How much longer should I let this go on?

Read most of replies but just to share, my mum's pony suffered a horrible lami attack one november, was in stable and sounded similar to yours - mum's vet (not mine) said after a brief look at her that we should PTS because she had agressive cushings (wouldn't do the standard test tho as couldn't give her the steroids) and nothing we can do.

I wanted 2nd opinion (and needed for insurance) got my vet out he said absolute rubbish, ran a different test for cushings came back very mild. Got her on pergolide and persevered for a week or two and a huge improvement. 10 years later she is still going strong and 5 of those years was off the pergolide. She is back on pergolide now but is fast approaching 20 years old and would have been PTS at 10. Has had a lovely life as well!

Not always the case and I do have friends who have had to make the dreaded decision due to lami or similar but if not much rotation (ours had 8% in front hooves and 4% in hinds - she had been out on loan and unknown to us had two serious lami attacks the previous summer. Vet knew this and didn't tell us.) then maybe don't give up yet - you will know when the time has come, fingers crossed it isn't yet!
 
ACP and pergolide (in combination) knocks them for six. I wouldn't be jumping the gun at this point and remember, your demeanour around her will affect her, too. Silly as it may sound, you moping about will make her miserable, too. Give the Pergolide chance to work, if you can - a few days is nowhere near enough time. I went through this when ours first was diagnosed - thinking she'd need to be PTS before the meds got chance to work. I don't get why they won't eat the tablets though as I tried licking one and it didn't taste of anything!

You may have to grind it up (mine were very powdery) and mix it in treacle and shove it in on the back of a wooden spoon. Have you been on Yahoo Groups yet? There's lots of things to try...

However, I would trust your judgement of whether she really and truly has had enough although I'd stop short of saying it's her time right now. Nobody can possibly know except you and the vet.
 
Hi - hold on if you can...When my horse first started pergolide the vet suggested a six week window for improvement and he did need the whole six weeks. I questioned many a day in this time if I was doing the right thing but once over the initial laminitis he survived quite happily for another 5 years or so. His pain appeared to be excessive to what the xrays showed but the vet commented that in his experience he sometimes found this the case with cushings induced cases but could not fathom why. Very best wishes for you both I know very well the nightmare you are facing.
 
this is just awful having to play god - if she needs some help to heaven you remind yourself of her having a lovely summer, its so hard when they cant tell you hurts. I'll be thinking of you both & hope its a happy ending x
 
Haven't read all of your replies but i have dealt with a few laminitic cases (majority of them being cushings related) and the most important thing you can do for them is give them time. If the Xrays don't show significant rotation or change then i'd try and keep going with her. If her pain relief isn't making her comfortable enough, have a chat with your vet and see if they can offer her an alternative ie Finadyne etc. Mine have also improved greatly wearing imprint like shoes to cushion their feet and a course of ACP.

My 21 year old gelding Ben suffered a massive attack of laminitis and lived to tell the tale, he suffered rotation in all four feet and foundered badly in his near fore a few years ago. He was an absolute mess at the time and i questioned many a time whether i was doing the right thing for him by keeping him going but thankfully my vets agreed that we should keep on fighting and looking back im so glad we did. He's now a sound, healthy, extremely fit veteran whos definitely enjoying life to the full and causing havoc whenever possible!!
 
alisonpook said:
Hi - hold on if you can...When my horse first started pergolide the vet suggested a six week window for improvement and he did need the whole six weeks. I questioned many a day in this time if I was doing the right thing but once over the initial laminitis he survived quite happily for another 5 years or so. His pain appeared to be excessive to what the xrays showed but the vet commented that in his experience he sometimes found this the case with cushings induced cases but could not fathom why. Very best wishes for you both I know very well the nightmare you are facing.
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Your PM's are full, so I'll send the message here

I keep an eye out for you - how's things? Often think of our very special friends. It's getting easier for me. Are you able to smile a little yet?

G x
 
Such an awful, hard decision. I can tell you one thing though. If you jump the gun you'll never know, but if you leave it too late you may hate yourself forever.

