Another Story of Confirmation

To all concerned Animal lovers: here is another testimony to the possible link of Frontline Plus and Heartgard products as a potential source of seizures in certain breeds of dogs. Thanks very much to Lisa Perna and her beautiful dog Maggie:

"Hi Russ!

Just wanted you to know how helpful and comforting it was to find your blog late one night, back in January, when researching why our dog, Maggie, was suddenly having seizures.

Like you, I began suspecting the Frontline Plus and Heartgard applications that we were giving her on the same day, every month.  To determine which one (or both?) was giving her a problem, I decided to give them two weeks apart.  Each application, of both meds, resulted in seizures a day or two after application - sometimes within hours.  I then decided not to give her any more monthly doses, and make an appointment with our vet to discuss our concerns. After stopping the meds, and while waiting for the vet appointment, Maggie went 40 days without a seizure.  Once at the appointment, our vet was not sympathetic to our concerns - in fact, she was pretty belligerent.  She said her Frontline rep, who supplied her office, had never told her of a problem. (ha! really?!)   And that she had never heard of a problem with Heartgard either, in all her years of being a vet. She warned us of discontinuing the Heartgard, the severity of heartworms in our area, Florida, and encouraged us to resume giving it to her.  She also recommended that if Maggie ever had a seizure again, to take her to an emergency clinic right away; that a blood test could be done that would help determine the causes of Maggie's seizures.

So, we gave her Heartgard that Wednesday night, and very early Saturday morning, she had a seizure.  We waited until the seizure was over, gathered her up, and brought her immediately to an emergency clinic for bloodwork.  I've attached a copy of Maggie's bloodwork from that morning.  After hearing our reasons for bringing Maggie in, and our concerns of Maggie possibly having seizures in reaction to Heartgard and Frontline, the vet handed us the blood results and told us Maggie's bloodwork looked normal.  Later that night, I went online to research Maggie's test results, and this is what I discovered.  The high RBC, HCT and HGB are indicative of dehydration.  I have since learned that seizures do cause dogs to become quickly dehydrated, and in our nervousness in getting her to the hospital, we hadn't taken the time to give her water.  But most alarming, was her very, very low WBC.  This indicates an overwhelming chemical or toxic poisoning.  And why the vet didn't see this, or comment on this, I don't know!

Monday morning, I went back to our regular vet - to fill her in on Maggie's weekend seizure and to show her the bloodwork.  And she was still not convinced - Amazingly, she said these results could be from 'unclean'' blood draws, or a machine that might not be calibrated correctly.  To say this has been frustrating, is an understatement!

I also wanted to let you know that Washington State College of Veternary Medicine, www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/index.aspx, is currently mailing out test kits to dog owners who would like to test their dogs for the MDR1 mutation gene.  Dogs that have this gene mutation are known to have adverse drug reactions to doses of ivermectin (in Heartgard), loperamide, and some anticancer drugs.  They send out a cheek swab test, you return it with payment of $70.00, and results are emailed in about a week.

Even though the site states, "While the dose of ivermectin used to prevent heartworm infection is SAFE in dogs with the mutation (6 micrograms per kilogram), higher doses, such as those used for treating mange (300-600 micrograms per kilogram) will cause neurological toxicity in dogs that are homozygous for the MDR1 mutation (mutant/mutant) and can cause toxicity in dogs that are heterozygous for the mutation (mutant/normal)." , we decided to have Maggie tested; looking for any possible clue for the seizures.  Some breeds are more apt to have this gene mutation, but we don't really know much about Maggie's background.  She was a stray that showed up on our doorstep and she looks like a lab, pitbull mix  - but you never know!  Results came back Normal/Normal - "These dogs do not carry the mutation, and will not pass on the mutation to their offspring."

All this to say, Russ, I also agree with your comment, "...thought should be given to researching the possible term limitations of prescribing and recommending these medications once a dog lives past a certain age."  For our Maggie - We adopted her when she was approximately two years old.  We gave her Frontline Plus and Heartgard on the same day every month for two years without any noticable adverse effects (to us).  It has been in just the past few months, that she seems to be having seizures after administering these meds.  We have decided to discontinue their use, and hope for the best.

We have also decided to try the 'EaseSure' from PetAlive that you mentioned using.  Maggie's been on it for about three months.  We stopped giving it to her at one point, wondering if it really was doing anything.  And after three missed doses, a day and a half, she had a seizure.  So she's back on it; it does seem to have its benefits.

We sure hope Maggie will follow Lola's example and continue on, seizure free, if we stop using Frontline Plus and Heartgard.  -Not very many answers, lots of heartache, but wanted to thank you, Russ, for the 'heads up' with the blog.  As we share our experiences, hopefully answers will be found.  

Hoping you and Lola are doing well!


Sincerely,

Lisa and Maggie" HPIM2148.JPG