Heartworm question...

[Dreeza]

Ok, so this spring when Oakley was due for his heartworm test, something happened, and well, he didnt get it...and things were so hectic at this point that well...we were just very, very bad owners and ended up forgetting about it (i know, we suck, ok...)

Anyways, so he was due for a bordatella shot, and got taken to the vet by my bro last week...so naturally my bro requested the heartworm test.

The vet REFUSED to do it, and also would not give us more heartguard (we just used up our last one this month)....

My bro said he called another vet, and they said they couldnt do the test either...

WHY?? And why the heck wont they give us more heartguard??

 

[PWCorgi]

I think you have to wait 7 months since the time you missed the medication to see if he has it or not.
I've heard that giving heartworm meds when he already has heartworm can cause more damage?

Someone else will have to verify these...

 

[noludoru]

I don't know about the test, but if he has heartworms and he goes on a heartworm medication it will kill the heartworms and they'll be stuck inside of him. NOT good.

 

[bubbatd]

I don't know why they wouldn't do a test , but yes , if you give heartworm medication and they already have heartworms , it could kill the dog . EliN's Yogi's blood test was negative when she adopted him ....so he was put on preventitive . His next blood test showed positive ! Seems that with the first they were only in egg stage and didn't show up . The very expensive treatment was successful . That is why a yearly check is so important . Especially if you don't give the preventative during cold winter months .

 

[elegy]

so what are you supposed to do??

has he actually missed any of the medication? or just the test. where i work we don't even test yearly as long as the dog is on the medication year-round. and if somebody misses a couple of months, we put the dog back on the medication and then require them to test in six months. it takes that long from the point of infection to show up on a snap test. we don't see many hw+ dogs in PA but we do see them occasionally.

 

[Boxerowner]

Listen keep calling vets to get the test it may take 6 months to have actual heartworms but you don't want to let it get to that point HeartGuard will kill any larva (I forget what they are called sorry) and wont turn into and infestation. Holistic ppl actually don't give heartworm preventative but every 3-4 months. Please get your dog some HeartGuard and soon.

 

[ACooper]

Since you are in Michigan and it's winter right now, I wouldn't freak out if you don't get another script for heartgard right now. I know LOTS of people who live in seasonal climates like ours that don't even bother with it in the winter. (not a whole lot of mosquitos around right now)

I would however ask the Vet when the soonest you could get a test done and get back on track

 

[Boxerowner]

This was in the spring time! I don't give heartworm meds in the winter but since it was in the spring time chance can be very high of being infected I would put on the meds for the winter that way it will take care of it just in case.

 

[corgipower]

My vet either does preventative year round and testing every two years, or take them off the meds for winter and test every year. I do the latter.

It seems a bit odd that they wouldn't test the dog, I would call and ask for an explanation. As for treatment, I have heard of many vets using heartgard to treat heartworm, so that whole issue confuses me as well.

 

[Dreeza]

as far as i know, oakley has been taking heartguard every month, and will miss his first dose next month b/c the vet WILL NOT give us more.

ACoop...yeah, im not freaking out too much for that very reason...i just htought it was really weird that they wouldnt give a test. I mean, I know the chances of him having it are pretty much 0, but i mean, I thought it was just a blood test...i cant see why the heck it would matter. The vet said we could come in the first day of March, IIRC

 

[bubbatd]

Maybe your vet thinks since he's been on preventative and it's cold there it's not needed . I'd get in as soon as you can in the spring though .

 

[jess2416]

or maybe he thought that some doses of heartguard had been missed ??

IMO the whole thing seemed a little off ??

 

[lakotasong]

The amount of misinformation re: heartworm preventative/treatment in this thread just baffles me.

But anyway, to the OP - since you have not missed a dose, there is no reason why A) your veterinarian should not prescribe you more of the preventative and B) should not allow you to have a blood test done. It sounds to me as if your veterinarian or his/her staff do not understand the situation clearly (which can happen, especially in a busy practice with many staff members). I'd call, stop by, or write a detailed letter in an attempt to clarify.

And everyone should check out the American Heartworm Society.

 

[bubbatd]

I do agree that there has to be some miscommunication somewhere .

 

[doberkim]

DId you ask for just a heartworm test or did you want a full exam? When was the last time he had a physical exam?

No new clinic should allow you to come in and just do a heartworm test and get preventative. Heartworm preventative is a prescription item and to be dispensed, you legally need a relationship with that vet and he needs to have examined that animal.

At your current clinic, is Oakley overdue for a full exam as well? They may have meant that he cannot have just the heartworm test to get the medication, if he is overdue for his yearly physical.

 

[bubbatd]

This could be true . Mine were always on a once a year physical when everythig was done up to date .

 

[showpug]

I second what Doberkim said. -

If you missed the heartworm test, they can't dispense more medication. They have no way of knowing if you are telling the truth when you say he's never missed a dose. If he did miss a dose and happened to pick up heartworm then giving him heartguard could cause some serious problems.

What I don't understand is why they won't test him, wait 30 minutes for the result and then dispense more medication? Did you decline a physical exam? Generally, you have to have a physical exam to get the heartworm test and prescription. They go hand in hand.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Anywhere here is more than happy to give you HW meds.. if you get your dog tested first. I'm currently using 3 clinics for stuff. One for late night things, one for regular stuff, and one just for hw testing. They had no issue testing Cider and not examining her..

Only 1 out of the 6 I called in the spring wanted a physical done too.

 

[GlassOnion]

Well the microfilaria (baby heartworms) take 6 months to grow into full blown heart worms so as long as he wasn't off it for 6 months, he should be fine.

Unless the dog has a massive amount of heart worms, treating a dog with adult heart worms won't harm the dog. The problem is when you have a dog who's had heart worms for quite some time and then treat them. The heart worms die off and the corpses clog up the blood valves and give the dog a heart attack. But if there are only a few of the heart worms, it's not a problem. The bodies just get pumped out of the heart, filtered out, and disposed of.


Why didn't ya'll get the test done? I don't understand that part.

Takes like 10 minutes to run the test (sans blood collection time).

 

[Psyfalcon]

So if you have a massively infested dog, how is it treated? I know that its dangerous, but wouldn't the same thing happen? Or is it a matter of having the dog hospitalized as it happens?