Cushings

Sheena01

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Hello all,

So i’m pretty certain my lovely 23 year old boy has had cushings for a while as he has quite a few of the symptoms however it hasn’t bothered him.
However, over the last week he’s become very sleepy, urination is excessive and just doesn’t look happy!
So will be phoning the vet later this morning for them to come out to do a blood test on him.
Obviously will do everythin possible to make sure he’s happy and comfortable but I was just wondering how other horses have coped on the medication, how much it has benefited them and the rough cost?

Any info would be appreciated!

Sheena
 

dogatemysalad

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My Cushings mare took her medication in her feed without a problem and had no side effects. I think the tablets were around £1.20 each from the vet, although it's cheaper online, but the cost of the prescription made the saving much less. It definitely helped her as she didn't get hoof abscesses after starting treatment. However, the progression of the illness was quite aggressive and her coat had to be clipped as it was very thick and she couldn't regulate her body temperature very well. For her, the medication improved her quality of life and reduced the lethargy and depression.
 

Sheena01

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Thank you for the reply! I had heard that once on medication it progresses quickly, which is why i’ve put off testing!
Since last year i’ve had to clip him all year round because his coat is so thick (not curly yet) can i ask how long she lasted?
 

meleeka

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Mine has been on Prascend for 7 years now and It’s changed her from what I thought was just getting old, to a pony who looks and acts half her age. She did go off her feed In the early days and I just reduced meds for a week and then introduced more slowly. She doesn’t have her meds in her feed, I syringe it mixed with a small amount of water which is just part of our daily routine and she accepts happily. Most horses start on 1 tablet which is around £1, so £7 a week, not including blood tests and prescription charges if you buy online. My vet charges £18 for a prescription which covers 6 months, although I don’t have to buy 6 months worth all in one go.

Diagnosis was the best thing to happen to my mare.
 

JillA

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Mine (16.1) is well under control on just 1 Prascend tablet/day. Just over £1/day if you buy on line inc cost of prescription. Pushed into 1/4 apple, or in a hole in a small piece of carrot or even in the hole in the middle of a couple of polos - just a daily routine, couldn't be easier.

Just bear in mind the "pergolide veil" which is the initial side effect of inappetance for a week or two, if yours stops eating just stop and reintroduce the medication gradually.

And bear in mind there are often false negatives with the ACTH test - the hormone pulses and you could be unlucky enough to draw blood at the lowest point. If your vet is helpful he may suggest a trail on Prascend to check if it alleviates the symptoms which is as good a diagnostic test as any IMO.
It really is worth medicating because untreated it can give rise to laminitis which can then be difficult to control
 

Shay

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Depends on when you start medication. If you delay starting until after symptoms show rather than blood testing then the disease can be fairly advanced before you start and medication won't buy you so much time. If you blood test regularly once they get to the late teens and start when the tests come back positive they can have a decade or more very happily. We had a Sec A on Prascend over 12 years before he finally succumbed aged well over 30. I blood test everything over 18/20 - although as Jill says it is easy to get a false result - negative and positive.
 

Pearlsasinger

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My Draft mare was very similar to DAMS'. At 21 she developed a recurrent hoof abscess, which took 3 months to clear up completely. She had had 2 previous ACTH tests which were within normal range, then she had another which was slightly above, so the vet prescribed Prascend. She ate it with no problem, except that she very occasionally turned up her nose at her feed and had to be persuaded to eat but she would be fine the next day. She had another year of good quality of life and then became ataxic and was pts.

Our vet did us a deal which almost matched the online cost of the Prascend + prescription charge and then when our 2nd mare was also prescribed Prascend he did us a slightly better deal for the 2 of them.

The 2nd mare had equine asthma, which got worse, to the point that during her last summer she had to take steroids. Her ACTH tests came back fine several times but we were concerned so had the TRH Stim test done, that showed that she was 8 times over the normal limit, the ACTH test done at the same time, still showed a low figure. Unfortunately, she only lived another 2 months after her companion was pts but she ate the Prascend without too much trouble and it definitely improved her qol.
 

dogatemysalad

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She was on medication for 2 and a half years before she died last week. She was a 21 year old Hanoverian, retired through injury, so couldn't be exercised. She became depressed after her best friend died which prompted me to get her tested. She suddenly became ill with laminitis and because her decline had been getting worse over the last few months, we decided it was time to let my beautiful, amazing girl go.
However, a friend has a 35 year old Connie who has been on Prascend for several years and is still plodding along quite happily.
 

Micky

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Have a look at the laminitis site, plenty of information on there regarding symptoms, feed, prascend, management etc. I’ve had a cushings (ppid) horse for several years now, prascend really does improve their symptoms and makes them a lot more comfortable.
 

Gloi

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Mine was on medication for 6 years before he was PTS at 30 for an unconnected reason. He was started on medication at a much earlier stage than yours and it made a really big difference to him even though his levels were not really high.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Thank you for the reply! I had heard that once on medication it progresses quickly, which is why i’ve put off testing!
Since last year i’ve had to clip him all year round because his coat is so thick (not curly yet) can i ask how long she lasted?


I don't think that is quite the case.

Prascend merely controls the symptoms but can't stop the progression of the disease, so whilst taking it the horse has a good qol.

I can only imagine that those of us who have only been able to keep our horses for a relatively short time after starting Prascend, have been getting false negatives on the ACTH test. I think I would ask for the TRH -STIM test for another horse, if I was suspicious of the symptoms. However, my farrier has said that I did well to keep my Westphalian Kaltblut (Draft) horse to 23, anyway. She was obese when I bought her and although only 16hh weighed almost a ton. We got her weight down but she was a very heavy breed and they don't tend to be very long-lived.

We were more disappointed about the Appaloosa who also only lived to be 23 but we now think that she had been cushingoid for several years, without testing positive. I did have a Shire who was pts aged 6 from an undiagnosed illness which led to laminitis. I now think that was probably Cushings but this was in the days long before testing.

It's the luck of the draw, I think, really but at least we can improve their qol for a while.
 

splashgirl45

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my mare was diagnosed at age 20 but i think she must have had it for at least a few years previously as she grew a very thick coat and had been a bit lethargic which i put down to moving yards and being out 24/7. she went on prascend and i had her PTS at 25 as she became pottery and her levels were rising quickly. she was extremely well in those 5 years and back to being my looney horse so it really improved her QOL and if i hadnt treated her i am sure she would have got laminitis which would have been very painful for her and may have shortened her life..
 
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