This message is from: Corinne Bodeman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi.
I've been out of town for nearly a week and am now catching up on all my reading. I have a 29 year old quarter horse gelding that has been diagnosed with cushings. It's a struggle but its manageable. The vet did an insulin and thyroid test. Shiloh's insulin hit 121 (10-30 is normal, I believe). Also, like the other writers have suggested, the thyroid becomes involved. Unlike the typical symptoms of curly, long coat, my horse had only lethargy and profusive sweating and excessive drinking as symptoms. I ignored them as it was a very warm spring and he is a very old horse. It wasn't until his feet went bad that "all hell broke loose". He absessed so severely in his right rear we almost had to put him down. It is now October 10 and he can finally walk normally. He was put on Thyroid X (I think) and Cyproheptadine. Since he's so old, and his teeth are going, we have him on all Equine Sr. with hay when and if he can eat it. Well, in conversation with the vet (after the insulin still wouldn't drop) we decided to reduce the Equine Sr. as we felt there was a pretty good case of insulin resistance. It seems to be working. Like I said, this is the first week he has acted and felt like the guy I've known and loved. So be patient with Cushings...and be willing to experiment. The vet said that the thyroid meds were to be in conjunction with the cypro to assist it in reducing the insulin and regulating the adrenal glands. Keep a close eye on the feet. But with good care and monitoring, I'm told they can live a productive life with the disease. Good luck. Cori Bodeman (a hopefully soon to be fjord owner too)
