Replied By Lin (Okc, Ok) on 08/14/2013

Replied By Jean (Kentucky, US) on 04/22/2014

I agree with all hear who have posted about going the alternative route. I am using HWF for my dog who is a cocker spaniel mix.

She was diagnosed with heartworms when I took her in to find out why she was coughing. She was also somewhat reluctant to eat. I did not have her on a preventative*. Then the vet urged me to go the usual route, three shots a month apart, strict rest, carry her out to urinate/defecate, etc. I told her I would rather go the alternative route as I generally prefer holistic treatment. We compromised on a steroid shot for relief from her coughing and a round of antibiotic, plus the holistic treatment with a six month check for heartworms.

I learned from research that there is a bacteria host with the heartworms. So, working with our vet, I have given my dog a round of 30 days on Doxycycline. The antibiotic (which is a tetracycline) basically destroys the eggs and larvae. The adult worms are sterilized from the treatment. So now I am left with a dog with adult worms in her.

The HWF is a mixture of black seed, hawthorne, sorrel, licorice, garlic, hops, apricot pits, grapefruit seed extract, and flavoring. Its a liquid that I drop onto bread. She eats it without problem. (She loves bread! ) It is made by Ambertech. It was developed as an alternative to the harsh vet treatment. It does not contain the wormwood or black walnut because some dog breeds are sensitive/allergic to those ingredients.

Like all of you posting here, I am hoping she is being successfully treated and the heartworms are dying off. The danger is stroke or heart attack when the worms die off. Remember, the worms are in the arteries/veins, not the intestines. So, the decomposing worms are eliminated through the kidneys. So, do not let your dog go for long walks or chasing after critters. Keep him/her somewhat quiet.

Herbs and supplements helping the kidneys, heart and respiratory system are all good here. You just need to use common sense and consistent thoughtful treatment.

This is what I am doing. So far, so good. We are about a month into it and she seems better. I'll be happy to post more as we go along if anyone is interested in her progress.

*As it turns out, there is really no preventative because if they are bitten by an infected mosquito, they are bitten, the mosquito does not discriminate between a dog on preventative or not. I believe garlic and/or brewers yeast would be a better choice for prevention. A mosquito does not like the smell that a person or any other animal puts off when they have ingested either one of those. No guarantees for anyone here, but I know from personal experience that brewers yeast kept me from being bitten by black flies on a canoe trip I took many years ago. My fellow canoeist was being eaten alive, I was never touched. She was furious that they were attacking her. I had been on a health kick with the brewers yeast. After some research, I found it was a natural deterrent.

Replied By Jean (Ky, US) on 05/20/2014

I am following this regime while on the 10 day cycle. She gets 1/2 capsule of the VRM2,1/2 capsule of hawthorne berry and 1/2 capsule of yucca. Then she also gets one to two capsules of serrapeptase. The yucca has been mentioned as a holistic steroid for canines. The serrapeptase helps clean up the blood, slightly thinning it and helps clear out any dying, dead worms. I believe the serrapeptase helps greatly with reducing her coughing. She is also on a kidney support tincture. She is about 25 pounds.

I do believe this is a gradual process. It sure beats what the vet advocates. I intend on doing at least one more round of the VRM2 after four more days. The scariest part of this is you can never be certain that it is working. I am using her responses to gauge what is going on. She does seem to have her usual energy, alertness, and interest in normal activities. I believe keeping observant and watching out for coughing is the best way to know how she is doing. I increase the serrapeptase if I think she is coughing too much. I will take her in to be tested in another month or two. The vet agreed to test her at four months after treatment.

I will post again after the test. Thanks again, everyone who has posted. It sure helps to read what everyone says.

Replied By Jholl (Louisville, Ky) on 06/29/2014

This past week she went to a holistic vet in our area. She is now on Cellfood, two homeopathic medicines, wobenzyme-n, and a few other things. I think these new supplements are helping her enormously. She seems so much better. Her coughing is now about gone and her energy is getting better as well. We go back to our holistic vet in another 3 weeks. I feel she is going to finally recover from this. I'll post again if there is more to learn here. Thanks for all the support and good info earthclinic posters!

Replied By Jholl (Louisville, Ky) on 04/17/2015

Apparently, she has had a bad case of heartworm. She is currently taking daily: hawthorn to keep her heart strong, chloroxygen to help increase oxygen levels, about 100 mg. of vitamin C and kidney rejuvenator to help her urinary system. She also takes dessicated liver capsule once a week. Then twice a month she gets a half dose of Ivermectin, about 5 mg of prednisone and doxycycline for about two days before through two days after the Ivermectin day. I know this is not the pure holistic way of dealing with this. But, since we have been using the somewhat lowered dose of Ivermectin with the prednisone, we have been able to keep on top of the heartworm load and not have to restrict her quite as much. This will likely be a slower road to rid her of this. But the strictly holistic road just was not working. She is much better and is coughing much less. I have had many discussions with my vets (both the holistic vet and the conventional vet) over this and we are all in a better place with this protocol.

Replied By Anne (Phila, Pa) on 07/09/2017

My boy Baxter just got diagnosed on a snap test. We're waiting for more results back from the lab by tomorrow. We just switched to a homeopathic/holistic vet. Last year, we used a conventional vet. We got a positive result on his snap test then, but when his blood was sent to the lab, it was negative. I'm very nervous & seeking out non-invasive natural remedies.

I truly hope all is well with you & your furbaby. Would love to hear some updates.

Sincerely, Anne