Since some people here have more experience with this than I do, I'd like to get your input/advice. Samantha and Fritz were diagnosed in late December '06 with heartworm. I rescued them from a gross high-kill shelter in Tennesee, where they must have been bitten by a carrying mosquito.
According to X-rays, there were both in Stage 1 with Samantha being a little worse than Fritz. In January of '07, they had the 3 Immiticide (spelling?) injections.
When I took them back to the vet in February, microfalaria (baby heartworms) were still showing up in their blood. They were then each given a orally-administered liquid, which was basically an overdose of HeartGuard to kill off the baby heartworms.
On Tuesday, I took them back for a check-up, and baby heartworms still showed up in their blood, although the number was significantly reduced. Fritz only had 1 on his blood smear and Samantha had 4. So the liquid overdose of Heartguard was again administered to them.
Based on your experience and knowledge, is it normal for the baby heartworms to still be in the bloodstream even after the 3 Immiticide treatments are given. The Immiticide is supposed to kill the adult heartworms which produce the baby heartworms. My concern is that the adult heartworms are still there, although I was told by my vet that it is normal for the baby heartworms to still be around after the adult ones are dead.
My expectation was that all heartworms, baby and adult, would be gone from their bodies after all these treatments. Basically, I'm asking you if my vet is a quack or not.
According to X-rays, there were both in Stage 1 with Samantha being a little worse than Fritz. In January of '07, they had the 3 Immiticide (spelling?) injections.
When I took them back to the vet in February, microfalaria (baby heartworms) were still showing up in their blood. They were then each given a orally-administered liquid, which was basically an overdose of HeartGuard to kill off the baby heartworms.
On Tuesday, I took them back for a check-up, and baby heartworms still showed up in their blood, although the number was significantly reduced. Fritz only had 1 on his blood smear and Samantha had 4. So the liquid overdose of Heartguard was again administered to them.
Based on your experience and knowledge, is it normal for the baby heartworms to still be in the bloodstream even after the 3 Immiticide treatments are given. The Immiticide is supposed to kill the adult heartworms which produce the baby heartworms. My concern is that the adult heartworms are still there, although I was told by my vet that it is normal for the baby heartworms to still be around after the adult ones are dead.
My expectation was that all heartworms, baby and adult, would be gone from their bodies after all these treatments. Basically, I'm asking you if my vet is a quack or not.
