Heartworms and lyme desiease

have they both been consistently on heartgard, purchased from a vets office and tested yearly? If so, you need to contact Merial... they have a guarantee on their products, that if purchased and used properly - they will pay for your pets treatment.

I've been putting Frontline on every 3 weeks.  And, Iverheart (Heartguard generic) every month like clockwork.  They get tested annually like clockwork as well. 

Ticks are bad out here and Frontline is the only product that seems to protect against ticks.  But, its important to make sure they are consistently applied.

My heart goes out to you, Dude...if you are having to deal with both heartworms and lyme.

So sorry to hear you are dealing with both Lyme and heartworms. I had not used Frontline because it appeared to burn my dogs skin. I was using Natural Defense instead. But I was also not aware that Lyme was active in my area and I missed all the little signs/symptoms. I never found a tick even on her. It is frustrating to try and protect our pets .... We are not seeing improvement with treatment yet. Sydney is still not eating normal. We had stopped all medications, changed Vets and began a new course. The Lyme tests showed the disease was active and we started Baytril to manage the fever at first. She is still somewhat lethargic and has the loss appetite. I was actually going to post and ask folks what kind of experience they've had treating active Lyme and how soon on Doxcy did they see their dog respond? Vets seem hesitant to attribute the loss of appetite to the Lyme and would rather assume they need to look at upper intestinal problems, like stomach tumors, etc. But Ultra-sounds can be inclusive and I just don't think we're getting to treat the Lyme aggressively enough. If anyone has experience with Lyme, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)

Heartworms and Lyme is always a concern for us too.   I quit using Frontline years ago and changed to Advantix.  I recently had to get Frontline again and just like years before it doesnt seem to work well on Fleas.  I hate having to put chemicals on my boys, just like I hate to spray my garden because it kills good bugs and bad, but which is worse, getting ate up or being safe??

I am so sorry about our new members that are going thru the treatment of both diseases and wish you well.

 Boomer responded to the meds within about a week after first taking and seemed to improve the whole time he was taking it. I say improve, he was able to walk again a little. It seemed that some days were better than others but when he started eating again he had more good days than bad. Once he had taken all the medication the vet gave him he seemed to do well for about a week and a half and that's when I found him out in the yard in the poring down rain and lightning storm. At first I thought he was just enjoying the cool rain but soon I realized he just couldn't get up so I braved the storm and went out and carried him inside. That's when I noticed his eyes were glazed and filled with a white mucus like substance the same way they were the day I carried him to the vet the first time. I cleaned his eyes and dried him off and as it was time for his evening meal tried to feed him but he would not eat. This was Sunday and I could not get the vet so I decided to watch him and wait until the next morning to see if I could take him in.The next morning he was outside walking around and took food like he was hungry.

 I called the vet to see if he would give me another dose of the medication but he wouldn't and said I would have to bring him in for more test and most likely another 5 or 600 bucks which at that time I could not afford. Since then as I said he has had good and bad days but even on the good days he seems to struggle getting around.

 Yeah I thought about that but they have an out. Because of the cost I haven't been giving them heartguard or using frontline in the winter after all the bugs are gone usually about three months out of the year depending on the weather and how cold it is. If it is mild or we get an early spring I start them back up on both. They are both older now and don't go out in the woods much like they used to unless I'm with them. They both seem to be happy just laying around the garage waiting for me to come out and play with them.

Thanks. My girl is eating cat food, which they said WAS good. This morning she suddenly had lameness in her front leg, where she does NOT have arthritis. So I am more convinced it is the Lyme causing her issues. We have to start back on Doxcy. It's good to know it takes about a week ... Syd is only 11 and I believe she has a lot of life left. I managed with some help from another owner here to train Sydney to take her meds with peanut butter. It's working quite well now, so my stress level is coming down a notch. We are close to the $2000 mark in tests and treatments with this. It isn't easy when the money isn't there and it's going to take time to get it paid off. My Vet has required 50% upfront and then wants payments to follow. But we initially paid all costs for the emergency visit 2 weeks ago. It's just a horrible situation because we want to make our pets well and yet resources can dry up quickly. This is one VERY nasty didease :(

Frontline is only for fleas & ticks and it's never worked as well on ticks as Advantage.  But that's ALL those do.

