HW test positive after a neg. 1 year ago

The heartworm tests that most vet clinics use are such that the test can't give you a number of worms in the heart, but they do give you an indicator of the heartworm burden.(Light, Medium, Heavy burden)  If your vet believes that Gracie has only one or two worms, most likely the test only showed a light indicator.  I don't know how big Gracie is, but one of the vets I work for always says that he would feel more comfortable not treating a mid-sized to large dog with a light burden of heartworms, than not treating a small dog with the same heartworm burden.  I would wait for the other test results before I made any decisions.  If the test for microfilaria is negative, then you most likely have only worms of one sex in the heart (I think female, not 100% sure, can look it up) The upside to no microfialria,  is there are no more worms going to the heart.  When the worms in the heart die, there ar no more. Best of Luck, keep us posted.

Snownose, the preventive doesn't kill the adult worms, and the time period between infection and detection of adult worms can be up to six months. So if Gracie was infected three or even almost four months prior to adoption and beginning preventive tx, she would've had mature worms that wouldn't be killed by the preventive, although any offspring should have been.

 
Ah, that makes sense......................
Good luck to Gracie.........

Vegas, Gracie is on the large size, 65 to 68 pounds, she's a shepherd mix. I called and spoke with another vet in the office today and she gave me just  more clarification on what the other had said, and reassured me that waiting til the 30th would be okay. That's when she'll go back in for other vaccination and exam.
Thank you all so much for the support, I'm really taking this hard, probably harder than I should, given the circumstances. Maybe because Anna had heart problems (our Rainbow Bridge JRT mix), it's bringing up emotional memories of that as well.

Gracie went back in today for rechecking. Microfilia count was negative, so no young worms. Went ahead and did an x-ray though, and there are some concerning things. Looks like possible calcifications in the lungs, and something unusual on the heart, but the vet wanted to wait for the radiologists interpretation, and he won't be in until next week. We opted not to send the test to an outside lab, since the x-ray finding seem to indicate there is some damage from heartworms. We'll wait to see what the radiologist has to say, but it looks like we will have to go forward with the standard treatment. Does anyone know if the damage is able to heal? Kind of like smokers lungs after they quit?

I can give you my experience with a dog of my own and two of a friends.
 
I adopted a stray from the shelter I worked at. He came in, the shelter wanted to put him down due to his age. He's somewhere between 8-10 years old. I told the director that I would take him. They did some blood work and found that he was heartworm positive and lymes positive. They told me about treatment, the cost, that it could kill him, but the vet had never lost one to treatment yet. I went ahead and put him through treatment. He came through it great. Depending upon the severity, the dog will cough for any where between a few days to weeks. This is due to the worms dying. Bear did not cough, which makes us think he had a very mild case. I can not get him neutered till he tests negative. He is scheduled to go to the vet and be tested again. He was treated for the lymes as well and will be tested on this next vet visit. My vet did not put Bear on a restricted schedule. He went for walks daily during treatment. They were short walks to no tire him out of course. The treatment will make a dog tired and depressed. They can get listless and stare at nothing. They could go off of their feed and the next day feel as theough they can't get enough to eat. They do drink a lot of water during treatment. At the shelter, I saw a number of dogs that had been treated. These symtoms were about the same for everyone. Some coughed more then others.
 
My friend helps out shelters by fostering dogs. When Katrina hit the state of LA, a large number of dogs were sent into her area to be fostered. She took in an older shep mix. Heartworm positive, severe case. They went ahead and put the dog through treatment. The dog died due to being older, and having such a severe case of HW.
 
Another dog she took in after the first died, was HW positive. Put her through treatment, Daly coughed for about 2-3 weeks. She has tested negative and has been spayed. She's available for adoption. She runs around and plays with everyone, people and dogs alike. You would have never guessed that she had been through so much.
 
Best of Luck.
Kari

Kari, thanks so much for your experiences. It's sure looking like we'll be going through the treatment. I worry about damage already done in such a short time, but until the radiologist looks at the film, there's nothing to do but speculate, which my DH says just gets me all worked up, so I'm trying not to!

