best time of the year to take a ACTH level

Now is a good time, the beginning of autumn is the best apparently but relly you can have bloods taken anytime, make sure your horse isnt stressed at all as this can affect the result
 
There is usually a seasonal rise in ACTH levels in late Autumn, but vets and labs are aware of this, and will take it into consideration when looking at lab results
 
Auslander said:
There is usually a seasonal rise in ACTH levels in late Autumn, but vets and labs are aware of this, and will take it into consideration when looking at lab results
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Yes, agree. I have a Cushings mare, and she has 6 monthly ACTH assays, in Spring and Autumn. She is currently on 0.5 prascend tablet/daily. The vets will advise you your best course of action, don't delay an ACTH test if you are concerned about your horse.
 
we've done one test in the summer but I want to retest (have been feeding caste berries) also on initial test it was a student who tried to get the blood and it took a few goes. Vet did it in the end but I was wondering if that caused a raise as well.
 
the only treatment is prascend, chaste berry hasn't been proved to make any difference to the levels...there are lots of threads on here about cushings and acth levels with loads of info. may be worth a look as it sounds like you are new to this. unfortunately I have been dealing with this since 2011 and my mare is on 4 prascend daily, which is costing a blooming fortune!!!!!!
 
Be aware that the ACTH levels will vary through he day. I have a PPID pony, probably the most PPID pony with all the symptoms that you could want to make a diagnosis of PPID - however his ACTH is sitting at around 25 when we tested Sept.

It's not an altogether reliable tewst and should be considered as part of the overall diagnosis, rather than as a definitive dignostic tool.

If it comes out way high then yes, it's likely to be PPID, but low doesn't mean it is not and if the overall pattern suggests PPID then a trial should be considered.
 
mightymammoth said:
ok thanks for the info, very helpful.
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yeah, I think so
 
Personally I wouldn't waste money on the ACTH test as it is so unreliable. I have 2 horses who have Cushings - diagnosed with the thyroid response hormone test - and they had about 8 negative ACTH test and as many bouts of laminitis before being correctly diagnosed.
 
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