Weddingbee boards

I adopted a poodle in January, and he was heartworm positive.  He had a pretty bad case, so the vet recommended three shots of Immiticide, which is basically arsenic that kills the worms.  He had his first shot on 3/22, and he was supposed to have the 2nd and 3rd shots last Monday and Tuesday.  I brought him in, but he was having stomach issues and a slight fever, so we decided to wait a week to make sure that he was feeling up to it.  Well I dropped him off at the vet this morning and got a call that he had a really bad reaction to the second shot.  The vet said that almost immediately after it was administered Melvin went into anaphylactic shock (a really bad allergic reaction), and they had to put a tube down his throat to give him oxygen, and he's on IV meds.  They called me a few hours ago to let me know that he's now breathing on his own and walking around, which is great!

Bad news... the vet said that we can't give him the third shot of Immiticide to get rid of the heartworms because of the reaction.  He'll have to be tested again in a month or so to see what the heartworm situation is like and how much organ damage there is.  He's going to stay on monthly heartworm preventative to prevent any new heartworms, but it could take two years for any remaining heartworms to die off.  If there are too many left after the treatment, they could continue to do internal damage, and they may kill him. :(  I'm just hoping that the two shots will get rid of enough heartworms that he can live with them until they die.  This makes me so upset.  He's like a child to me, and I know he has to die someday, but he's only 1, so I didn't think I'd have to worry about it for more than a decade. I know that things happen, but now he might die in a few years. :(

And another less important thing... the vet wouldn't neuter Melvin until his heartworms were gone because there can be complications with the anesthesia from the heartworms, so now he might not be able to be neutered for years.  I know it's not the end of the world that he can't be neutered, but I wanted to be able to bring him to doggie daycare one day during the week for him to socialize more, but he can't go unless he's neutered.

Sorry for the vent.  I'm just so worried about the poor guy.  The vet is going to call me tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully I can bring him home then.

Thanks for the well wishes!  I'm really hoping that everything works out better.  Melvin has already gone through so much (had a stroke, was paralyzed, was found outside), so I just want him to get better and live a normal life. 

@noritake22--I know heartworms are really bad.  If he tests for a lot of heartworms even after the two shots, then I'm going to weigh my options.  I definitely do not want him to suffer, so if I have to put him to sleep, I will, but only as a last resort.  I'll try every other treatment option before that. Hopefully it won't be an issue!

Poor little guy!  Hopefully the first two shots did the trick.  Also, I've heard that the heartworm preventative is actually used to treat low-grade heartworm infestations, (although I'm not a vet), so between the shots he did get and the continued heartworm pills, maybe he'll be okay.

UPDATE! So I brought Melvin home today.  When I picked him up, the vet said that he thinks that 2 rounds of heartworm treatment plus monthly preventatives should be enough, but he'll have to be tested in 6 months to see how many heartworms he has left.  He had a pretty bad case, so it's just a waiting game until we know how many are left after the treatment.  If there aren't that many, then they'll just die off without doing much damage, but if he still has a lot left, then we'll have to look into our options.  I'm definitely considering taking him for a second opinion once he's over this treatment, especially if he still has a lot of heartworms.  But he's doing fine for now, and the vet was optimistic about his prognosis, which is great news!  Thanks again for all the well wishes!