Sorry, another cushings question!

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nativepony

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Does anyone know if it's possible for a horse to have naturally higher ACTH levels than the seasonal guidelines provided by Liphook?

For example my mare when originally tested was nearly 200, it's come down a lot but she's still reading at 42 which is higher than it should be <29. When her Prascend was upped to 2mg it came down to 39 which my vet said was good enough, at the next blood test it had gone up to 52 so her dosage was upped to 3mg but at 42 it still isn't down to where it should be (I posted previously about my vet wanting to give her 4mg), but it got me thinking is it possible that her 'natural' levels are just higher than the Liphook guidelines and they probably won't get down to those levels?
 
My boy never came down to normal levels even on 4mg Pergolide and 4 Metformin per day BUT he was sound and happy so we didn't increase his dose! My vet wasn't very happy about it, but we made the decision and he lived happily til 25 and didn't die from anything related to his Cushings!

It's one of those that only you can judge as the owner!
 
mine sounds similar to yours..original reading was 172 and went down to 90, liphook said they were disappointed with the result as it should have been 49. went up to 1 1/2 prascend and it came down to 48.9 but should have been 29, so started on 2 prascend in and am going to get her tested in the next month mainly because i am worried about laminitis but also her summer coat has thickened up quite a bit and the coat not shedding was my main reason for thinking she had cushings in the first place....i have a feeling that mine will be increasing her dosage!!!!
 
is it just a blood test vet does to tell if its cushings. also how long does results take and how much is it to get done. thanks
 
nativepony said:
Does anyone know if it's possible for a horse to have naturally higher ACTH levels than the seasonal guidelines provided by Liphook?

For example my mare when originally tested was nearly 200, it's come down a lot but she's still reading at 42 which is higher than it should be <29. When her Prascend was upped to 2mg it came down to 39 which my vet said was good enough, at the next blood test it had gone up to 52 so her dosage was upped to 3mg but at 42 it still isn't down to where it should be (I posted previously about my vet wanting to give her 4mg), but it got me thinking is it possible that her 'natural' levels are just higher than the Liphook guidelines and they probably won't get down to those levels?
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Sorry I can't answer your question but I'd be interested to see the Liphook guidelines - where would I find these?
thanks
 
Would guess it depends on policy & what exclusions you have - I'd already claimed for laminits 6 years ago so it was excluded as 'related' to cushings :(
 
my insurance paid for my mares cushings for a year as they would any other medical condition now the year is up it is excluded along with metabolic syndrome and laminitis even though she hasnt had them.
 
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