PPID - Breaking my heart

Bodshi

Bodshi

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Apr 23, 2009
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Raf had a bad reaction to the Prascend (half a tablet) so on the vet's advice he came off it for 10 days then we reintroduced it at a quarter tablet a day. According to the vet (and lots of positive stories that I've read on various forums) this usually does the trick and breaks the cycle of the meds causing the 'Veil'. Raf gradually picked up once off the Prascend and stayed ok when put on the quarter tablet dose - not himself by any means, but I put that down to the PPID rather than the Prascend.

After two weeks on a quarter tablet he was to go back to a half. Today was the day and I was really hopeful - of course I didn't expect him to be miraculously better, but I hoped he wouldn't be any worse. However when I went to see him tonight I found him like this ... just the same as he was when he first went on the Prascend.



Honestly, I am absolutely gutted, it breaks my heart to see him like this.
 
Poor Raf. Remind me - what was his result when tested? Only I've heard that if not 'that' high above the threshold then supplementation can do better than meds?
 
Thanks @KP nut. I do feel really helpless, and even worse I feel responsible for forcing that awful medicine on him.

@juliecwuk - I think his level was 65, or it might have been 67. Not terribly high. The vet did say some horses can't tolerate Prascend, in which case Agnus Castus has been found to be effective in 30% of cases. I wanted to give the Prascend a fair trial first, but not sure how long I can stand this - will have to talk to the vet to see how long I should give him to see if this awful effect wears off.
 
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Thanks guys. I've ordered the APF supplement, according to the website "APF has been 100% successful in preventing the depression and appetite suppression you can get from pergolide." Fingers crossed!
 
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It's horrible isn't it? I took my vet's advice and put Jack straight onto a whole tablet! :eek: Within 48 hours he was off his food and very subdued. He stood in his field not doing very much at all so I started feeding him half in the morning and half in the evening. Decided that I'd give it a week to see how he fared and then stop and reintroduce more gradually. Thankfully after three days of half and half he picked up again - phew! After a fortnight he was faring so much better than before he had started that I just started feeding him a whole tablet once a day. We had a 24-hour blip of being off his food again and then that passed and he has been absolutely fine since. Mind you, by then I was more distracted with his sheath infection to be thinking about the Prascend effects!!!!

I'm so sorry that Raf is suffering so badly. Will you feed the supplement alongside his quarter of a tablet, or ditch the Prascend completely?
 
Thanks @domane - this is very encouraging. I really hope that Raf picks up in the same way. I think we only did 5 days on the half tablet originally before I could stand it no longer and rang the vet - actually I thought he might die! Maybe this latest reaction will just be a small blip, hope so.

The supplement is meant to be fed alongside the Prascend. I didn't want to try it straight away because the vet was confident that the break and gradual reintroduction would do the trick and I wanted to keep things simple so we know where we are. Plus it's quite expensive! Jessey found the link for me https://forageplus.co.uk/product/apf/

I'm so glad to hear that Jack is doing well :) Still can't get over the stallion broth though ...
 
I really feel for you, hopefully he picks up soon or the APF does the trick, I have heard some good feedback for it including in non PPID cases where it gives the horse a real pick me up, crossing everything Raf is feeling a little better today anyway xx
 
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I am so sorry to read this. Poor beautiful boy:( I can only say how lucky we were with Chloe as she went on one tab immediately and has never looked better. She was quiet when she came to us, and I put it down to just being in a new home but then she started on the tablets after being tested and became a different girl. I am so sorry it doesn't seem to be doing the trick for Raf.
 
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Sorry to see this - as you know madam was diagnosed 3years ago and is still not medicated as she just cannot tolerate the meds...

I always find a course of global herbs restore helps madam - and she loves it in her food which is handy!

Were his iron levels ok?
 
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My boy wouldn't eat his bucket feed for a fortnight and he was very withdrawn when he first started on his tablets, but I stuck it out like the vet advised and then he perked up and was actually better than he had been for a long time, hopefully Raf will perk up soon.
 
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Why not try the Angus castus? I feed it to Kia and a comfirmed cushings mare on the yard gets it and it helps her as she can't tolerate the prascend.
 
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Thanks so much guys. He seemed a little better tonight - at least he was eating his hay when I got there. After 5 minutes he came and stood quietly with me and positioned himself so I could play with his forelock - most strange behaviour, but he seems to like this at the moment. He's used to me separating his forelock with my fingers because this is how I do his mane and tail, but he doesn't normally seem to particularly like it.

popularfurball said:
Were his iron levels ok?
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Yes - both red and white cell counts were normal, as were all the organ function tests. I'll add Global Herbs onto my list of possible options. We use the Airways Plus to keep Jack snot free and it works very well for him.

@MrC - Agnus Castus is next on the list to try, if he can't tolerate the Prascend. I want to stick to one thing at a time, so that I know exactly what (if anything) helps him. I don't think it's any cheaper than the Prascend is it?
 
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