Posted awhile back that my GSD had heartworms. Well, we go for our first injection tomorrow. We did 2 mo of preventative(Advantage Multi) first. I did see an increase in his energy levels after the first month. I am nervous to say the least but have been encouraged after all the PM from many of you.I thought I would post each day to share what I see and how he reacts to the treatment for educational purposes.

I know I have everything crossed for you.

You know that these days, early treatment is VERY successful.

Thank you for posting. I will be very interested, and so will others, I think.

Good idea about posting your observations.

Good luck. I bet all will go fine.

I will be interested in reading your posts. Thanks.

I've had two dogs treated for heart worm. The first was in the late 70s. Aside from keeping a 130 lb, outside dog quiet for six weeks everything went well.
That was the first time I had even heard of heart worm outside of the Southern USA. Treatment was pretty scary at the time but, as I commented, it went well.
Second time was 4 yrs ago and we still aren't sure how the dog got it other then I "think" I may have skipped the meds during Jan or Feb. That is still a question in my mind.
That treatment went equally well.
If the dog has no early reaction to the treatment it should be just a mater of keeping the dog calm through the six week period and following the vets advice.

Tell us what you see, we'll all be watching. And good luck!

Update. We arrived at the vet at 8 am and Dexter recieved the injection at 8:30. The vet also gave 50 mg of Dermaxx at the same time. The vet kept him until 4 pm in case any reaction took place that he would need immediate attention for. I asked if they would give me feedback on how he progressed through the day. Dexter remained perky for the first couple of hours and finally strted showing subtle signs of discomfort. Nothing serious, just kept shifting around as if he was uncomfortable. No adverse reactions occurred to the shot during his stay.

I picked him up at 4pm and he was very glad to see me!!!! He was moving slower and I could tell he was hurting but looked remarkably well.One thing I noted is he is drinking a lot more. I let him drink freely and will just prepare to walk him more reguraly. Dexter started showing increased signs of pain around 8pm and could not lie still in his crate so I administered another smaller dose of Dermaxx. Another thing noted that he normally does not do is growling at my beagle who has always crated right beside him since he was 8 weeks old. I placed a towel inbetween them and he quieted down.
It is now 9:20, walked him again. Noticed a large knot forming where the injection was placed.He is "hunched " up in his back as he walks now but seemed to loosen as we looked for bathroom spots. I have a large crate for him but will be getting a larger one to see if that will keep him stretched out and more comfortable.
I will continue this post in the morning.

6AM: WOW!!! I wish my human patients recovered as quickly. The knot is gone, he wants to "bust" out the door to go potty. I have a feeling I am in trouble with keeping him calm on walks now! We heeled out the door to keep him under control. I noticed he moved much better but still was hesitant to hike a leg,and squatting for his other business, he definitely did not like that position. Still very thirsty and drained the 3 quart water bowl. His appetite has remained good.
During the night he settled down in his crate around 2AM this morning He had been turning in his crate every 20 - 30 minutes up until then even with the second dose of Dermaxx.
I will post again later with more as the day goes along.

12 noon: He is in the larger crate(Great Dane size) now stretched out snoozing.(snoring actually) He has continued to drink a lot of water. The knot is down in his back where the injection was placed but he has continued to hunch his back and it feels like he has muscle spasms there. He definitely does not like me touching this area.
When we took out potty brake he was less hesitant to hike a leg now so some improvement there. I noticed his urine was darker so I am keeping a watch on kidney function and will push fluids.

I've been reading up in the manuals about reaction to the treatment, and I see that pain, tenderness, swelling are all to be expected.

Besides the pain at the injection site, however, the other side effects of heartworm treatment are from the worms dying. You probably know all this, so it's just a comment in general for other readers.

Dogs who feel unwell after the treatment are reacting to the worms dying and floating around. It's a very slow process for the white cells to finally "eat" and destroy those bodies, very unlike worms in the GI system that come out the back end.

Treatment has a very high success rate, but it's definitely not a painless or anxiety-free process.

This thread is a good service, Lorelei.