Cushings treatment

[Willow2]

Hello, just to throw the cat among the pigeons ... my elderly 14.2 is on 2 cushings tablets a day and his blood work is good on this ... but I have just been told that prascend is really hard on them. This year I'm needing to try harder to keep / put weight on him and I would hate to think the prascend is making things worse? What is the general feeling regarding Prascend? Many thanks.

 

[meleeka]

I would say your issues with weight are more likely to be teeth related. Prascend usually has the opposite effect.

Mine has been on it for 10 years. She simply wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Prascend. I had awful problems with her appetite in the beginning, but am so glad I persevered. Those that meet her can’t believe she’s 29 as she looks so well. She’s on 2.5 tablets now and worth every penny.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Who told you that Prascend is hard on the horse? Untreated Cushing’s is harder, and as you have the ACTH levels under control it would seem that the current dosage is appropriate.

There might be other unrelated issues at play in an older equine - as meleeka says, teeth might well be involved. My own 17yo mare was found to have two dead and infected incisors on X-ray by a specialist vet dentist - the EDT who had seen her not long before had missed this completely . All good now after they were extracted, but she must have been in a lot of pain.

Good luck.

 

[Nudibranch]

Having owned 2 PPIDers in the past, pergolide is a godsend. I'd be looking at teeth, worm count, forage and any bucket feed, and then coat/temperature. Too hot and sweating it off? Or a bit chilly and needing more rugging? Any arthritis or pain issues? And general old age also - it catches up with them all eventually, PPID or not sadly.

 

[Gloi]

It was teeth that was the problem with my elderly one with PPID and on prascend too. He needed sedating at the vets at least every 6 months to have his diastemas cleaned and packed and his fillings done by the specialist vet dentist.
It made the difference between him struggling with hay and having to live on slop and keeping fit and well.