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Raja Has Heartworm - I feel horrible

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:09:55 PM

When I got Raja in August The vet did a Heartworm test...It came back Neg. So she has been on Heartowrm Prevention (heartgard) ever since. I took her to the vet on Saturday and he said that since she came from Auburn, and was on outdoor door, he really found it hard to belive she would not have Heartworm. He said her old owners could have given her heartworm prevention and it may have made the test come back Neg., when really it was Positive. He told me to not give her her heartworm med and they would test her again.....

I got a call today saying she came back Positive. I feel awful, I should have asked her old owners if they gave her any prevention, so I could have told her vet and let him know it could have changed the results. But, I honestly did not think someone who left their dog outside would give her Heartworm Prevention. Ever since I took her I have not been able to get in contact with her old owner.

I am so worried about her, and I am hoping so much it is not in the advance stages.
She has an app with her normal vet on monday morning. I have NO idea how much it is going to cost, and pretty much I have NO money at all, and no job because I start college in summer. I already called my dad and he said to just put her to sleep...Which obviously I am not going to do, but he thinks very differenly about dogs then I do. My vet does not do any payment plans, I am wondering if I should take a loan from my bank...or get a credit card or something to pay for this...
Does anyone have any information about Heartworm, and the treatment? I have no idea if it will cost $200 or $2000. She has had it for at least 6 months since that is when I got her, I just can not believe it, I feel so so bad, I should have gotten her tested again earlier.

Edited: I just realized that I had spelled Heartworm wrong this whole time!!!

Cita

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:18:41 PM

Ohh poor both of you! Don't beat yourself up... you got her tested, you had her on medicine, you did your best. I hope things turn out okay for you guys... I'll be crossing my fingers.

Stacita

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:24:34 PM

Please don't beat yourself up. I've tested foster dogs and immediately put them on prevention and was never even told to retest before one year. To me that bodes well for the chances of treating Raja and that this isn't very advanced. See what your vet has to say about the cost. Also do a second test to rule out the possibility of a false positive.

Have you heard of the Care Credit card? [linkhttp://www.carecredit.com/]http://www.carecredit.com/[/link]

stardog85

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:24:52 PM

If I remember correctly - dogs may be able to just take higher doses of prevention for a few months to prevent reinfection and give the current worms time to die rather than doing the hard core treatment (which costs about $300 around here I believe). I would be sure to ask your vet about this option - I think it may be done for cases just like yours where the infection is obviously not too serious.

ColleenC

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:27:48 PM

If you need to, call around to different vets and get prices and try to find one that will let you make payments. I'm sure your vet is great and you don't have to change, but just for something like this, you might be able to find someone to work with you. If it were my dog and I had no help from family and couldn't make payments, I would definitely try to get a loan or put it on a credit card.

calliecritturs

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:38:40 PM

There is a way to treat with ivermectin -- it is slower, but it's also safer. And Raja is, to the best of your knowledge, not any herding breed right?

Email me -- and I'll send you some info -- or we can talk on the phone if you want (I've got free nights and weekends, and I WAS a starving college student) -- I should be able to help you. don't freak -- it will take some hands on care, but it is very very VERY doable.

sl2crmeg

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:44:52 PM

oh, poor Raja!

I don't know anything about heartworm, but I hope you find a solution that works out. I know how it is to be a hungry college kid, I still am. So I am thinking lots of good thoughts for Raja and you.

cakana

Posted : 3/1/2007 6:48:10 PM

Ashley - I'm really sorry to hear this but please don't panic. As Callie said, it may be that they can treat it with Ivermectin since it was caught so early. I also agree about the idea of having another test run. I don't know how common false-positives are, but I'd certainly ask the vet if it's a possibility. I hope that you get some good answers in the next few days. I can imagine how frightened and worried you must be.

dubilpie

Posted : 3/1/2007 7:03:09 PM

I agree you should call around for different prices. The vets in my area won't do any payment plans either, I can understand it in a way, but I wish for long term clients they would make an exception.

I am sorry. I hope you find a workable solution.

gradyupmybutt

Posted : 3/1/2007 7:09:11 PM

Oh, Ashley! I'm so sorry to hear about Raja. I would listen to Callie & if that can't work, call around to different vets. Do NOT blame yourself.

Raja19

Posted : 3/1/2007 8:06:21 PM

Thanks so much everyone for your support and good wishes. It really helps, I just feel bad because she has such a hard life before I got her and now this.

She has an appointment Monday to see how far in advance it is, I am, of couse hoping it is in the early stages. So for now all I can do is hope for the best, she has no signs at all so that is a good thing.

Have you heard of the Care Credit card? [linkhttp://www.carecredit.com/]http://www.carecredit.com/[/link]

That looks like something I will definetly look in to, I looked at the site and looks like just what I need, I also talked to Callie and she gave me some great advice.

Michelle

Posted : 3/1/2007 9:10:29 PM

Ashley, please don't panic! This is EXACTLY what we are going through with Gracie. I've posted several times on what we're doing and if you can get the search to work for you, you could re-read those posts, I think my title was "Tested heartworm positive after negative 1 year ago." I can't seem to get the search function to work. I was in a PANIC when we first found out, but have really calmed down. In a nutshell: Gracie had a negative test in 12/05, but tested positive in 12/06. They did a microfloria (sp?) test to determine if there were any juvenile worms, which there were not. She also had a chest x-ray at the end of Dec., and at that time there wasn't any damage to the heart and only slight enlargement to the veins in the lungs, so it's in it's early stages. Vet is still recommending we continue the monthly treatment. She goes back on Sat. for a follow up x-ray, and if no further damage shows up, we will continue on this course. The reason is, since there are no baby worms all she has is one sex (probably female) which are very difficult to kill. Even a round of the standard tx doesn't kill them off all the time. Vet thinks the risks of the tx outweigh, at least at this point, the risks of letting them die off over time with the monthly treatment. That can take a couple of years though, so we'll have to keep monitoring her, and if her situation worsens, then we would go with the tx. I'll look up some of the links I used to learn about HW and pass them along. But DON"T listen to your dad!!!! HW is not a death sentence!

This link is an interesting article we're discussing with our vet, but more importantly there are several excellent links on HW at the bottom of the article:
http://www.dogaware.com/heartworm.html

eta: link

Michelle

Posted : 3/1/2007 9:16:54 PM

Oh I forgot about the cost thing: they told us the whole treatment, if we went that route, would be around $400. So far I think the x-ray was just under $100, the microfloria test wasn't too bad, $30 or $40?

Margaret Tyler

Posted : 3/1/2007 9:19:08 PM

Oh my, I was so sad until I heard what Callie said. I hope that you can treat it that way. I know how you feel, I was in the same boat, only with a cat and not heart worms but kidney failure. You have my prayers.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/1/2007 10:08:39 PM

www.imom.org
www.uan.org
www.help-a-pet.org
These non-profit organizations have programs to help pet owners pay for emergency treatment. The American Animal Hospital Assn. has an assistance program, too, but your vet would have to be a member and apply for it for you.