Heartworm Treatment and Preventive Medication Hype Heartworms live in the heart and the large blood vessels which go to the lungs from the heart. When they are killed by medications, a danger of embolism results if the dead worms block the flow of blood to the lungs. This is a common cause of death during a heartworm treatment. According to Dr. Pitcairn's Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, 65% of all drug reactions reported and 48% of all reported deaths caused by drug reactions were from heartworm preventative medicine.
The fact that you are reading this information shows that you want what is best for your dog, we all do. You can form your own opinion based on what you have been told, previous experiences or the information published below but as for our dogs, they will never be given heartworm preventive medication ever again and here's why... In our thirty plus years of owning dogs, we usually had three or more at a time. Of these dogs, Scooter-Belle, Max, Pasha, Ricci, Samantha, Precious, Gimpy, Taffey, Jack, Matilda, Sunny, Sandy, Summer, Cece, SuSE, Rowdy, Kohle, Tank, Duke, and Diego, only Scooter-Belle and Max were ever on heartworm preventive and only Gimpy and SuSE ever tested positive for heartworms. Following treatment, neither dog was ever again placed on any heartworm preventative but instead had yearly heartworm checkups to ensure they were heartworm free until their death at the age of ten and twelve respectively. Presently we have Duke, Kohle, Tank and Diego. Our other dogs have died from old age or problems unrelated to heartworms. None of our dogs are on any type heartworm preventive. We live in a coastal region which is a dark solid blue state according to the heartworm map below. We are inundated year round with mosquitoes.
If anyone were prime candidates for heartworms it would be our dogs. Yearly testing shows all of our dogs to be heartworm negative. We believe it is because they are no longer inundated with mandatory annual immunizations (some states are beginning to take notice of the health issues and have since changed the laws governing required immunizations) and are not continuously given other prescription drugs unless necessary. Steroids, antibiotics and other overly prescribed drugs can and do tax a healthy system but many times their failing health can be turned around by eliminating unnecessary drugs and providing them with a combination of proper nutritition and minerals which they may be lacking. We do not advocate starting them on vitamins and minerals unless you know what it is they are lacking. Their system may already be out of balance and you do not want to contribute to their problem by administering what their system does not require. Prescription drugs are certainly needed at times but minimal use seems to be the key to good health. Let me be clear, I am not against heartworm treatment only the preventive. Why? Because the 'preventative' as it is known, is actually the treatment! Years ago, it was thought that if a dog tested positive for heartworms and was given the heartworm preventative many owners give their dogs monthly, it would kill the dog instantly. Not so. It depends on the infestation or caseload. If this same heartworm-positive dog is treated for heartworms using the standard method of today, IMMITICIDE (Melarsomine), no vet will guarantee your dog's survival. Melarsomine dihydrochloride (Immiticide), and has a low margin of safety. This standard heartworm treatment is very aggressive and has the same pesticide found in monthly 'preventative' pills but in a stronger dosage. IMMITICIDE (Melarsomine), was used with our dog SuSE. She was adopted off the streets, emaciated and close to death. The vet we took her to said if she was not treated within two weeks, she would be dead. We opted for this new, quick fix treatment rather than what had been used successfully with Gimpy years before. He told us nothing about what to expect other than she would initially receive two injections spaced days or even weeks apart. He never said the injections would be administered into her back (lumbar region) nor that it was intensely painful. Anyone considering this treatment for their dog should take the time to read what Merial (the makers of IMMITICIDE (Melarsomine) say about this drug. http://www.drugs.com/vet/immiticide.html It is well worth your time to be informed as to what will occur with your pet and the possible results. Information below is only a small part of what is stated. Warning: Immiticide® Should Be Administered By Deep Intramuscular Injection In The Lumbar (epaxial) Muscles (l3 - L5) Only.Safety: IMMITICIDE has a low margin of safety. A single dose of 7.5 mg/kg (3X the recommended dose) can result in pulmonary inflammation, edema, and death. Daily administration of 2X and 3X the recommended dose for 6 days caused no renal injury; however, daily administration of these doses for 14 days caused renal damage in healthy dogs. Adverse reactions, primarily at the injection sites, were seen at the recommended dose in clinical trials (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).Studies in Healthy (Heartworm Negative) Dogs: The safety of IMMITICIDE was studied in 24 healthy beagle dogs. Drug was administered at 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mg/kg for 6 consecutive days (0, 1, 2, and 3 times the recommended dosage). Clinical observations included tremors, lethargy, unsteadiness/ataxia, restlessness, panting, shallow and labored respiration, and/or rales. These signs were seen in all groups treated with IMMITICIDE with frequency and intensity increasing with increasing dosage. Death or euthanasia in a moribund state occurred in 3/6 dogs in the 7.5 mg/kg (3X) group. The signs exhibited by these dogs, in addition to the signs described above, included collapse, severe salivation, vomiting, respiratory distress, cyanosis, stupor, and death within 4 hours of the first dose in two dogs and within 20 hours of the second dose in one dog. Do you STILL want your pet to receive these injections? ~Mel SuSE was given two injections, 24 hours apart but the vet said a third injection three weeks later would be needed. With her first injection she screamed in excruciating pain.Standing outside the open door of his examining room, I was taken aback by the vet yelling at SuSE to remain still as he plunged the needle into her back. I knew this was not a vet I would ever use again. If this was his way of treating my dog while I was standing within sight of him, what transpired while I was not there on her following injections? I wondered if he would have been so complacent had he had a needle thrust into his back? It was a terrible ordeal to witness and absolutely no dog of ours will ever again receive this treatment. Do you really think subjecting your beloved pet to excruciating pain along with toxic chemicals is the only solution? Back to Gimpy. When she was diagnosed with heartworms, Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet