Tildren for arthritis!!! Advice please

[merlinsquest]

Hi,

Merlin is having Tildren on Monday and I was after some advice re the side effects.....

I have been warned about the risk of colic, but what worries me is the possibility of collapse due to hypocalcemia (sp)...... one local vet has had one horse who would have died if it hadnt been in the hospital but my vet seems to disregard this risk and is quite happy to do it at my yard even though there have only been 8 horses treated by him so far.

Anyway anyone who has reports good or bad about the treatment... i am not easily scared, just want to weigh up the risks... and also how well the horse has improved afterwards.

Many thanks for any replies...

 

[GinaGem]

Hi,

Can't help much with side effects etc but i know my friends horse is having this treartment soon and it is being done at the vets.

Would be very interested to read other people's experience with it.

xx

 

[mickey]

My horse had this for his spavin some yrs ago. Have to say that I was not aware that he had any adverse effects as a result of tx, but equally it did not work for his spavin. I think some spavins respond better than others.

 

[ihatework]

My horse was treated at home by the vets with no major problems.
The vet will give the horse an anti-colic drug alongside the tildren and will also monitor their heart rate carefully (presumably to detect early signs of hypocalcemia). According to my vet the side effects have been reported to have come on usually if the drug is given too quickly.
One thing I did notice though is that my horse went a little anorexic for 24h but drank loads and wee'd for england.

 

[lornaA]

my mare had tildren last august and had no side effects at all. she had it done at the vets surgery as i live 2 hour drive from the vet who was treating her. they listened to her heart before they started the listened at intervals whilst the tildren was dripped in. once they started and she was tolerating it well the speeded up the rate of the drip. she had no colic but was sweaty and hot but that could of been because they gave her a touch of sedative to be sure she stood. after the treatment they kept her a short while and was declared fit to travel home. they just said to keep an extra eye on her next few days. she was to have 2 weeks complete rest then light work as seemingly when the bones are thickening they are brittle and prone to breaking more easily than normal. like i said tho i had no major problems at all and would use it again if need be.

 

[luane1]

I have used Tidren in 2 horses and one was treated at home and the other at the vets, no problems with either of them. It helped with reduction of inflamation and also have used it for navicular. I didnt help spavin either which fused with bute and work.

 

[merlinsquest]

Would anyone know if Tildren would affect the result of a bone scan.... in my mind it would as it would inhibit the growth of bone and therefore not show up as much on the scan... or am I barking completely up the wrong tree????

 

[aran]

http://www.hevra.org/vmri_spc/spc.asp?Product_Identifier=FR/V/0134/001

Here are the product details and what to look out for - if your horse is fit and healthy (apart from the lameness obviously) then I would not worry too much - colic is the only thing I'd be watching for carefully.

In my mind - tildron (being a bisphosphonate) has little to offer arthritic sufferers. Navicular and osteoporosis are obvious candidates for such treatment but for OA the benefit seems small. These chemicals absorb to bone and slow its turnover. It doesn't however stop the cartilage degradation or aid repair. Therefore if the only cause of pain is due to a too high bone turnover then their use is obvious - OA is not primarily a bone problem so I don't see the point in its use. Its use in bone spavin is just bizarre as you want increased bone turnover as you want bone growth causing overall fusion.

Bone scans show hot spots of high bone turnover - so theoretically there should not be a spot following treatment.

(excuse the spelling - I'm tired!)

 

[merlinsquest]

My thoughts entirely...... thats why i am confused as to whether a bone scan should be done first to see if the fetlock is the only source of pain.. he seems to be bilaterally lame at the moment, and I know the other joints are ok on the xrays.

 

[Sven]

My horse had tildren last year and it was administered in his stable at home. I'm in the Channel Islands and we don't have a hospital for horses. He had no side effects and did not need sedating as he is quite a calm chap where vets and stuff is concerned. He has suspected navicular (not possible to diagnose without transporting him to UK and he was in too much pain to do that!) and is about 95% sound now just the odd step here and there. He was 19 when he had the treatment and despite various other attempts to shorten his life (broken nose, split sole etc etc) he is in fine form. So go for it especially if like me you had nothing to lose.