Mickeys heartworm treatment journey

I thought I'd just start a thread here for the road ahead of us.
More so for myself to keep track in case there is something that I might forget later but chime in if you wish. :)

We started his meds this morning and so far so good. He didn't get sick off the doxy (the Dr warned me it could happen), hope it stays that way .
I'm doing my verrrry best to make sure he stays as calm as possible but so scared that something might go wrong or that I'm not doing something right.
We've done outside to potty, rest , outside, rest (it seems the antibiotics are making him go pee more).
He barked at me in no uncertain terms to feed him dinner (a first) , calmed him as quickly as possible and moved on.
Tried closing his crate for resting time and he really got upset so I think he might fair better with it open though I know he isn't supposed to be very active he's less so if he can come out and lay by my feet. I'll be quick to curb him though if he shows much ambition.
Figured out I can't have him in my lap as he gets realllly wound and won't settle. Bummer, no snuggles for awhile but he's not as abused as he would tell you.:-)
So far day 1 has been successful, thank you Lord.

How long is the treatment?

Lisa : the first step is 30 days of doxycycline. I'm not sure what comes next.

Hope for a smooth and trouble-free time during his treatment.

Sending positive thoughts and prayers for an uneventful and successful treatment course. Please do keep us posted!

How is Mickey doing, Sarah?

Here's a blurb on the treatment of HW from Dogs In Canada:
Treatment

The most common medication used for treating heartworm is melarsomine
(brand name Immiticide®). When it became available about 15 years ago,
melarsomine replaced the more toxic thiacetarsamide. Both medications
contain arsenic to kill the heartworms.
A single injection of melarsomine kills 90 per cent of male
heartworms and 20 per cent of females. Followed by another injection 24
hours later, this double whammy kills 100 per cent of the males and 98
per cent of the female worms. It is used in Class I and II dogs. (See
sidebar for grading system.)
For Class III dogs, an alternate protocol is often employed. One
injection is given, then one-to-two months later, the two-injection
protocol is followed. The reason for the early single dose is that the
treatment can be very hard on the dog.
Though the medication itself can be toxic, the main issue is the
possibility of thromboembolism – worms die and end up blocking the
narrow arteries. This effect is minimized by keeping the dog quiet and
using anti-inflammatory medications such as prednisone. Using the early
single dose technique stages the worm kill and lessens the chance of
death.
Treatment of severe heartworm disease is time-consuming, hazardous,
costly and not always successful. It is much better to prevent
infestation from happening.
Dogs become infested with heartworm if they are bitten by
parasite-carrying mosquitoes. The mosquito injects tiny heartworm larvae
into the dog’s body as it feeds. These microscopic larvae burrow into
the dog’s tissues, emerge into blood vessels, and eventually travel to
the dog’s heart and pulmonary arteries.
Once there, the worms mature and grow up to 30 cm (12 inches) long.
Adult heartworms then mate, producing new larvae called microfilariae.
These circulate in the dog’s blood, waiting to be picked up by biting
mosquitoes. They mature in the mosquito, ready to infest the next
victim, and the cycle begins again.
Here is a really interesting link that talks about the use of Doxycycline:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_heartworm_treatment.html

Saira wrote:How is Mickey doing, Sarah?

Saira: He's doing really well. He seems to be feeling much better than when he first arrived, certainly exerting more spunky behavior (well as much as one can when they are under medical house arrest..lol).
I wasn't expecting any improvement but the doxycycline seemed to have helped his hearing a bit as well leading me to wonder if he didn't have a pretty good infection that went unnoticed for whatever reason.
I've cleaned them really good a couple of times which I don't know if done any good or not but he can certainly hear better than when he got here.
He has become much wiser in the medicine dept as well. He figured out if he spit the meds out (which he readily ate at first) , he'll get them served up in a small piece of lean turkey.
Smarty pants Pug 1 .... Sucker Foster Mother 0


Thank you for the blurb Blanche ... I went and read the link and it was very helpful. Gives me a boost of extra hope as he doesn't display any of the signs for Cat 3 or 4 and very few for Cat 2.

Still praying he survives all of this with as little pain/suffering as humanly possible but we're still a few weeks away from the really hard steps of treatment.

I am Mickey.. hear me roar.
That is all.

FosterMother here... So far things seem to be plugging right along. We're still keeping him as calm as possible (which is becoming a bit more of a challenge as he's really gaining personality, a bosssssy one at that) but the coughing is few and far between thankfully. Generally 2-3 episodes in a whole day.
Hubbs has been on vacation the last week and Mickey has done a fine job of informing him who's boss.
He's likely not going to be to thrilled when it comes time for him to go back to work on Tues.

So far, so good! Yay, Mickey!!

Now why does that make me want to start singing? "M _ I _ C...., K _ E _ Y.....+

Though treatment is far from over, I'm still seeing good progress towards generally feeling better (and more comfortable in surroundings).
Last night Mickey Sneaky was feeling his wheaties for sure. He wanted sooo badly to be hyper but it's not allowed.
He was allowed a short game of tugowar with Dra [poor stuffie became a casualty however], he steamrolled DH for luvs and actually allowed Remi to lick his face (an obsession for poor Remi though NOT allowed by Mickey for any reason to date).
I have to call the vet on the 18th to schedule his next step of treatment but for sure, the antibiotics alone have allowed a new better feeling baby to emerge. He no longer droops or retreats to his crate in a general sickly appearing manner.
P-r-o-g-r-e-s-s

Milosmom wrote:Though treatment is far from over, I'm still seeing good progress towards generally feeling better (and more comfortable in surroundings).
Last night Mickey Sneaky was feeling his wheaties for sure. He wanted sooo badly to be hyper but it's not allowed.
He was allowed a short game of tugowar with Dra [poor stuffie became a casualty however], he steamrolled DH for luvs and actually allowed Remi to lick his face (an obsession for poor Remi though NOT allowed by Mickey for any reason to date).
I have to call the vet on the 18th to schedule his next step of treatment but for sure, the antibiotics alone have allowed a new better feeling baby to emerge. He no longer droops or retreats to his crate in a general sickly appearing manner.
P-r-o-g-r-e-s-s

Yay!! Funny how their true personality slowly emerges, huh? Sounds like he is doing great!

Good for Mickey!

Went today and conferred with the Vet. Mickey will finish the antibiotics next week , heartguard on the 23rd and one on the 23rd of Aug then in Sept he'll get the shots.
Hopefully that will all go well and by the end of October , he'll be all set to go if someone comes along wanting a snuggle bug.

The round of antibiotics is complete. Now we wait....