cushings

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twinkle

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well my horse has just ben tested for cushing and is very likely that she has it.

have looked on the internet about it and most of the sites really repeat there selfs.

will ask my vet when i see him nex anyway but if anyone nos answers please help?

do they die from it?

how much longer to they live with or without medication?

whats the best medication out of them all?

and has anyone had any succes with http://www.equilife.co.uk/Vitex.htm ?

thanks alot help much appreciated
 
they dont usuallly die as a direct cause of cushing as its merely caused by a benign tumour on the pituaitary gland. they can however get severe laminitis as a secondary disease.

its best to have them on some meds to prevent them drinking o much and getting laminitis.

have never heard of that drug, we give them pergolide tablets
 
The main medical treatment for Cushings is a drug called Pergolide, which apparently keeps most of the symptoms, including laminitis, at bay. If you get a prescription written by your vet, you can then source it from an independent supplier, which usually works out quite significantly cheaper than through the vet.

As regards Vitex, a friend of ours had their pony on it but unfortunately it didn't work for them
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Some people choose not to go down the medication route and manage the problem by clipping the long coat, feeding a diet safe for laminitics etc. This can be successful in some cases.
 
Pergolide can be obtined online and at your chemist it can work out pricey from the vets but it really is the drug they recommend. They will also run 6 monthly blood tests to see if the condition is deteriorating etc
 
As TGM says, the main drug used for Cushings is Pergolide and is available for a very reasonable price from a chemist (with a written pescription from your vet though). As far as I am aware they dont actually die from the disease, but can get things becasue of it ie their immune system isnt so good etc. I had to have my Cushings pony PTS 8 weeks ago due to liver failure at the age of 33 but for the time he was on Pergolide (less than 3 months) i saw a real improvement in him which was great to see.

I wouldnt say that Cushings was a death sentance by any means, and is quite controlable with diet and medication and theres no reason why your horse couldnt live to a grand old age! As i said my pony was 33 when he was PTS and god knows how long he had gone with Cushings un-detected!
 
Same here as Jen Kelly. My pony was 40 in Jan this year and I lost him to liver failure. I suspected he had cushings as had some of the symptoms but not all of them but I put it down to old age. I mentioned to the vet as she put him to sleep this and she said she would have said yet he had cushings. So he was on no medication at all. Maybe if he had been he might have been here a bit longer. But to reach the grand old age of 40 he did remarkably well and only really looked his age the last 2 years of his life and in fact won a veteran in hand show at 35 years of age.
 
Hello - You may like to look at this site TheMetabolicHorse@yahoogroups.com
It contains a lot of information as to management and diet for Cushings horses.
One of the main concerns would be avoiding the onset of laminitis. Cushings can be managed with careful attention to diet but there is usually a point at which this alone is insufficient and some form of medication is necessary . There are several drug options including the herbal supplement Vitex but I believe that pergolide is thought to have the edge.
It is important that her feet are well looked after and kept in good balance. It is also a good idea to get into the habit of checking digital pulses morning and night so you get to know what is normal for her and then be able to pick up any irregularities as this can be a useful early warning sign to detect the onset of laminitis . Clipping the coat out to help comfort levels is also well worth while. Diet is very important and there are a number of feeds out there to choose from but you want to aim for high fibre and low sugar. Clean old meadow hay is a good base to start with. The immune system may not work so well so keep an eye out for lingering coughs etc. If you find yourself going down the pergolide route and are struggling for a supplier then happy to send my local chemist's details by pm. As a guide to cost my local chemist charges around £10 for my horse's monthly dose of 30 1mg tablets. Hopefully you should be fine for a good few years yet.
 
So if a pony is diagnosed with cushings. Should Peroglide be the course of action? I posted on here last week about one of my ponies who keeps getting laminitis no matter what I do so vet suspects its cushings. We'll probably get her tested next week. However, I always thought that if I found she did have it then I'd have to have her PTS as I didnt know of any successful drug until Ive read about this Peroglide stuff.

How does it work? Would it fend of the laminitis or is it too late a stage now??
 
Yes - if your pony tests positive for Cushings then the standard course of action is to put it on Pergolide which can control the laminitis. I did actually reply to your own thread with this information! A positive Cushings test is not necessarily a death sentence. Pergolide used to be an expensive treatment but the cost has now come down - especially if you get your vet to issue a prescription and you then buy the drugs from an independent chemist.
 
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