cushings advice please - again :(

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fruit03

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hello, i posted on here before and the replies were really useful so here i am again. my 17yr old mare was diagnosed woth cushings back in june after suffering laminitis. i have spent the summer working out what she needs and how to care for her etc and thought we were getting somewhere as she was very well, however, for the last few days she has had a cold(runny nose) and she seems very down and not herself atall. she is on vitex and cushinaze. i am just wondering if its time to call the vet again and look into puttinfher on prascend?? or is she like this simply because the hormones to do with cushings are very high this time of the year?? don;t know what to do but don;t like seeing her miserable:(
 
Hi, It is a bad time of year for cushings. I have a 20 year old shettie who has it. She has half a prascend tablet a day and it has worked wonders. You really need to get the cushings under controll as it can cause abscesses and lammi, among other problems. Your horse sounds as if she is depressed which is a common problem with cushings. My pony went through this. She went from being a very "talkative" pony to being quiet and miserable. She was tested for cushings, a year ago, when she got a foot abscess and the test was possitive. It will involve regular blood tests for a few months but when it is under controll it will only be twice a year just to make sure the prascend is still working. I have my old "chatty" pony back now and couldn't be more pleased. I have owned her from six months old and love her dearly. Good luck with your horse.
 
When horses have Cushings their immune system is hampered, leaving them more prone to infections.
I would get your vet out next week to give your horse another check up.
May be worth another blood check, the shortened days start to effect ACHT levels at this time if year.
My shetland pony was diagnosed at the beginning of the year. We started on Prascend, and I'm about to have my 3rd blood test to check his dose (we had to up him to a whole tablet, hoping we can drop back to half). My ponys liver results weren't perfect either hence we're having to monitor that too
 
I agree with Lelly. As the days shorten the cushings symptoms increase and your mare sounds as though she is getting the typical depression caused by the disease. It's also during the winter months that cushinoid horses get sudden and unexpected attacks of lami. The herbal remedies do seem to work in the short term, but now you are approaching the "danger" period I would get your vet to blood test her and get her onto the correct levels of Prascend. She will definitely become her old self within a week or two! As long as you don't overfeed her or stuff her with protein, it is highly unlikely that she will get lami.

I don't know if the supplements she is on will affect the results of the blood test, best ask your vet about that.
 
My horse was diagnosed with Cushings this Summer and we have now been on Prascend for about 6 weeks. The horse is happier and easier to manage, so I would 100% recommend.

There is a 15% off blood test for Cushings at the moment (advertised in all the horse mags, etc), might be worth looking that up!!
 
I am interested to hear about Parascend. My old pony 32, next spring has had Cushings for two years, and would not take Pergolide in any shape or form. He has been having the pure extract of Vitex for just over a year with good but not perfect results. His condition is complicated by his lack of grinding teeth so he can't eat hay or corse grass and gets runny poo if he tries to eat either. He is a "poor dooer" at the best of times so feeding him is complicated. The upside is that he has never been laminatic so I have some flexibility. Also he is not depressed and very active with no joint problems.
So is Parascend more effective than Vitex? If I change to that will I be able to give him richer feed to keep his weight up? Or do I just accept that he will be thin at his age anyway?
 
Prascend is exactly the same as pergolide, just licensed for horses (and more expensive :(), so he may not take that either. Have you tried giving the tablets in a jam or treacle sandwich, I find it works to get most things down them.;)
 
Belive me I tried EVERYTHING! including molasses, garlic, marmite.apples, pears carrots peppermint. But your answer was helpful, because if he is still likely to refuse it I will stick with the Vitex.
 
If you choose to try Prascend you are not supposed to crush the tablet but you can dissolve it in a small amount of water and add to food. I am not sure why you can't crush it though. The tablets are completely tasteless and have no smell at all. I sometimes wrap it in bread and give it to my pony as well. She did go off her food for a while though, the vet said the Prascend sometimes causes this. I have to keep changing feed now and again to keep her eating. This seems to work for her. I can recomend Prascend though, I am using it with great results. x
 
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