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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Flea/Tick/Heartworm preventative for Gracie?
| Hello- I would like some opinions on what I should do about giving Gracie her preventative treatments. I read some historical posts on this and I think I should definitely stay away from the flea and tick treatment... we live in a high rise condo in downtown Chicago, so she is not exposed to fleas/ticks very often. She might travel out to the suburbs every once in a while, but is never near any woods or fields, and I am pretty sure I won't be taking her to the dog park anytime soon, if ever again. I am worried about what to do about the heart worm tho. I have read to maybe give it every other month??? I don't want anything to trigger her IMHA but i don't want her to get heartworm either. What should I do? Also- she was on revolution, which is all 3. Any suggestions for which heartworm I should go with? |
| Morgan Chicago |
| Morgan - hi, I was glad to read in your previous post that Gracie is doing better. I've been thinking of you and just haven't been on the board much - my IMHA dog has now added seizures to his list and has had a rough week. What did you think of the specialist in Buffalo Grove? I hope it was a better experience than your first consult - sometimes it does take time to get the right fit of experience and style. With respect to heartworm, I can only tell you what we have done. When Murray was diagnosed with IMHA, I spoke to several doctors in Chicago - both traditional and holistic practioners- and the universal view was that we needed to do some type of heartworm protection. I would think that would be especially true now coming off the extremely hot and wet July we've had. One of the holistic vets reached out to Jean Dodds and her recommendation was to give Interceptor (not a combo product) every 45 days during the mosquito "season"; in Chicago, that has typically been first dose in early June, last dose early December. If I were you, I would get in touch with Dr. Dodds at Hemopet and ask her opinion. I think you may be in a tricky position b/c Gracie is not in remission yet so I would get an EXPERT'S opinion on when she should begin heartworm medication this year. A regular vet who doesn't completely understand the ins and outs of IMHA may not know if there are implications to giving this to Gracie at this time. I think several of us have already mentioned Dr. Dodds to you and I think this one may be worth your time to ask her. Her consultation fee is $45 which is beyond reasonable (in my opinion) and if you send her Gracie's records, she will review them and give you her perspective of what is going on from a bigger picture. She will also typically get back to you very quickly. Good luck - please continue to post about how Gracie is doing. Best Regards, Bonnie |
| Bonnie Chicago |
| I 2nd everything Bonnie has said (Bonnie I sorry to hear Murray has taken a turn for the worse) I went thru the same thing with Wylie when she was diagnosed, she was not as bad as Gracie and my vet said no to the heartworm meds for 2 months. Was that a right or wrong desicion at the time, I don't know. It was so nerve wracking, its like playing russian roulette with the heartworm. I would contact Dr Dodds, and think she can answer your queston best as Bonnie suggested. Laurie |
| Laurie CA |
| Dr. Dodds recommended Heartgard (not the PLUS) for Chloe. She does not get any tick/flea prevention per Dr.Dodds. I hope Gracie keeps improving. Cheri and Chloe |
| Cheri Maryland |
| Hi, Morgan! We live in hot, muggy FL and we did kept using Heartgard Plus and Frontline Plus. The consequences of heartworm could also be deadly for our Tori. We knew that her IMHA was a secondary condition due to Zinc toxicity from swallowing a jewery part called an O ring. So the vet told us to continue , but give Hartqard 45 days and Frontline every 6 weeks winter and we increased it to 4 weeks for Spring and summer. Praying for your Gracie! Blessings, Cindi & Tori (IMHA, but now in remission) |
| Cindi PBC |
| Thank you everyone. Dr Dodds told me to use the regular heartguard as well every 45 days, but not until gracies numbers were up. Thanks again for responding with your advice. |
| Morgan Chicago |
| We used Interceptor at 45 day intervals as per J Dodds. There is NO wiggle room with this, it must be exactly on time for each dose. p |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed between 03/08/2011 and 08/08/2011
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