Cushing's and medications?

[Lintel]

Little shetland has been on prascend now for roughly 6-7 months after a queried diagnosis of Cushings+arthritis.
I always thought he had Cushing's from the day and hour we got him from WHW- coat like a mammoth etc.
Getting bloods is a genuine nightmare.. as is sedating.. and any vet "stuff" generally so of possible we try to do things as hands off as possible for the old yin!
Hence the queried diagnosis and my agreement to start prascend.

However he has neither been up nor down, still has the mammoth coat which is making me think- should be even be on prascend?

We are due teeth and vacs in Feb which will both be done IM sedated for him, so if possible will probably ask them to take blood and test then but until that point I'm considering stopping the prascend.

Has anyone stopped medicating their Cushing's equines? Or used anything alternative?
What would you do?

 

[splashgirl45]

we are at a bad time of year for cushings sufferers as they are more likely to get laminitis so you need to be very vigilant if you stop the medication, personally i would wait a while

 

[Gloi]

Unless the Prascend is stopping him from eating wait until February and have him blood tested then.

 

[CMcC]

I had a part-Exmoor who was diagnosed with Cushing. His blood levels for Cushing were low and symptoms eg coat growth/holding on to coat were noticeable but not extreme and vet suggested trying Agnus Castus instead of Prascend. He had annual blood tests and the Angus Castus maintained the level and he had 5 very happy years with no escalation of symptoms.

 

[Lintel]

Thank you all so far, will have a look into the Angus castus too?

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I've got a little mare who was diagnosed with cushings 2. 5 months ago, and she's been on half a prascend since then. Her symptoms weren't overwhelming tbh, she just held on to one patch of winter coat a bit weirdly. I just had her tested as the vet was up doing flu/tet anyway.

Bloods showed that her levels dropped from 130ish to 50ish in just 6 weeks on the prascend. But any actual noticeable changes have been very subtle!

She does have a bit more of a spring in her step (she walks out very happily now being ridden by my useless kids, whereas before she was inclined to grind to a halt if I didn't nag at her from the ground). And she's filled out a bit along her topline- she was a very strange pot bellied but nobbly backed shape before.

She's cut back a lot on her crib biting, but not stopped it altogether.

But she's already incredibly woolly for the winter, she's still very prone to gunky eyes, and she's still had one episode of getting pulsey on just a very small amount of fresh grass.

So I'm not sure I'd really notice an improvement if I weren't looking carefully for one! But in the grand scheme of horses, half a prascend a day isn't a huge expense, so I'm happy to carry on with just in case it's making her feel better in herself, and she was just hiding how rough she was feeling before iyswim?

I don't think you'll get any real answers unless you somehow get bloods taken I'm afraid.

 

[southerncomfort]

My little mini shetland is terrified of the vet.

When he came recently to do her teeth he ended up injecting sedative in to a muscle initially. It takes longer to work than IV so he did one of the other ponies teeth while the sedative took hold and by the time he'd finished, Cookie was relaxed enough for him to top up the sedative through a vein.

 

[Lintel]

My little mini shetland is terrified of the vet.

When he came recently to do her teeth he ended up injecting sedative in to a muscle initially. It takes longer to work than IV so he did one of the other ponies teeth while the sedative took hold and by the time he'd finished, Cookie was relaxed enough for him to top up the sedative through a vein.

That's what we have to do with the little man, IM sedation whilst the Hipo gets his teeth done and a top up of IV ?

 

[meleeka]

Mine came back borderline so is on agnus cactus now. His only symptom is he’s very sensitive to grass and since he’s been on it he’s been fine, so I’m saying it helps.

 

[zandp]

If the coat growth isn't "normal" he may need more Prascend as the levels aren't controlled. I'd wait until you can draw blood and do the test to see - seasonal rise is happening now, I'm not letting mine onto grass for a good while yet - probably November but the decision is weather dependent.

Is his food under 10% sugar/starch / NSC ? Is he on grass ? do you soak hay ? All these affect the levels.

Prascend works if he has Cushings, anything herbal hasn't been proven to work although can support - and I'm normally the one who goes for the herbal route every time - I've never worried about feeding Prascend to the mare who needs it though. When her levels are correct, she's better, coat growth is normal, she sweats and breathes normally too.