HeartGuard and Iverheart and any of the ivermectin-based chewables have diminished their dose SO radically that they are seeing failure A LOT.  yes, if you have all your receipts and the vet's office can say you've bought them every X months then they'll pay for treatment, BUT if you've kind of stockpiled it then they don't want to cover it.

I use Interceptor because it not only covers heartworm but it ALSO works on hooks and whips (which are huge in the South).  It's just plain sensible down here.  Because it's danged hard to even diagnose hooks or whips until the animal is so anemic they're ready to keel over.  It's almost impossible to tell the difference between a dog just being a bit lazy in the heat and being anemic without really *knowing* what you're looking for.  It's not that much more expensive and all you have to do is have to treat for hooks/whips ONCE and the Interceptor would have been cheaper (and you **never** get hooks/whips out of your yard EVER AFTER).

Lyme disease is nasty -- as is ehrlichea and the others (and I know I spelled that wrong, sorry).  And about the only drug that really works is doxycycline because sometimes they have to take that antibiotic for MONTHS and MONTHS before it finally whacks away at the disease to get rid of it.

calliecritturs

Lyme disease is nasty -- as is ehrlichea and the others (and I know I spelled that wrong, sorry).  And about the only drug that really works is doxycycline because sometimes they have to take that antibiotic for MONTHS and MONTHS before it finally whacks away at the disease to get rid of it.

A lot of vets don't treat Lyme aggressively enough.

http://sites.google.com/site/blackgsd/treatment
"A semisynthetic tetracycline, doxycycline is the drug of choice for ehrlichiosis, Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. 

The dosage we recommend on Tick List is an aggressive one:  5 mg. of doxy per pound of body weight given every 12 hours for 8 weeks.  For those who prefer to figure body weight in kilograms, this is approximately the same as 10 mg per kg, the difference being not enough to mention.

This is twice as high as the dose that is generally recommended - and here I should probably remind you that I am not a veterinarian or a medical professional.  Well, that's true.  At the same time, I should tell you that your vet is the one to decide what dosage to use.  I can't do that. 

In my opinion and that of everyone on Tick List, ehrlichiosis and Lyme must be hit hard the first time out and lower doses and/or shorter treatment times all too often mean recurrence.  Unless your dog is one of the few that cannot take doxycycline or take it in this higher dose, my best advice to you is to insist on it.  Each time ehrlichiosis or Lyme recurs, it's harder to stop or contain it."

 Just wanted to check in and post a follow up. Boomer passed away this morning. When I went to check on him early this morning and as I opened the door and was walking down the garage steps I could hear him wagging his tail as it was banging on a bucket. One thing about him was no matter how bad he felt I always managed to get a tail wag out of him when ever I came into the room.

He was doing ok and I thought he was going to beat this because the spells were getting farther in-between. He went several weeks and was starting to gain a little weight when all of a sudden one morning his eyes were all closed up from the white runny mess that was coming out of his eyes. This was the sign he was about to have another attack and this one took him out. After a couple days of laying around and having to really work to get him to eat all of a sudden he looked like he was going to perk up and I didn't have to force him to go outside to use the bathroom and for a couple days he would even walk down to the barn where I was working on his own. Then as quickly as he started to improve he went down hill and wouldn't eat at all no matter what I did but he would still drink water. I figured as long as he was drinking plenty of water he would be ok but after several days I guess he got so weak he couldn't fight anymore. I had planned to do put him out of his misery anyway if he did not improve by the weekend and as the time went by I was agonizing with the idea of having to have to put him down. This morning when I checked on him he looked good and I thought he may have a chance. I had a doctors appointment I needed to go to and when I got back he was gone. It was almost like he knew what I was going through and decided to just go in peace so I wouldn't have to deal with the decision. Rest in peace my dear friend, rest in peace.

 

Anyway thanks for all the information and support from the community.

I am so sorry to hear about Boomer's passing.  Run free Boomer there are many of our furr babies waiting for you at the bridge.

Run free, Boomer.  I'm very sorry for your loss.  

Extremely sorry to hear about your sweet Boomer's passing.

Rest easy Boomer, Godspeed

I'm so sorry for your loss. Run free Boomer.