It is great that the microfilaria test came back negative. The calcifications on the radiographs is not a great thing, but keep in mind that they may not be caused only by heartworms. COPD can cause lung calcifications as well as asthma, or emphysema. If the radiologist thinks that heartworm disease is the cause of the calcification then treating for heartworms will most likely stop the progression of this. I don#%92t think that the lungs will ever go totally back to normal, but I believe that they will not deteriorate further. Don#%92t worry yourself too much until you hear back from the radiologist!
I will try to get more info for you, but for now it#%92s off to bed!

Talked to the vet yesterday and the radiologist had looked at the x-rays and didn't see any problems with the heart! And only saw something with the blood vessels in the lungs, so it's very minimal  effects from the worms (DH spoke to them, so I'll need to call them back to get more answers). Vet thinks it's a very small load, and that the best course of action is to come back in another 2 to 3 months for another x-ray, and if that shows no further damage, then to continue with just the monthly HeartGard treatments. We're not out of the woods yet, but I like the path we're on! I like this vet's more cautious approach. It would be better for him $-wise for her to go through the TX, but he's showing concern for potential complications and Gracie's health, so I'm really pleased!

FWIW, many, many dogs have developed heartworm problems and have tested positive for heartworm while on the heartworm 'preventative'. More and more people are beginning to stop using these poisons on their dogs because there are too many cases of "protected" dogs getting sick while on the HW preventative, not to mention getting sick from the "preventative" itself.
 
Thankfully where I live I don't have to worry about HW, but there is so much evidence out there regarding the efficacy of such treatments that if I was in that situation I'd be questioning its use, because of the sheer number of dogs that get ill regardless.
 
Kim MacMillan

I have to dispute that last remark.  I worked at a vet clinic for six years and we did thousands of tests.  I have never seen a dog get heartworms while on Heartguard, nor have I ever seen a dog get sick from the Heartguard.  It is a very safe product, they have made it that way.  I have even seen dogs eat their whole package of a year's worth of medicine and have no ill effects.  The only time I have seen a dog have problems getting heartworm was when the meds are not givin properly.  And that is the owner's fault, not the product!  Ok, I feel better now.

Thankfully where I live I don't have to worry about HW, but there is so much evidence out there regarding the efficacy of such treatments that if I was in that situation I'd be questioning its use, because of the sheer number of dogs that get ill regardless.

 
I have problems with this too as Sherrie does.  I live in the South and if the dogs don't get HW preventive they get HW. End of story.  I chase mosquitos around my house as if they were vampires and I'm putting a stake through every tiny one of them. HW scares me second only to Parvo.

Thanks Gayle. At this point I'll take even a little false hope, at least to get me through to our follow up appt. on the 30th!

Oh, you sound like me, I feel so bad for you and your girl, I think you caught it early. I know telling you not to worry won't work, but how bout don't worry til  you get bad news. I will keep Gracie in my thoughts and prayers.

ORIGINAL: luvinmydoggies
 The only time I have seen a dog have problems getting heartworm was when the meds are not givin properly.  And that is the owner's fault, not the product!  Ok, I feel better now.

Just to reiterate . . . we gave our meds properly and every month that we had her. She was a stray before we got her and it takes up to six months for the worms to mature to the point where they can be detected by the test. She was most likely infected in the days or weeks right before she was picked up by AC in early October. It can still be quite warm here then and mosquitoes are alive and well! She tested negative in Dec. of 2006, then tested positive Dec. 2007. I worry about the meds myself, but they are a whole lot better than the treatment, which is literally a poison.

It's great that the radiologist found no damage to the heart.  I hope everything continues to go well for both you & Gracie.  I live in an area that has mosquitos year round, so heartworm pills are a must.

I wasn't implying that you gave the meds wrong, I'm certain she was already infected when she tested negative.  We were always warning people about that when they brought in a new dog from the shelter.  It's possible to test negative and still have the disease.  Two negative tests at least 6 months apart is the only for sure negative.  Sorry if I didn't make it clear enough in my post, I really wasn't saying anything about you.