so phone calls to many vets were made to come up with a viable solution. The heartworm drug used at that time was called Caparsolate (Abbott Laboratories), which we refused. Caparsolate, consisted of a solution containing arsenic and thiacetarsamide sodium and was given intravenously through a catheter. This drug was so toxic it could cause severe tissue damage if any of the liquid touched surrounding tissue and had a low margin of safety (vague way of saying it is not very safe). All animals had to be hospitalized for several days after treatment. My current vet told me in May (2009), that Merial bought out the company which produced thiacetarsamide (Caparsolate). So now they, (Merial), are the only ones offering a heartworm treatment and it is this extremely painful lumbar injection treatment they promote. Gimpy was treated by our former vet who after 56 years in practice, retired from full time practice in 2007. His practice is now open only on Saturday's and he still practices at age 91! He treated Gimpy's heartworms with a series of injections (like the usual injections in the skin, not deep tissue injections) but this method of treatment was unlike any I had ever heard of before. He had learned this procedure was being done in England with a very high success rate so he began doing the same procedure. Once a week for six weeks, I brought Gimpy in for an injection and took her home afterward. Every other week, blood work was done and she was checked for microfilaria until she was completely free of the parasite. Unlike today's treatment, it did not require a vet stay or confinement of any kind. If I found that the holistic route did not work, I would use this method next. In years past, Taffey, another of our dogs, tested positive for heartworms. I wanted a second opinion as I had never taken my dogs to this particular vet. So, before I began treatment, I drove her back to my former vet and asked if he would check her for heartworms. He did and what a surprise, she was heartworm NEGATIVE. I asked if he could check again and he told me "Come see for yourself." My previous vet uses the latest and most accurate test available called the SNAP test. He continues to have former clients bring in their dogs from their current vets who said their dogs were heartworm positive and who urged them to begin treatment immediately. Though my former vet does treat some of these dogs with his particular treatment, we were told that many times these "heartworm positive" dogs are actually "heartworm negative" and they make certain the client is shown the results. With some vets, they will say your dog is heartworm positive when in fact they are not. This is because heartworm treatment generates much income for a vet practice. SuSE's treatment cost me more than $400.00 (2003) and the vet said he was giving me a "discount" since she was a stray. Animal drugs are now a BILLION dollar industry so do not be mislead, do your research. Please do not send me emails stating that no vet or technician would intentionally push a procedure that was not needed, I have spoken with too many professionals who have told me of this shady practice. If your vet is not among them, I am happy for you and perhaps you won't mind sharing their name with your other friends who own pets. All of the dogs we have had in the past of various breeds and differing health problems as they aged, never received insectide poison on a regular basis as a "preventive". If you think you are not giving something harmful to your dog, helping to weaken their immune system, read carefully the ingredients of whatever drug has been prescribed by your vet and learn of the side effects. ~Mel
The symptoms of a heartworm infestation are often difficult to recognize or may be overlooked or discounted as merely flu or cough-like symptoms.
For years consumers have been mislead on the subject of heartworm treatments. Here are the facts: Most veterinarians will have you believe that giving a daily or monthly pill to prevent heartworm is safer than the treatment to cure it. Once again, the veterinarians may not have the right answer here. Let's look at the bottom line:
Heartworm prevention treatments are a chemical insecticide, no matter what brand or what type. The chemicals alone are enough to potentially cause disease, here is why:
Side Effects: The chemicals used in most of these heartworm preventives can cause serious side effects like vomiting, diarrhea, weakness and convulsions even in the healthiest animals. It is not uncommon for pet owners to rush into vet offices confused about what is wrong with their pet. Here is the irony, when the vets see these symptoms, they usually want to start your pet on a heartworm "preventive" medication thinking the symptoms may be heartworm, and they want to take precautions. Remember Proheart 6? (Heartworm drug pulled from the US market in Sept. 2004 after dog deaths mounted). Thankfully, a portion of the veterinary industry has acknowledged these dangers. Known as "alternative vets" they are open to re-examining treatments for the safest and most effective "alternative." Some actually recommend not giving your pet the chemical heartworm preventives. And many of those alternative veterinarians believe that long term use of heartworm prevention is a link in the chain of diseases such as skin allergies, arthritis, liver and kidney diseases and many types of cancers. Coming to Our Senses in Prevention - Will Falconer, D.V.M. Certified Veterinary Homeopath Looking at the “real world” of nature as an example, we see that parasites live only slightly at the expense of their hosts, those animals they live in or on. It is only the weakest, or least fit, animals in a population who die of parasitic disease. And, if you think about it, doesn’t this make sense? If parasites killed all their hosts, where would they live? So, the norm of parasite existence in nature is not to kill the host animal. Why, then, are we seeing dogs dying of heartworm disease? And why are cats now even being diagnosed with this canine parasite, and probably dying of it? I examine these questions in detail, and present a preventive program based on sound, natural principals, a program that works with your animal’s innate intelligence to successfully keep your dog (or cat) free of this parasite. For a bit more than the cost of a month’s worth of preventive drugs, you can arm yourself with effective, natural heartworm prevention, and make your animal healthier while you prevent this parasite from invading your pet. Did You Know? The administration of common monthly heartworm preventives has been associated with autoimmune disease and even death in some purebred dogs? If your pet is on a heartworm preventive, the mosquito's will still bite them. True prevention would mean you have to get to the source of the problem, the biting mosquito.
We continue to remind you, don't get caught up in the chemical heartworm preventative hype! |
