Our girl's just been put on Pergolide.....thoughts and experiences please! :(

[Kellys Heroes]

After 12 months of on and off lameness, box rest, then not lame and back into work, then lame again, the vets have finally put Kelly on Pergolide - they aren't 100% convinced its Cushings but they want to know if this will work.

We think it's Cushings - she's very curly and has a very coarse coat (much more so than last year), has the fillings above her eyes and chronic lameness.

She's still very lame, although she is walking better than she was 3 months ago. The vets have ruled out other causes such as she's been shod, had Danilon etc etc.

I really hope (in an odd way) it IS Cushings so that the Pergolide will hopefully control it. I don't know what other option we have if this doesn't work!
K x

 

[sychnant]

My 13.2 was put on Pergolide 2 years ago. Winter 08-09 he got laminitis, no other Cushings symptoms at all, but tests proved it.

No problems all summer, and although we were careful about grass he's always been a skinny, so we did not take him off the grass completely.

Winter 09-10, he got laminitis again, despite no change to routine/feeding etc. We concluded that it is the shortening days and therefore less daylight acting on hos pituitary gland that caused the laminitis.

Over the summer we had his shoes taken off, as his feet had got too bad for the farrier to nail shoes on, he has been wearing hoofboots since then. We also had to feed him up as he dropped weight quite badly - it's VERY difficult having a poor-doer laminitic

Now - touchwood, no laminitis this year. He has had an SAD light on for a couple of hours a day and has had hoofboots on all day when turned out, and off when in on a deep bed. My farrier can't believe how well his feet have recovered and to be honest, although Briar has been on Pergolide throughout, i'm not sure how much it has helped him - My theory is that the snow packing his feet has cooled them to a point where the circulation has decreased, leading to laminitis. The boots have stopped this and also kept his feet a little warmer, hence why he hasn't had it this year.

Bear in mind though, that he has NEVER shown any other signs of Cushings, and has NEVER had feed related laminitis... so although I'm not sure the Pergolide is helping him, it sounds as if your horse is presenting differently, and Pergolide could well make all the difference in your case.

Fingers crossed for you, it's a horrible thing, but it IS controllable one way or another, and I hope the Pergolide works it's "magic" for your horse

 

[brighteyes]

It 'bought' us another three years with our old girl, but I have heard Pergolide is going to be discontinued, and a different (and more expensive, wouldn't you know) medication licensed for use in horses is going to replace it Go take a look in Veterinary. Also, put Pergolide in the search facility - you'll get loads of info. In fact I'm slightly fed up of keep replying to Pergolide/Cushing's posts, as there have been so many requests for help and advice and brilliant answers on it.

 

[BigRed]

My friend has a pony on pergolide which is a human drug that was not licensed for horses, but it worked and vets sold it.. Her vet told her that is has now been licensed for use in horses and discontinued as a human drug, so she will soon have to buy the horse version of the drug and she should expect the price to go up.

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Yes I've heard that its going to become more expensive As long as it makes her happy and more comfortable!
V interesting theory re the shortening daylight hours as this bout came from nowhere and lots of horses have gone down with it on the yard! She is lami prone so we are and always have been very careful as regards feed, turnout etc.
I'm very glad people have had positive experiences with control treatment for Cushings as obviously we're quite stressed with everything going on...she hasn't been right for about 12 months now, up and down so we're just waiting for improvement.
K x

 

[Angelbones]

I hope it makes her more comfortable, but at amazed the vet didn't test for Cushings. How would you know if the dosage was correct? It may give a result of sorts but possibly not the sort of result that a test combined with the correct dosage could give? When testing they normally take one test, wait for results, work out dosage from there and try it for say a month, then retest to make sure the levels in the horse's body are back to an acceptable level. It feels a bit random to me. You could be helping but at a lesser level than truly necessary, or even giving too high a dose of drug which would be pointless, and let's face it more expensive than it need be.

Either way, I do hope it helps. My shetland improved no end on the drugs (he's now on the new one) but we haven't been through a Spring/ Summer yet to see how he fairs with some turnout.

 

[Kellys Heroes]

I hope it makes her more comfortable, but at amazed the vet didn't test for Cushings. How would you know if the dosage was correct? It may give a result of sorts but possibly not the sort of result that a test combined with the correct dosage could give? When testing they normally take one test, wait for results, work out dosage from there and try it for say a month, then retest to make sure the levels in the horse's body are back to an acceptable level. It feels a bit random to me. You could be helping but at a lesser level than truly necessary, or even giving too high a dose of drug which would be pointless, and let's face it more expensive than it need be.

Either way, I do hope it helps. My shetland improved no end on the drugs (he's now on the new one) but we haven't been through a Spring/ Summer yet to see how he fairs with some turnout.

Sorry I didn't mention - they have tested for Cushings before Xmas but we're STILL waiting for results! its not the vets its the labs we're waiting on. He just said he wants to start her on a low dose (one tab a day) asap to see if there's an improvement.
I'm glad people see improvements I've heard a lot of good things about Pergolide (and the equivalent new drug) really hope there is she's also sweating like mad through having such a thick coat but we don't want to stress her by clipping!
K x

 

[Angelbones]

Sorry I didn't mention - they have tested for Cushings before Xmas but we're STILL waiting for results! its not the vets its the labs we're waiting on. He just said he wants to start her on a low dose (one tab a day) asap to see if there's an improvement.
I'm glad people see improvements I've heard a lot of good things about Pergolide (and the equivalent new drug) really hope there is she's also sweating like mad through having such a thick coat but we don't want to stress her by clipping!
K x

OH! Gotcha

 

[Beccahh]

we have a 8 year old mare on our yard who is suffering with lami and cushings and is on almost the highest does they can give her. she was out competing in a championship the weekend before the lami hit
she has her bad days and good days but sadly nothing is very clear for her future however she is now been turned out for a few hours aday
we also have a 18 year old gelding with the exact same not sure on what dose he is on but he is getting better and is also allowed out for a couple of hours
sorry not much help with this =/ i just thought i would put it outt there x

 

[maggy-may]

My pony was on pergolide for 5yrs although we also manged her diet and grass intake carefully i do think the pergolide gave her extra years on her life.

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Thanks guys I got a call before saying we have the tablets and can start her on them tomorrow.
Hopefully should start seeing an improvement...its going to be a tense month or so!!!!
K x

 

[Dancing Queen]

peroglide can make them depressed so keep an eye on it and report any changes to the vet straightaway.

I found that Vitex4Equids (Agnus castus) worked VERY well, but it kicked in when the Pergolide could do no more. I know of a 40 odd year old with cushings on pergolide still pottering around the field and enjoying life!