cushings? what next..

StarlightMagic

StarlightMagic

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Just had my 26 year old ponys bloods back and the levels are 429, cue panic from me. Dont know what to do for the best. Vet is willing to let me try agnus castus before medication but will that work on such high levels? I am limited in funds as to how much i can spend trying to help her :(
 
She is a really good age. Those are very high levels. How big is she? Prascend is very good and effective, but at around £1 a tablet, not cheap. What are her symptoms at the moment?
 
14.1 shes just has a thick coat slightly curly and slow to moult, no laminitis at all! I really dont know whats in her best interests, shes very prone to eye infections, has cataracts in both eyes though still has good eyesight and also will have to be in starvation 3/4 of the year which she hates :(
 
It doesn't sound as though she is suffering too badly at the minute. Pracend would probably be a good way of returning her back to her old self, but you have to ask, if she is not suffering from any of the more troubling Cushings symptoms, then it is a lot of money to spend if you can't afford it. Is she retired? All horses and ponies hate being restricted, but many of them have to be. It is either that or death. I know which I would choose if I was a pony. So long as she has company and a good quality of life, then you could try to see how she copes in the next few months.
 
My little mare has just been diagnosed with Cushings. She is 24 and a 12.2 New Forester.

The only sign is a big crest and over the 12 years I have had her she has had 3 hoof abscsses. She has always been a companion so never ridden.

Her ACTH came back as 230 ,three weeks ago. I started her on the Hilton Herbs CushX as soon I had the results. She will be retested again on Thursday so will see how things are going.

I have seen a difference in her already. She is getting more checky.

I have also just ordered some Magnesium Oxide to see if that helps as well.

She is turned out with my others so what ever the grass is for them is what she gets. She has only ever had one bout of laminitus and that was due to becoming toxic through eating something- Laminitus due to stress.

I have changed her feed a bit from a senior mix to a balancer.

Looking back I now wonder if she has had it for a long time.

The only reason I had her blood tested was the free test that was going around.
 
The medication is not that expensive. Mine has Cushings and is on one Pergolide 250 micrograms per day. A pack of 100 costs £35 from my local independent chemist so they are 35p each which is £2.50 per week.
 
Didn't want to read and run, no experience of it thankfully, but it depends on your budget etc. Whatever you decide, 26 is a cracking age and a true credit to your care of her, so remember that :) hugs
 
OWLIE185 said:
The medication is not that expensive. Mine has Cushings and is on one Pergolide 250 micrograms per day. A pack of 100 costs £35 from my local independent chemist so they are 35p each which is £2.50 per week.
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Prascend is 1 mg so confused about the 250 micrograms. Are they a quarter of the strength?
 
My 12.2 19 year old Gelding has also just been diagnosd with cushings and an Insulin Level of 645. He is on Metformin and half a Prascend but the vet has told me that he may not need either medication permanently or he could say need half a tablet every other day once he has stabilised. He is on box rest for laminitis which he has never had before so I am reasonably confident that the meds will help him but like you I dread having to restrict his grazing completely. Good luck to all who are going through this - it is a worry.
 
My horse has just tested positive too, although hers was 82 instead of 47, as her only symptoms where muscle loss the vet advised not to treat at the moment with prescend and retest in 3 months.

I've put her on cushioneze in the meantime.
 
My boy is on a tablet and a half of pergolide so 325mcg but his last results were borderline so will be facing another medication increase on his next test. I too was questioning being able to afford the tablets which is how my vet managed to get me on pergolide rather than prascend. When i researched the alternatives, tbh they didnt work out much cheaper and after attending my vets seminar about cushings, there really is no solid data that they work. I would much rather get actual medicine that is guaranteed to help. Could you not ask to start on the smallest amount of meds which would get you onto pergolide (250mcg smallest dose and once your on it your vet is legally allowed to keep prescribing it despite prascend being horse specific) and then combining it with agnus castus?
 
Mine has just been diagnosed at a level of 252.
Pony is 22, worth his weight in gold. Only symptoms muscle loss on neck and a laminal wedge coming through feet. I have only had hom 6 months and it wqas my farrier who suggested getting him tested due to wedge in feet.
he is otherwise fit and healthy but he is starting prascend half a tablet a day then retest in 6 weeks. If it prolongs his usefull life then great.
Didnt think you could get pergolide any more (human version?)
 
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