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this with your lovely girl. Vibes and Hugs x
 
After a couple of days when there seemed to be a *slight* improvement, I was devastated this morning to find she's as bad as she ever was.:( :(

The vet came yesterday and was surprised by how bad she is (vet had been away for 2 weeks and another vet had been dealing with the case). She now has laminitis in all 4 feet (no surprise to me). The Danillon is upped to 4 a day. The vet still thinks theres hope for when the Pergolide starts working and advised strongly not to have her PTS (I didnt push it yesterday anyway as there did seem to be an improvement - if she had come today it might have been a different matter). The vet is rather baffled that the horse is in so much pain when there is almost no rotation/dropping.

I managed to get the danillon down her and the pergolide this morning (basically fed her lying down). Before I left for work she got up. Now I'm in work and all I want to do is go home - it would be a day when I'm working away :( :(

Sorry for such a miserable post
 
The vet says it could take up to 4 weeks for the Pergolide to work :eek: :eek: but might be quicker. She's only been on it for 6 days at the moment :(
 
Are you still feeling that you want to wait that 6 weeks out?

There is no hidden point in that btw, can't even begin to imagine what I'd do =[
 
I dont know flamehead, I really dont. The vet seems thinks quite strongly that I should wait, but at the end of the day I'll make my own decision if I feel the horse cant take any more - but I have to admit the vets view has made me more hesitant about making the decision.
 
Oh no Oldmare you poor thing. I must admit I am of the belief better a day too early than a day too late. If this were me I would PTS. I know its easy for me to say but most of us at some time have been in this position and I take comfort in the fact that my old lady went and was no longer suffering.

(((hugs))) my thoughts are with you.

Liz
 
This information is probably in the earlier posts but how old is she? What is she to you (ridden hack/pet/comp horse).

How long is she down for?

Does she still have the shine in her eye? Also, if you need someone around, I'm in Glos if you're near me? xxx
 
She's 19 and is retired due to having ringbone. But she is a priceless horse to me, if you know what I mean - all horses are special, just some are a bit more special than others.

I dont know how long she had been lying down as she was down when I went out this morning. Yesterday she didnt lie down all day and seemed more mobile/happy
 
0ldmare said:
The vet is rather baffled that the horse is in so much pain when there is almost no rotation/dropping.
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My vets were exactly the same, and I'm now pretty sure the root of the problem that was triggering the laminitis was an abscess.


I really hope this has a good outcome for you. Is the mare insured? You could ask for a referral to a lami specialist.
 
I went through very similar last year.

My 23yr old had trauma laminitis, was x rayed and it was shown his pedal bone had dropped.

This horse (apart from currently trying to loose his eye!) is fit, well and able to be ridden.

I know exactly how you feel it is very distressing to watch and it seems to go on for ages - but when you look back it does not go on for as long as it feels.

I do remember at the time my vet saying I needed to emotionally take a step back and look at the long term bigger picture (there was nothing on my x-rays to indicate that he would not return to soundness) which at the time I thought was a bit harsh - however, HE WAS RIGHT.

The best thing for the horse during this time is to lie down so do everything you can to encourage this. For pain relief mine was injected every day for 7-10 days with metacam.

X rays are the only thing that will show you what is going on so these would be sensible next step as others have suggested - then can you make a rational decision as to what the long term prognosis is - something from your posts it would appear that your vet is optimistic about.

Good luck
 
Yes amazingly she is fully insured despite her age. I havent had the claim approved yet as the vet hasnt submitted their bit, but the insurance company has asked for a full clinical history from the vets so they are obviously looking to see if I have ever had them out for anything Lami or Cushings related in the past and not notified them. (I havent, so think it would be hard for them to wriggle out of paying. She's never even had an abcess or anything foot related). My vets are one of the top equine only practices in the country so do know what they are doing.

AmyMay, I've arranged for a friend to go up there at lunch time to see whats happening and report back to me.
 
0ldmare said:
Unfortunately they are at home so no YO. Friend is popping up at Lunchtime and have also agreed with 2nd friend to go up about 4pm. I should be home by 7pm....
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Ah, that's all good. She clearly needs to be monitored almost hourly..

Best of luck with her.
 
Thinking on you both. I know what you're going through. Lying down is good as it will reduce further damage. Hugs, best wishes and luck to both of you. xxx
 
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