but this information is available online. The real question is, can the pill be cut in half because in the case of Heartgard Plus, the answer is no because the med is unevenly injected into the chew.

Hmmmm. So, even though they say .23mg/lb (for Interceptor), they are still overdosing w/ the 4/5th? (Bc Wy needs about 1.5mg of Interceptor, and the 1/2 pill is 1.15mg)

Very interesting. I'll stick w/ the whole pill for now, as I just don't think there is enough info. And I agree, ramifications of cutting the pill is unknown right now...

Very interesting... I don't know that it would be possible to cut a pill in half anyway. They are really, really tiny.

I would never cut the dose nor would I play with the frequency of dosing. I have seen what happens to heartworm positive pups.

As for referring to HW preventatives as poison, I just lost one of my pups at an approximate age of 16. I adopted her in 1995 and she was estimated to be 2 or 3 at that time. She was given Heartgard every month while I had her...surely it did not shorten her lifespan.

The following website is very informative and may help some of you in your decision making regarding the health of your pup and the risks involved with heartworms:

American Heartworm Society

Great post. I have managed a vet clinic for 12 years and I too have seen what happens to heartworm positive dogs, dogs with lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, etc. I also will not cut the dose or play with the companies nor my vet's recommendations.

We also lost our black lab two years ago at the age of 15 which is very old for a lab. She had heartworm preventative every month of her life and some kind of flea and tick control. Certainly did not hurt her. I have a 12 year old yorkie now who has also had Heartgard and Frontline every single month of his life and he is as healthy as a 5 year old. We just did his senior bloodwork panel two months ago and everything was perfect.

I keep our prices in line with the on-line pharmacies to try and keep people from ordering from them. These products are vet only products and a lot of the on-line pharmacies are getting them on the black market. It is no telling how long they have set in trucks or on shipping docks waiting to be shipped. We have even had people bring packages in that they ordered on-line that were in other languages. I get letters from on-line salesmen at least once or twice a month asking us (as vets) to sell these products to them at cheaper prices so they can sell them on-line. I forward these on to the vendors because it is illegal. By keeping prices similar to the on-line pharmacies we do not make much money on these products at all. Believe me, vets do not get rich selling that stuff.

Thanks for your post.

Oh...thank you for your very informative post!!

I only buy Heartgard and Advantage from my vet....she also does not charge a lot for the very same reason. I think most vets are like that. It always amazes me that people order online from just anyone to save a couple of dollars. They really do not understand that these items are not always legitimate and could harm their pets.

This is very interesting Niether one of my yorkies are on HW medicine right now, I have tried Copper on both interceptor and heartgard and nearly lost him on the heartgard because it made him very sick. Maddie I have only given her interceptor one time and had to take her to the vet because she had bloody diareah and vommitting for about 5 days after giving her the pill. My vet doesn't feel comfortable giving her another HW medicine at this point. She is so small that being that sick is life threatening. they still are tested but at this point I am waiting till my vet gives the goahead on another Med.