Tag: Heartworm recovery

The Hiro’s Journey, Part 5–Freedom!

Last month, Hiro’s Heartworm Journey came to a close–he had to go in for a final blood test for “adult” worms that may have been missed in the prior test he had for microfilaria (“baby” worms). Both tests were negative, so he is now Heartworm-Free!

His physical fitness recovery is continuing, and the vet advised that it may take another several months for him to get back to his former fitness level. The systemic inflammation from both the worms and the treatment, combined with 5 months of being sedentary, as well as my less-than-routine walking schedule with him has taken away his stamina.

When he was first diagnosed a year ago, he would pull me through 5 mile runs, several times a week, with no problem. At this point, he can only join me for the warm-up, about 2 miles of walking, before he is visibly fatigued. I just take him home and continue the run by myself. He does NOT like being left behind!

I was surprised to discover that my average time per mile does not improve much when I run without him, because running with him means tripping over him a bunch of times and several drink and potty breaks. Yet, it turns out that he manages to improve my pace, even after I trip over him multiple times, pick up poop,and give most of my bottle of water to him. Also, when he comes with me, I get to look down at happy face reflecting the “joy” of exercise at me–I will take motivation wherever I can find it!

It turns out that I don’t like leaving him behind, either.

Let’s go!!–I promise I’ll be a good boy
!!

The Hiro’s Journey, Part 4: Hiro’s Home Stretch!

Hiro has now had all 3 immiticide injections and is recovering at home. We still have to restrict his exercise for another 60 days or so, but the most difficult part is over now.

Sadly, he is no longer so keen to go to the vet. When he went in for the first shot, he was curious:

But on the next visit when masked Vet Techs came to get him from the car……

He tried to climb into my lap. I had to get out of the car to get him to come out 🙁 Then, he managed to pee on one of the vet techs that held him for that third shot–he was that scared 🙁

When he came home from the Immiticide treatments, he was a SAD PANDA:

Call Sarah McLachlan!!! I’m THAT sad!
This ice pack is not quite the worst thing that happened to me today!

Some observations I made during this process:

  1. The first Immiticide shot appeared to affect Hiro more than shots 2 and 3. He came home from that first shot very lethargic, stayed that way for about 2 days and also wasn’t interested in eating during those first days. Even though shots 2 and 3 occurred on consecutive days, he didn’t seem to feel as ill after those. I was able to stop his pain meds the evening after shot 3 (a day earlier than after shot 1) and he never lost his appetite.
  2. The injection site is likely to be hot and swollen. I found that laying an ice pack across the area for about 15 minutes (or however long he would tolerate it) really helped bring down the swelling. I did this once a day for the first two days. The vet advised that after that, daily warm compresses could provide additional relief if needed.
  3. His appetite has been…well…out of control, thanks to the prednisone he’s been taking for the last couple months. He’s always STARVING. When we had to start restricting his activity 3 months ago, I cut his feed ration by 20%. Yet, he has still gained enough weight that he can no longer lick his butt and the vet has advised me to put him on a diet….definitely not STARVING as he would have all of us believe. Although I already had put him on a diet, Hiro is resourceful and he can spot a sucker…..he’s been scamming bacon and other tasty treats from my husband all this time! I have had to shut that down, because while my husband is the “fun parent”, I am the “fun police.”
  4. “P” is for Prednisone….and a lot of pee. We had to take a lot of extra potty breaks, at all hours of the day and night. The prednisone made Hiro extra thirsty, which resulted in frequent, urgent urination, particularly after shot 1. He had a couple of accidents in the house, and he looked really confused as it was happening….it was THAT urgent. This side effect was definitely more prevalent a month ago–he does not seem to be experiencing this as intensely after shots 2 and 3, thankfully.

Next, he’ll have to go back in for a microfilaria test in a month. (This blood test detects the presence of baby worms). In 6 months, we’ll test for adult worms again to make sure that this treatment worked–hopefully we will not have to repeat it.

I’m relieved that the most difficult part of this is over now, and I am really looking forward to being able to take him for walks. He is looking forward to going to daycare, playing with other dogs, and being able to lick his butt again after he loses a few pounds. In the meantime, we’ll just keep giving him lots of snuggles and keep reminding him, “No Running in the House….or Anywhere Else!”