We made it through heartworm treatment - everything they don't tell you

our rescue Rosie just got her 6 month clear after completing heartworm treatment and i want to share everything because there is so much nobody tells you upfront. we adopted her knowing she was heartworm positive. the rescue said it was "very treatable" which is true but also somewhat undersells the experience.

the process took about 4 months total. 30 days of doxycycline and strict rest before you can even start the injections. then the melarsomine injections (she got the 3-dose protocol, not the 2-dose). then another 8 weeks of strict rest while the dead worms reabsorb. strict rest means literally no running, no jumping, no exciting stuff. for a 2-year old hound mix who was living her best life, this was genuinely heartbreaking. she would look at me with those eyes like "why cant i go outside." i cried about it more than once.

the thing nobody mentioned enough: the financial part. we ended up spending about $1,200 total between pre-treatment meds, the injections, rechecks, and the 6 month follow-up bloodwork. not a disaster but not cheap either. also, leash walks only basically means you have to carry a high-energy dog away from every squirrel and interesting smell for two months straight.

if anyone is going through this or just found out their dog has it, feel free to ask me anything. its scary and the internet has a lot of conflicting information. the treatment really does work when you follow the protocol exactly.