Cushings - a suggestion

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Tammytoo

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In October I had my Cushings pony bloodtested to check that her medication levels were correct going into winter. As Cushings is hormone related, winter is the danger time as hormone levels drop. The test gave her levels as 45 and vet advised that as this was pretty borderline I keep an eye on her. So I spent the next couple of weeks checking her every move, was she footy, did she seem depressed, had she gone off her food, did she drink more last night that she did the night before etc. etc.

It set me thinking about how the stud farms who want to bring mares into season early for covering, use lights for this purpose. I wondered if this would help my mare so I bought a daylight bulb for her stable and left it on during the evening. She had her bloods tested again last week and her levels were down to 21. She's 23 but comes out of her stable every morning like a firebreathing dragon and is completely full of herself.

It might just be a co-incidence, but for the cost of a daylight bulb it's worth a try if it helps slow down the progress of this horrid condition.
 
Interesting post.

I know using an ordinary light bulb for the hens fools them into laying through the winter, that's not even a daylight bulb. So there may be something in it.
 
This is interesting and worth a try. I have a 37 year old pony with cushings, he did go down hill a couple of years ago but this was due to not having his tablets right once we sorted the levels out he was much improved.
 
My horse is already on a high amount of prascend and when my vet last came out he said that the next stage to try and keep her ACTH levels under control (if they went too high) would be to have a light in her stable on a timer but it would have to also cover a bit of the outside so if she was to stand with her head out of the stable (as they do!) then it would fool her brain into thinking it was still light. Didn't fully understand as he went into a lot of detail but interesting stuff!!
 
Thanks for this Tammytoo, I also have one with Cushings, she is already on 3 Prascend per day :eek: and has now got lami despite being stabled :( I have been wondering whether having a special light would be of some benefit? My stable has two tube lights in it, can you buy special daylight tubes? Or do I have to buy another light altogether? Can you please give some more detail as the light you bought? Many thanks x
 
Thankyou for the link. I have also been doing some googling (in work - big slap on wrist for me) :rolleyes:

I found this useful link as well

http://www.bltdirect.com/products.php?cat=1841

I think I will definitely be investing is some new tubes :D

I would also like to say a BIG BIG thankyou to all you lovely people who have been posting advice and help regarding Cushings.

It was my reason for joining this forum after reading lots of your posts giving help, advice and links to other websites. I am still learning about Cushings and as every horse is different it's going to be an ongoing thing. But I certainly feel far more informed and hopeful thanks to all you lovely people on here - so again THANKYOU :D
 
Nativepony - interesting that your vet gave it as the next course of action, when I suggested this to my vet last year I got the impression he thought I was clutching at straws!

Mudfukkle - forums like this are great for swapping ideas and learning about different treatments.
 
Really interesting my pony has cushings at 22. Her mother lived to 26 and never had symptoms of it so was never tested. Mum was kept for some time in her later years in an American barn where there was light on all the time for security cameras. I hated it as I did not think they should have to put up with light on all the time but maybe it did her some good. Equally when daughter was tested she initially had an on the verge reading then normal and then a reading of 51 and went on to the tablets then. I understand you get seasonal variations on the levels too so light could be a factor.
 
Tammytoo - he's been on a seminar recently about cushings so is full of interesting info!!! He also said the other option would be another drug (not sure what its called) that you give alongside prascend but apparently it's very expensive so not many people go down that route! I do wonder where we will go from here though as my mare is on 4mg(!!) and her ACTH levels are only just under control. Strangely she never really showed any typical cushings symptoms though and was only initially tested two years ago as she was having a lot of allergic reactions. I just hope the 4mg will keep her safe for a long while yet as there is obviously a limit, both financially and otherwise how much of a drug they can have :(
 
my cushings mare is being tested again on monday as i feel she is not quite right...she is on 2 1/2 prascend daily and i hope i dont have to increase it too much more as finances are VERY tight......what a good idea regarding the light, makes sense as it affects brood mares so may help with cushings. i am on a livery yard and if her levels have shot up i will talk to YO about the possibility of leaving the light on till late.....thanks for that, we all need as much help as poss with this problem....
 
If you go onto the EC/IR yahoo group, they will tell you there are horses on up to 10mg/day with no ill effects.
Their motto is -the only correct dose of Pergolide is the one that keeps the ACTH within normal range.
I do understand the financial constraints tho-I have discussed the "where does this end" dilema with other PPID owners.
 
Hehe Tammytoo, I thought that too!!
Muff747 that's encouraging to hear as she seems (is) on such a high dose for a NF pony! It wasn't even as if she was a dire case with massively high ACTH levels but for some reason the prascend doesn't seem to make a dramatic difference to her levels, when she was last tested which was autumn she was only just under control :(
 
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