Cushings pony - prescend not working :( ???

[MagicMelon]

Our 21yo shetland was confirmed to have cushings a couple of months ago - on the vets advice we have been playing around with the prescend dosage, she started on 1/2 a pill but had bad diarrhea so we were told to reduce to 1/4 for a fortnight so she could go back to normal which she did, then they said to put her back up to 1/2 as the 1/4 wasn't helping. She's been on 1/2 a pill as well as bute for the past week now but she's not looking great She's still very footy. I had certainly expected the bute to have helped but it doesn't seem to have done. I don't see any improvement on prescend. Does it just not work on certain ponies?

I'm going to phone the vet and chat to them about it in a minute but just wanted peoples experiences with this, to see if there is any other medication we could try (or herbal etc.)?

I'm really rather concerned about her, if we can't help her improve soon then I think I'll have to make the decision

 

[Pasha]

Your vet is the best person to advise on this but what I will say is that the doseage of Prascend is not relative to size (or level of ACTH), it is whatever it takes to get the PPID under control, so she may not be on enough Prascend yet.

 

[JillA]

This group is full of experience and knowledge, would be a good idea to join and ask your questions on there
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/EquineCushings/info?prop=eupdate

 

[amandap]

Sorry I can't help re the Prascend but I assume her diet is very tight (No grass, soaked, in fresh water each time hay, minerals, vitamin e etc.).
Agnus cactus (vitex) tinctures can help with symptoms

Fingers crossed.

 

[HazyXmas]

I'm going to follow this with interest as i'm just starting to have a few concerns about our 22 yr old Connie & whether to get him tested for cushings.

We had an old pony a few years ago who was tested borderline & was prescribed Prescend, however, i didn't feel that it made any difference at all to her. We managed her very carefully for about 2 years before she suddenly went downhill & was PTS. I would be keen to try something herbal in the first instance so will keep a close eye on this

 

[MagicMelon]

Sorry I can't help re the Prascend but I assume her diet is very tight (No grass, soaked, in fresh water each time hay, minerals, vitamin e etc.).
Agnus cactus (vitex) tinctures can help with symptoms

Fingers crossed.

Thanks, she is out on a very short grass paddock at night (has been since it got cold recently and grass is no longer growing) so this could actually be part of the issue which was so blindingly obvious. During the day she is kept in our hardcored yard (with full access to stables) so as of immediately, she will stay in the yard 24/7. Otherwise, yes, she's on a lami-friendly feed (happy hoof, speedibeet and an all round vit & min supplement). I have some Vitex left (tried it on my other cushings pony) so will put her on this too. I really hope this helps. Vet has said to try keeping her off the grass definately although she still thinks the bute should have helped if it is lami. Otherwise she said basically further work will cost £££, so it really depends how far we want to go (she was saying perhaps x-rays to see if her pedal bones have rotated etc.). I don't want to put her through much more TBH especially at her age, so I think we'll try her off grass and on the vitex and see how that goes then she suggested a blood test so perhaps try that.

 

[amandap]

Sadly some horses and ponies don't respond to drug treatment unless diet is grass free and very low sugar generally. Diet is still a fundamental, especially if IR is also a factor. Colder temps can also raise grass sugar levels.
I hope the grass is a factor. x

 

[YasandCrystal]

I use chaste berry powder on my little cushings pony. There was an interesting article in aa BHS magazine where a vet tested a pony before and after 4 months on Chaste Berry and the levels returned to normal. You can buy powder online or supplements with it in as it is used as a hormonal balancer for mares and rigs too.

 

[fuggly]

try taking the happy hoof out of his diet , HH isn't as low in sugars as you'd think it also contains alfalfa , my cushings pony stayed footy and i couldn't understand why and it turned out he is alfalfa intolerent once off anything containing it he improved rapidly

 

[bensababy]

I use chaste berry powder on my little cushings pony. There was an interesting article in aa BHS magazine where a vet tested a pony before and after 4 months on Chaste Berry and the levels returned to normal. You can buy powder online or supplements with it in as it is used as a hormonal balancer for mares and rigs too.

I would like to echo the above, also used this with my old boy and worked wonders

 

[3OldPonies]

I don't know if this will help or not, but anyway . . .

My 14.2 welsh x NF has had a borderline result for cushings and for treatment he is having agnus castus. I was getting very little in the way of results, he was very footy, until I took just about all the sugar out of his diet. He is now on calm and condition, some cheapy nuts that have very little of anything in them from my local supplier, hi-fi molasses free to get some extra fibre and last year's hay. Changing his chaff from Hi-fi lite to the molasses free really prompted the change (I also cut out the carrots from his feed). His footiness has gone, he doesn't get depressed any more, is back to his lively old cheeky self, the fat pads over his eyes have subsided and his muscle tone along the top line is coming back. He looks the best he's done all year!

So my suggestion is to dump the speedi-beet and alfalfa and cut out any other sources of extra sugar and you may find that the prascend kicks in. Also to help his poor little feet, try to turn out on something with a spongy surface so he will have his feet supported, but not in any way being bruised by a hard surface.

 

[OWLIE185]

Take of Fast Beet. Take off all grass and stable on a thick bed. Feed half a slice of one hour soaked hay every 3 hours. Should then improve after a few weeks.

 

[MagicMelon]

Right, thanks everyone. I have just ordered chaste berry powder off the internet and I'll take her off happy hoof immediately. I still need to give her some speedi beet though , if not just to hide her pill and vit & min supplement in. She is off all grass and is only getting hay otherwise (last years).

 

[splashgirl45]

good luck...my only thought would be that she may not be eating the pill as they are quite small and if they spit them out in the bed you will never find them...my mare is, unfortunately, on 3 1/2 daily wont eat a feed with them in so i have to hide them in a carrot and make sure i feed her in the yard so i can pick up any bits of tablet that get spat out